第二輯T2P3 Knowledge economy

　　There have long been markets in tin, cocoa, silver and the like. There used to be security in thinking that somewhere there was a product, something you could touch and see. Now there are new markets in abstractions, trade in ideas and knowledge. Everyone has knowledge but there used to be no way to trade it --except through jobs. That simple fact of economic life was the basis for white collar employment for centuries. The whole job culture grew up because there was no alternative way to sell knowledge, other then the worker or manager providing, for a fixed price, his or her knowledge to an employer to own or control. The quantity of knowledge provided has typically been measured in time.

　　But today we stand at the threshold of a new era. The information economy has matured and become smarter. According to many business commentators, we are now living in a knowledge economy .There has always been a market for knowledge, of course. The publishing industry is based on it. But today the internet is making the distribution of knowledge ever easier. The days when the publisher decided what got published are over. Anyone with a PC and a modem can talk to the world. This is reducing the friction in the knowledge economy.

　　Everyone has knowledge of whatever industry she or he is in. say you are a computer dealer, for example. Over the years your have complied a list of the ten best lowest price places to buy wholesale computer equipment. Now you can sell your knowledge to newer, younger computer dealers who have no way to build up this knowledge without losing thousands of pounds finding it out the hard way. Until now, such knowledge remained securely locked in the recipient’s head, accumulated and then worthlessly withered away. This no longer needs to be the case. Such knowledge can be sold via websites.

　　Knowledge has a distinct advantage in today’s marketplace. It’s a renewable resource. Better yet, its worth actually increases, . “knowledge is the only asset that grows with use. “observes Scanford University Professor Paul Romer. But what exactly is knowledge and how can it be packaged to trade on an open market” “ knowledge is experiential information, intelligence applied thorough and gained from experience.” Say Josenph Pine and James Gilmore in their book The Experience Economy.

　　The value of knowledge often depends on variables such as time and the credibility of the seller.Certain knowledge may have a very limited shelf life. In sights concerning how to set up an internet business in one country, might be worth a fortune on one day and nothing the next , depending on changes in government policy. Markets in knowledge will be significance for one thing. They represent one of the most original uses of the web technology. In some corner of the globe there is a company wanting to source plastic widgets from Poland, and somewhere else another company that wishes to set up a plastics factory there. It’s simply a case of connecting the two.

　　 is a good example of a knowledge trader. It is targeted at food service managers throughout the hospitality industry. “we started with the context rather than extracting money from suppliers. “explains founder Mike Day. “we offer food service professionals interactive support to increase sales and profits. People don’t want another one-dimensional site full of advertising that doesn’t help them to do their job more effectively，it has to be customised offering real solutions to real problems. “the site’s features include access to online training and a tariff tracker to restaurants can check prices throughout the sector.

15. what point is made in the first paragraph?

A Interest in commodity markets has decreased.

B Overall levels of expertise have improved.

C Opportunities to exploit your knowledge were limited in the past

D External market forces have meant knowledge is underpriced.

16 what are we told about the current impact of the internet in the second paragraph?

A publishers benefit from their exploitation of the internet.

B the internet has made it easier to analyse business trends.

C It is difficult to calculate the true economic value of the internet.

D The internet facilitates the development of the knowledge economy.

17 In the third paragraph, what does the writer say about knowledge?

A Acquiring knowledge can be expensive

B The most valuable knowledge concerns IT

C Trading knowledge raises issues of security.

D New businesses find it hard to trade in knowledge.

18. What point is made about knowledge in the fourth paragraph?

A It provides specialist information

B Its appeal lies in its exclusivity

C it can generate new ideas

D Its value accumulates.

19 which application of knowledge does the writer regard as particularly useful?

A analyzing manufacturing trends

B introducing compatible parties

C interpreting time constraints

D advising on legislation

20 what key feature is provided by ?

A approaches that reflect the provider’s own experience

B access to appropriately trained potential employees.

