2. 外语
  3. Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull. E-books, however, are

Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull. E-books, however, are

admin2015-03-28  91
问题     Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull. E-books, however, are causing heartache. Libraries know they need digital wares if they are to remain relevant, but many publishers are too wary of piracy and lost sales to co-operate. Among the big six, only Random House and HarperCollins license e-books with most libraries. The others have either denied requests or are reluctantly experimenting. In August, for example, Penguin will start a pilot with public libraries in New York.
    Publishers are wise to be nervous. Owners of e-readers are exactly the customers they need: book-lovers with money (neither the devices nor broadband connections come cheap). If these wonderful people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them, what then?
    Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient. Unlike printed books, which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles from where you live, book files can be downloaded at home. Digital library catalogues are often browsed at night, from a comfy sofa. The files disappear from the device when they are due (which means no late fees, nor worry about lost or damaged books).
    Awkwardly for publishers, buying an e-book costs more than renting one but offers little extra value. You cannot resell it, lend it to a friend or burn it to stay warm. Owning a book is useful if you want to savour (品尝) it repeatedly, but who reads "Fifty Shades of Grey" twice?
    E-lending is not simple, however. There are lots of different and often incompatible e-book formats, devices and licences. Most libraries use a company called OverDrive, a global distributor that secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format. Some 35m titles were checked out through OverDrive in 2011, and the company now sends useful data on borrowing behaviour to participating publishers. Yet publishers and libraries are worried by OverDrive’s market dominance, as the company can increasingly dictate fees and conditions.
    Library boosters argue that book borrowers are also book buyers, and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new work. Many were cheered by a recent Pew survey, which found that more than half of Americans with library cards say they prefer to buy their e-books. But the report also noted that few people know that e-books are available at most libraries, and that popular titles often involve long waiting lists, which may be what inspires people to buy.
    So publishers keep tweaking ( 对……稍作调整) their lending arrangements in search of the right balance. Random House raised its licensing prices earlier this year, and HarperCollins limits libraries to lending its titles 26 times. Penguin plans to keep new releases out of libraries for at least six months, and each book will expire after a year. The story of the library e-book is a nail-biter.
What can we learn about the big six publishers?
选项 A、They know they need to cooperate with libraries.
B、They have recently sold e-books to most libraries.
C、Most of them hesitate in cooperation with libraries.
D、They stand out against selling e-books to libraries.
答案C
解析 第1段第4句提到，在六大出版商中，只有兰登书屋和哈珀柯林斯出版集团将电子书授权给了大多数图书馆。接着下一句说明了其他出版商对待电子书借阅业务的态度：其他出版商有的表示拒绝合作，有的则还在不情愿的探索中。由此可知，他们大多数都还在犹豫，故C)符合文意，为答案。A)是针对第3句中的Libraries know they need digital wares…设置的干扰项，文中说的是图书馆知道他们需要与出版商合作，故A）不符合文意。文中说，六大出版商中只有两家将电子书授权给了大多数图书馆，故B)属于以偏概全，可以排除。文中没有提及出版商出来反对将电子书卖给图书馆，故D)与原文不相关，予以排除。
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