Reading comprehensionReading comprehension
In the mid 1990's, people started doing business on the Internet. There were two kinds of companies
then. First, there were traditional companies. They sold things in stores. Then, there were Internet
companies. They didn't have a s
tore, and they only sold things on the Net.
Traditional companies didn't want to lose any business. Quickly, they made their own websites and
began selling things on the Net. These are the so-called"brick and click"companies (砖块点击公司).
Many stores are made of brick. And you click on your mouse to buy things with your computer. That's
where the name"brick and click"comes from.
By the late 1990's, competition among Internet companies was great. So e-business like amazon.
com, buy.com, and etoys.com were in trouble. Their profits (利润) were not very high. Many of these
businesses were losing much money. In 2000, many e-businesses went out of business.
Why are brick and click companies, like Barnes and Walmart so successful? First, many customers
know and trust (相信) their names. Their websites are easy to remember. These companies also have a
lot of experience. In a word, they know how to run a successful business.
In the world of e-commerce (商业), companies are fighting for every dollar and every customer. Will
brick and click companies win the war? Only time will tell.
Answer the following questions according to what you read.
1. How many kinds of companies were there in the mid 1990's?
2. Did Internet companies sell things in stores or on the Net?
3. What did the traditional companies do to keep their business?
4. What gave Internet companies a lot of trouble by the late 1990's?
5. What can you learn from Barnes and Walmart if you have an Internet company?
