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The staggering variety of free stuff available on the Internet sometimes seems to have repealed the first law of economics: Ther
The staggering variety of free stuff available on the Internet sometimes seems to have repealed the first law of economics: Ther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
2022-09-06
75
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The staggering variety of free stuff available on the Internet sometimes seems to have repealed the first law of economics: There’s no such thing as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 "termination 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
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。A项与短语暗示含义完全相反;C项是对“这种现象实际上却常与经济学定律相符”这句话的错误理解;D项“由某个你认识的人支付”在文中没有提及。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/rTmZ777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Doctorshavetreatedthefirstreportedcaseof"Internetaddictiondisorder"broughtonbyexcessiveuseofGoogleGlass.I
HarvardprofessorHarveyMansfieldstirredupcontroversyrecentlybycriticizingtheviolentgradeinflationathisinstitution
HarvardprofessorHarveyMansfieldstirredupcontroversyrecentlybycriticizingtheviolentgradeinflationathisinstitution
Shanghaiisoneofthelargestcitiesintheworldthat______largepopulationseachovertenmillion.
Prewritingreferstostrategiesyoucanusetogenerateideasbeforestartingthefirstdraftofapaper.Prewritingtechniques
Prewritingreferstostrategiesyoucanusetogenerateideasbeforestartingthefirstdraftofapaper.Prewritingtechniques
Prewritingreferstostrategiesyoucanusetogenerateideasbeforestartingthefirstdraftofapaper.Prewritingtechniques
Therigidhigher-educationbusinessisabouttoexperienceawelcomeearthquake.Traditionaluniversitiesnowfaceanew【C1】____
______Isympathize,Ican’treallydoverymuchtohelpthemoutofthedifficulties.
随机试题
Notsolongago,itwasthestuffofnightmares:youpickupthelandlinetelephoneandthere’snodialingtone.Nothing.Theph
在《前赤壁赋》中,苏子认为“惟江上之清风,与山间之明月,耳得之而为声,目遇之而成色;取之无禁,用之不竭”,这里是想表达()
下列经脉属于奇经八脉的是
下列病变不是液化性坏死的是
胃大部切除术后,并发十二指肠残端破裂的治疗方法为
管理是指在一定的环境中,通过()等活动,协调组织的各种资源,以期更有效地实现组织目标的过程。
电力成本的高低会受到用电条件的制约及市场需求的影响。()
2012年7月1日,甲女遭受乙男性侵害。若甲女的生日为1999年6月1日,甲女遭受性侵害的损害赔偿请求权的诉讼时效期间的起算时间是()。
Forthefirsttime,morewomenthanmenintheUnitedStatesreceiveddoctoraldegreeslastyear,theclimaxofdecadesofchang
ThestatewhichhasthelargestlandareaofallthestatesintheUnitedStatesis
最新回复
(
0
)