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
外语
Shopping has become a very secret and mysterious affair. Conspicuous consumption does not look good during a recession, which ex
Shopping has become a very secret and mysterious affair. Conspicuous consumption does not look good during a recession, which ex
admin
2013-08-12
51
问题
Shopping has become a very secret and mysterious affair. Conspicuous consumption does not look good during a recession, which explains why so many of us are embracing e-commerce. Online shopping on these shores is projected to grow from sales of £8.9bn to around £21.3bn by the end next year.
Often people proclaim they’ve embraced e-commerce because it’s "green". This is understandable. If many shopping bags in a recession look bad, bricks and mortar retail—huge out-of-town shopping centres, retail emporia(大百货店)that insist on leaving their doors open even in winter and grocery stores full of the most inefficient freezers—look terrible during an ecological emergency.
Should we buy the idea that e-commerce is any better? Several studies have tried to answer this with cold, hard data. A 2000 study on Webvan, a US online grocer that does not exist any more, concluded that a wider adoption of e-commerce would not give us environmental gains, while a 2002 study of US book retailing found no greater energy savings selling online. But the study that all e-retailers are talking about is a new one from Carnegie Mellon University, which has found that shopping online via Buy. corn’s e-commerce model for electronic products uses 35 per cent less energy consumption and CO
2
emissions than a traditional bricks-and-mortar model.
This is largely because it avoids the usual retail distribution model and, of course, the impact of consumers driving to a store. And, from the shopper’s perspective, online buying often allows you to avoid the ephemera(便宜的日常小用品)of retail, like the 100m coat hangers that end up in landfill each year, or lengthened cash register receipts.
But both models are flawed, because online or on the high street, retailers are dependent on a hydrocarbon-fuelled delivery system. Trucks deliver 4.8m tonnes of freight each day in the UK, which works out at about 80kg per person. To make matters worse, after a truck drops off the goods it often returns empty to the storehouse. A 2002 study of 20,000 haulage trips found that only 2.4% of return journey legs found suitable backloads. This journey represents a large part of the impact of what we buy.
Online shopping may prove marginally greener in terms of energy saving, but we shouldn’t forget progressive traditional retail. Places such as Ludlow in Shropshire, a trade town based on ethical trading ideas, where the independent high street has been hard earned. It brings consumers face to face with products with a just background, shortened supply chain and with values. This is a wiser and wider retail experience; anything else could leave you feeling short changed.
According to the first paragraph, people are embracing e-commerce during a recession because they prefer ______ shopping.
选项
A、conspicuous
B、economical
C、secret
D、safe
答案
C
解析
文章一开始便说到,购物变成了一种secret and mysterious affair(隐秘的事情),原因是在经济萧条期间,炫耀性消费看起来不大好。也可以说,人们热衷于电子商务模式,是因为这样的购物方式足够低调、隐秘,故推断C为答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/tR97777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
Nowadays,somethinghasgoneterriblywrongwithouronce-proudAmericanwayoflife.Ithashappenedintheareaof【C1】______.
A、Itisgettingthingsdonethroughotherpeople.B、Itishelpinganorganizationfindtherightstaff.C、Itisassemblingpeopl
Theconceptofpersonalchoiceinrelationtohealthbehaviorsisanimportantone.Anestimated90percentofallillnessmayb
SuggestionsforYourWorkAnnieisalongtimesecretary/receptionistfortwoseniorvicepresidentsatabigcompany.Theyh
A、Aninsurancepackageforforeigncompanies.B、Insuranceplansdesignedforforeignemployees.C、Apositioninhiscompanythat
Everyonehasamomentinhistory,whichbelongsparticularlytohim.Itisthemomentwhenhisemotionsachievetheirmostpower
A、Themanfailedthedrivingtestagain.B、Themangothisdriver’slicenselastmonth.C、Themanpassesthedrivingtest.D、The
OnDecember25,2000,manypeopleacrossNorthAmericareceivedarareChristmastreatwhenthemoonpassedinfrontofthesun
I’drather______(留在原位而不想挪到前排的位置上).
A、Therewillbeaboominhousing.B、Thehousemarketwillsufferdepression.C、Thebankwillexertpositiveinfluenceonhousin
随机试题
公民在工作中应该恪尽职守,兢兢业业,克己奉公,服务社会。这是公民基本道德规范中()
经肾脏排泄的对比剂是
可与DVD合用用于治疗肠道细菌感染的磺胺药是()。
把图a所示的电路用图b所示的等效电压源代替,则等效电压源的参数为()。
营业税按照行业进行征收,实行的是比例税率,下列行业按照20%的税率缴纳营业税的是( )。
《刑法》中所规定的“国有公司、企业、事业单位人员失职罪"、“国有公司、企业、事业单位人员滥用职权罪”的共同犯罪主体是()。
组织文化是一种无形的、思想上的约束力量。这是组织文化的()。
税务机关在调查税收违法案件时,经设区的()税务局或分局的局长批准,可以查询案件涉嫌人员的储蓄存款。
简述知识的类型。
在Word中,选定一行文本的技巧方法是()。
最新回复
(
0
)