首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
The staggering variety of free stuff available on the Internet sometimes seems to have repealed the first law of economics: Ther
The staggering variety of free stuff available on the Internet sometimes seems to have repealed the first law of economics: Ther
admin
2019-09-30
94
问题
The staggering variety of free stuff available on the Internet sometimes seems to have repealed the first law of economics: There’s no such thing as
a free lunch
. But as so often happens, the dismal science actually has it right. When it looks like you’re getting something for nothing, somebody is paying, and it’s often instructive to know who that is.
I’ve been testing a new phone service called ooma that provides an interesting case in point. Once you pay $399 up front for a box called the ooma Hub and connect it to your phone and the Internet via your home network, you are promised free, unlimited phone calls over two lines, plus voice mail. The system works fine and is simple to set up.
When a voice-over-Internet call has to go to a regular phone number, a service such as ooma usually has to pay a "temination fee" to a carrier such as Verizon. Skype, for example, charges 2% per minute for calls outside the Skype network. But ooma avoids this by using some of its customers—those who have kept regular phone lines—to serve as gateways onto the local phone network at no charge.
When you want to call outside the ooma network, the call moves from your Hub over the Internet to a second landline-connected Hub within the destination’s local calling area The Hub dials the target number and patches the call through. In effect, ooma customers with landlines pay to keep the whole system going. You don’t even notice if your landline is being used because your own phone calls go out over your broadband connection, with your flat-rate monthly phone bill covering the ooma traffic. In fact, this improves the efficiency of the phone system by putting idle lines to work. But if ooma ever gains real traction, I expect a legal assault from big phone companies, which are losing income from termination fees.
Web services do take advantage of genuine economies. The phone network is more expensive than the Net. Lots of Net players build on these advantages. Skype relies on selected users who act, often without their knowledge, as "super nodes" to manage the system. FreeConference.com provides calls by taking advantage of regulatory quirks—namely, the stiff termination fees long-distance carriers must pay to certain rural phone companies that handle calls into their territory. In effect, the free conferences are subsidized by customers and shareholders of the long-distance carriers. You may as well enjoy free calls while you can. But it’s always a good idea to read the fine print. If it isn’t obvious who’s paying for a free service, it might well be you.
The phrase "a free lunch"(Line 3, Paragraph 1)implies that the free stuff on the Internet seems to be
选项
A、totally free.
B、impossible as a free lunch.
C、as right as the science.
D、paid by someone you know.
答案
B
解析
短语语义理解题。根据a free lunch定位到文章首段第一句。第三句提到看似免费的服务实质上总得有人买单,故选B。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/Iqe4777K
0
考研英语二
相关试题推荐
Thegovernment______aheavytaxontobacco,whicharousedoppositionfromthetobaccoindustry.
TheInternetaffordsanonymitytoitsusers,ablessingtoprivacyandfreedomofspeech.Butthatveryanonymityisalsobehind
TheInternetaffordsanonymitytoitsusers,ablessingtoprivacyandfreedomofspeech.Butthatveryanonymityisalsobehind
In2010,afederaljudgeshookAmerica’sbiotechindustrytoitscore.CompanieshadwonpatentsforisolatedDNAfordecades--b
In2010,afederaljudgeshookAmerica’sbiotechindustrytoitscore.CompanieshadwonpatentsforisolatedDNAfordecades--b
Formostofthe20thcentury,Asiaaskeditselfwhatitcouldlearnfromthemodern,innovatingWest.Nowthequestionmustber
Formostofthe20thcentury,Asiaaskeditselfwhatitcouldlearnfromthemodern,innovatingWest.Nowthequestionmustber
Neuroscientistshavelongunderstoodthatthebraincanrewireitselfinresponsetoexperience—aphenomenonknownasneuroplast
Neuroscientistshavelongunderstoodthatthebraincanrewireitselfinresponsetoexperience—aphenomenonknownasneuroplast
随机试题
在审计丙公司2010年度的财务报表时,注册会计师发现丙公司将2011年1月8日的主营业务收入计入2010年12月31日收入账户中,则其2010年度财务报表中有关销售交易存在错误认定包括()
小儿脱水补液时,需要多久才能补足累计损失量
Th2细胞的主要作用是()。
在各种开挖方法中,初期支护拆除量大的方法是()。
下列做法错误的是()。
Excel中,如何取消单元格链接?
2018年7月,为深入贯彻落实党的十九大精神和《2018年政府工作报告》的要求,确保完成全年经济社会发展主要目标任务,国务院决定部署开展2018年国务院大督查。下列关于此次重点督查内容表述错误的是()。
建立EDI用户之间数据交换关系,通常使用的方式为()。
Whatdidthewomanplayyesterdayafternoon?
Theideaofafishbeingabletogenerateelectricitystrongenoughtolightlampbulbs—oreventorunasmallelectricmotor—is
最新回复
(
0
)