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TEXT G
First read the following question.
33. The primary purpose of the passage is to ___.
A. discuss the impact of the internet
B. forecast the future roles of the bookstore
C. compare the publisher with the editor
D. evaluate the limitations of the printed page
Now go through TEXT G quickly and answer question 33.
Since the advent of television people have been prophesying the death of the book. Now the rise of the World Wide Web seems to have revived this smolderi ng controversy from the ashes. The very existence of paper copy has been brought into question once more.It might be the bookstore, rather than the book itself, that is on the br ink of extinction. Many of you will have noted tom of bookseller websites poppin g up. They provide lists of books and let you read sample chapters, reviews from other customers and interviews with authors.
What does all this mean? Browsing a virtual bookstore may not afford you the same dusty pleasure as browsing round a real shop, but as far as service, pr ice and convenience are concerned there is really no competition. This may chang e before long, as publishers’websites begin to offer direct access to new publ ications.
Perhaps it is actually the publisher who is endangered by the relentless advance of the Internet. There are a remarkable number of sites republishing tex ts online--an extensive virtual library of materials that used to be handled pri marily by publishing companies.
From the profusion of electronic-text sites available, it looks as if thi s virtual library is here to stay unless a proposed revision to copyright law ta kes many publications out of the public domain. However, can electronic texts st ill be considered books?
Then again, it might be the editor at risk, in danger of being cut out of the publishing process. The Web not only makes it possible for just about anyon e to publish whatever they like whenever they like-there are virtually no costs involved. The editors would then be the millions of Internet users. And there is little censor ship, either.
So possibly it is the printed page, with its many limitations, that is pe rishing as the implications of new technologies begin to be fully realized. Last year Stanford University published the equivalent of a 6,000 page Business Engl ish dictionary, online. There seem to be quite obvious benefits to housing these multi-volume reference sets on the Web. The perceived benefits for other books, such as the novel, are perhaps less obvious.
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