C advice which directly benefits the bottom line

D advertising which is carefully targeted

關(guān)于知識(shí)經(jīng)濟(jì)時(shí)代知識(shí)的重要性。有了互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，知識(shí)也可能拿來(lái)出售。這篇文章里的knowledge，除了知識(shí)外，還可以理解成信息。

15題，問(wèn)第一段的觀點(diǎn)是什么。第一段就是簡(jiǎn)單介紹在過(guò)去，受種種條件的限制，知識(shí)不可能拿來(lái)做交易（there used to be no way to trade it），除非是通過(guò)job的形式，領(lǐng)取固定工資，算是知識(shí)的價(jià)錢。也就是說(shuō)，過(guò)去想真正開(kāi)發(fā)知識(shí)的價(jià)值的機(jī)會(huì)還是很局限的。

16題，問(wèn)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)在現(xiàn)階段的影響，這題答案很明顯：But today the internet is making the distribution of knowledge ever easier.互聯(lián)網(wǎng)讓知識(shí)的傳播更容易了。更容易，就是D選項(xiàng)的facilitate。

17題，問(wèn)第三段作者關(guān)于知識(shí)說(shuō)了什么。第三段總的意思是說(shuō)知識(shí)現(xiàn)在可以交易，否則只能隨著時(shí)間消逝。但是這個(gè)題的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)沒(méi)有和這個(gè)主要意思相吻合的。所以得從其他的細(xì)節(jié)方面看。答案從這個(gè)句子里找：Now you can sell your knowledge to newer, younger computer dealers who have no way to build up this knowledge without losing thousands of pounds。你現(xiàn)在可以把知識(shí)賣給新的、年輕的電腦交易商。除非花上數(shù)千英鎊，否則他們沒(méi)有辦法構(gòu)建這些知識(shí)。Losing thousands of pounds，需要得到某方面的知識(shí)需要花上這么多，可見(jiàn)獲取知識(shí)是需要花錢的。選A。

18題，問(wèn)第四段作者關(guān)于知識(shí)的觀點(diǎn)是什么。這題答案也很明顯。原文明確說(shuō)了：its worth actually increases。價(jià)值事實(shí)上是增加的。也就是，知識(shí)的價(jià)值是積累的。選D。

19題，問(wèn)作者認(rèn)為知識(shí)在哪方面特別有用。這題答案在第五段后面列舉的那個(gè)例子里面。這段文字最后列舉這個(gè)例子之前說(shuō)Markets in knowledge will be significance for one thing.從這里的significance可以看出作者認(rèn)為有知識(shí)的市場(chǎng)（markets in knowledge）是很重要的，也就是知識(shí)在這方面特別有用，具體這個(gè)markets in knowledge指的是什么，看后面列舉的那個(gè)例子。一個(gè)公司想在波蘭尋找塑料來(lái)源，另一個(gè)公司想在波蘭建立塑料生產(chǎn)廠。這就是很簡(jiǎn)單的將兩者聯(lián)合起來(lái)的事情。因?yàn)閮烧哂泄餐睦妫梢韵嗳?。所以這題答案選B introducing compatible parties。

20題，問(wèn)這個(gè)網(wǎng)站提供的關(guān)鍵特征是什么。答案從這一句上看People don’t want another one-dimensional site full of advertising that doesn’t help them to do their job more effectively，it has to be customised offering real solutions to real problems。它必須對(duì)實(shí)際的問(wèn)題提供實(shí)際的解決辦法。答案選C：advice which directly benefits the bottom line。能夠從根本上有利的建議。

這題很容易誤選B，因?yàn)楹臀恼伦詈笠痪浜芟嗨?。越是這樣的選項(xiàng)越是不能選。而且題目問(wèn)的是key feature，最關(guān)鍵的特征在什么地方，也就是區(qū)別于其他不能產(chǎn)生實(shí)際效果的廣告的地方，B只是一個(gè)feature。