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  3. Despite student requests, digital options and congressional intervention, the tab for textbooks keeps growing in what is now an

Despite student requests, digital options and congressional intervention, the tab for textbooks keeps growing in what is now an

admin2012-10-30  58
问题     Despite student requests, digital options and congressional intervention, the tab for textbooks keeps growing in what is now an $ 8 billion industry. Prices are so high that some college students are trying to get by without purchasing the required books.     Why is something so fundamental as the price of a school book so difficult to control? Although college registration has increased in the past 10 years, textbook sales have been dropping. Not surprisingly , publishers and authors will do whatever they can to maintain profit levels. So, for example, as sales of used books have increased, prices for new books have climbed.
Compared to printed texts, e-books cost less to produce, yet they don’t change the bottom line dramatically. For one thing, they are sold separately to each user, eliminating used books and shared copies. And they require hardware, which students or schools must purchase and maintain. There are also indications that many students still prefer printed books. This is likely to change over time, but that means e-books must be introduced gradually.
    College bookstores profit from sales, as do some professors who make students buy books they have written. Also, teachers seem too willing to require new, "revised" editions of textbooks, even though the changes could be the least. In doing so, they wipe out the market for used copies.
    A congressional advisory committee identified several factors that cause prices to rise. The most damaging is that the primary choosers of books are not the primary users; that is, teachers usually select the books, but students pay for them. Second, students often are resigned to increases in prices because they are generally hostage (不由自主的人) to professors’ selections. Interestingly, many European schools demand lower prices from publishers. The committee discovered that one popular economics textbook cost $ 126 in the U. S. but $76 in Great Britain.
    A good first step in controlling college book costs would be for schools to comply with the law. Another would be for administrators to insist that teachers avoid ordering new editions that offer only cosmetic changes.
    Ultimately, wider use of electronic formats will loosen the grip of a few large publishing companies , leading to greater competition and presumably lower prices. Meanwhile, colleges and universities should wake up to the fact that the best way to avoid having $ 200 books is to stop requiring students to buy them. A new chapter in textbook pricing can’t be written quickly enough.
Why is it difficult to control the price of school books?
选项 A、Publishers and authors want to keep profit levels.
B、Book price is the most vital factor in book sales.
C、College registration has increased in the past 10 years.
D、Used textbook sales have been dropping recently.
答案A
解析 推理判断题。由定位句可知，出版商和作者们会不惜一切代价来保证自己的利润，故A)正确。B)“书价是图书销售中最重要的因素”，在原文中没有提到，故排除；C)“大学入学率在过去10年中增长了”在原文中是作为让步状语提出的，原文指出尽管大学生人数增长，但图书销售量仍然下滑，故排除；D)“二手图书的销售量最近在下滑”和原文不符，原文提出二手图书销售量增长了，故排除。
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