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
Remember Second Life, the virtual world that was supposed to become almost as important as the first one? Now populated by no mo
Remember Second Life, the virtual world that was supposed to become almost as important as the first one? Now populated by no mo
admin
2011-03-11
122
问题
Remember Second Life, the virtual world that was supposed to become almost as important as the first one? Now populated by no more than 84,000 avatars at a time, it has turned out to be a prime example of how short-lived Internet fads can be. Yet if many adults seem to have given up on virtual worlds, those that cater to children and teenagers are thriving. Several have even found a way to make money.
In America, nearly 10 million children and teenagers visit virtual worlds regularly, estimates eMarketer, a market researcher-a number the firm expects to increase to 15 million by 2013.As in January, there were 112 virtual worlds designed for under-18s with another 81 in development, according to Engage Digital Media, a market research firm.
All cater to different age groups and tastes. In Club Penguin, the market leader, which was bought by Disney in 2007 for a whopping $ 700 million, primary-school children can take on a penguin persona, fit out their own igloo and play games. Habbo Hotel, a service run from Finland, is a global hangout for teenagers who want to customise their own rooms and meet in public places to attend events. Gala Online, based in Silicon Valley, offers similar activities, but is visited mostly by older teens who are into Manga comics.
Not a hit with advertisers, these online worlds earn most of their money from the sale of virtual goods, such as items to spruce up an avatar or a private room. They are paid for in a private currency, which members earn by participating in various activities, trading items or buying them with real dollars.
This sort of stealth tax seems to work. At Gala Online, users spend more than $1 million per month on virtual items, says Craig Sherman, the firm’s chief executive. Running such a virtual economy is not easy, which is why Gaia has hired a full-time economist to grapple with problems that are well known in the real world, such as inflation and an unequal distribution of wealth.
There are other barriers that could limit the growth of virtual worlds for the young, but the main one is parents. Many do not want their offspring roaming virtual worlds, either because they are too commercial or are thought to be too dangerous. Keeping them safe is one of the biggest running costs, because their sponsors have to employ real people to police their realms.
Youngsters are also a fickle bunch, says Simon Levene of Accel Partners, a venture- capital firm. Just as children move from one toy to another, they readily switch worlds or social networks, often without saying goodbye.
Even so, Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst at eMarketer, believes "these worlds are a training ground for the three-dimensional web". If virtual worlds for adults, which so far have been able to retain only hardcore users, manage to hang on for a few years, they may yet have a second life.
What may "stealth tax" in "This sort of stealth tax seems to work" refer to?
选项
A、Online world promotes transaction without seeing the currencies, thus boosting the consumption.
B、Things in the online world do not need to be taxed, and then is cheaper than actual ones.
C、Companies have already paid the tax for the players.
D、People buy things in the online world in a largely unnoticed way, either by himself or by others.
答案
A
解析
本句为第五段的第一句,那么this sort of肯定是承前指代,即指代第四段的内容,也就是虚拟交易,虚拟物品,虚拟货币等内容,没有使用真实货币即进行了交易,结合选项可知A项最符合,B和C都没有提及,而D项说人们在网络世界里购物都是不为他人所知的,运用常识判断,可以得知其并不完全符合实际情况。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/wbp4777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Acharacteristicoftheinformationageisthat______Thefuturewillprobablybelongtothosewho______
Accordingtothepassage,thewaywedress______.Accordingtothepassage,manycareerwomenfindthemselvesindifficultsit
Indeterminingthevalueofspecialprotectivelaborlegislationforwomen,whatdoestheauthorconsidermosthelpful?Theaut
Inthefollowingtext,somesentenceshavebeenremoved.ForQuestions41-45,choosethemostsuitableonefromthelist(A、B、C、
Humanshavealteredtheworld’sclimateby(1)_____heat-trappinggasessincealmostthebeginningofcivilizationandevenprev
Todaythestudyoflanguageinourschoolsissomewhatconfused.Itisthemosttraditionalofscholasticsubjectsbeingtaught
Asthick-skinnedelectedofficialsgo,FIFAPresidentJosephS.BlatterisrightuptherewithBillClinton.ThechiefoftheZu
Intheearly1800s,groupsofEnglishworkerswreckedmachinesthattheyfeltthreatenedtheirjobs.(46)Theywerecalled"Luddi
Difficultiesininterculturalcommunicationarisewhenthereislittleornoawarenessofdivergentculturalvaluesandbeliefs.
EducationhasbeencalledAmerican’sreligion.Todaymorethan56millionAmericansareattendingschool.Thewidelydifferent
随机试题
女,44岁,拇指掌面基底部疼痛及弹响1年,加重2周。体格检查:该部位可扪及一小结节,有压痛,伸屈拇指时可感到弹响,最可能的诊断是
男,60岁,咳嗽,右胸痛,2个月憋气,抽烟30年,20支/日。胸片示,右肺门增大,右侧胸腔积液,拟诊断为右肺癌,胸膜转移。下列哪项检查有确诊价值
A.镇惊安神B.解郁安神C.养心安神D.清心安神E.健脾安神夜交藤的功效是
由于基础货币能为金融当局所直接控制,在()不变的条件下,金融当局即可通过控制基础货币来控制整个货币供给量。
下列要素中,不属于意外伤害保险中伤害构成要素的是()。
根据证券法律制度的规定,下列关于证券发行程序的表述正确的是()。
国外最早的教育学著作是()。
______YellowRiveristhesecondbiggestriverinChina.
SalariedContractDr.Balignant,MD,FRCPC,SpecialistOfferedfromSaintLewi
Ilovetravelingbytrain.Fast【B1】______,slowlocaltrainswhichstopateverystation,【B2】______trainstakingbusinessmento
最新回复
(
0
)