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

admin2013-09-26  30
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 careful about 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.
    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 comfortable sofa. The files disappear from the device when they are due.
    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. 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 adjusting 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. Hachette is engaged in some secret experiments, and the others are watching with held breath. In Britain the government will soon announce a review of the matter. The story of the library e-book is a nail-biter.
What does the author say about electronic borrowing?
选项 A、It can help save readers’ expenses on devices and broadband connections.
B、It needs checking out and returning to the library via the Internet.
C、It enables readers to resell the book files or lend them to friends.
D、It has a time limit for the book files downloader on the device.
答案D
解析 事实细节题。本题考查有关电子借阅的细节。定位句指出，到期的文件会自动从阅读设备上消失，故答案为D)。A)“电子借阅可以帮助读者节省设备和宽带连接的费用”，第二段第二句只是提到阅读设备和宽带都不便宜，A)属于推断过度，故排除；B)“需要通过网络结账并传回给图书馆”，原文中未提及，故排除；C)“它使得读者将书本转借或者卖给朋友”，由第四段第二句可知，电子书不能再次转借或出售给朋友，故排除。
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