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eBay

eBay is a global phenomenon-the world's largest garage sale, online shopping center, car dealer and auction site with 147 million registered users in 30 countries as of March 2005. You can find everything from encyclopedias to olives to snow boots to stereos to airplanes for sale. And if you stumble on it before the eBay overseers do, you might even find a human kidney or a virtual date.

eBay Basics

eBay is, first and foremost. an online auction site. You can browse through categories like Antiques, Boats, Clothing & Accessories, Computers & Networking,Jewelry & Watches and Video Games. When you see something you like, you click on the auction title and view the details, including pictures, descriptions,payment options and shipping information.

If you place a bid on an item,you enter a contractual agreement to buy it if you win the auction. All auctions have minimum starting bids, and some have a reserve price-a secret minimum amount the seller is willing to accept for the item. If the bidding doesn't reach the reserve price, the seller doesn't have to partwith the item. In addition to auctions, you can find tons of fixed-price items on eBay that make shopping there just like shopping at any other online marketplace. You see what you like, you buy it, you pay for it and you wait for it to arrive at your door.

You can pay for an item on eBay using a variety of methods, including money order, cashier's check, cash, personal check and electronic payment services like PayPal and BidPay. It's up to each seller to decide which payment methods he'll accept.

Just as you can buy almost anything on eBay, you can sell almost anything, too. Using a simple listing process, you can put all of the junk in your basement up for sale to the highest bidder. When you sell an item on eBay,you pay listing fees and turn over a percentage of the final sale price to eBay.

Once you register (for free) with eBay, you can access all of your eBay buying and selling activities in asingle location called "My eBay."

eBay Infrastructure

A series of service disruptions in 1999 caused real problems for eBay's business. Over the course of threedays, overloaded servers intermittently shut down, meaning users couldn't check auctions, place bids or complete transactions during that period. Buyers, sellers and eBay were very unhappy, and a complete restructuring of eBay's technological architecture Followed.

In 1999, eBay was one massive database server and a few separate systems running the search function. In 2005, eBay is about 200 database servers and 20 search servers.

The architecture is a type of grid computing that allows for both error correction and growth. With the exception of the search function, everything about eBay can actually run on approximately 50 servers-Web servers,application servers and data-storage systems. Each server has between 6 and 12 microprocessors. These50 0r so servers run separately, but they talk to each other,so everybody knows if there is a problem somewhere. eBay can simply add servers to the grid as the need arises.

While the majority of the site can run on 50 servers,eBay has four times that.The 200 servers are housed in sets of 50 in four locations,all in the United States. When you're using eBay, you may be talking to anyone of those locations at any time-they all store the same data. If one of the systems crashes. there are three others to pick up the slack.

When you're on the eBay Web site and you click on a listing for a Persian rug, your computer talks to Web servers, which talk to application servers, which pull data from storage servers so you can find out what the latest bid price is and how much time is left in the auction. eBay has local partners in many countries who deliver eBay's static data to cut down on download time, and there are monitoring systems in 45 cities around the world that constantly scan for problems in the network.

Using eBay: Security

In order to make buyers feel safer when making purchases on eBay, all tangible (有形的) items are automatically insured for $200. A recipe that was supposed to be delivered to you via e-mail is not considered a tangible item.But if you purchased a set of speakers that never arrived, and you go through the dispute process and eBay determines you were defrauded (欺骗)， you can get your money back up to $200.

Buyer Fraud

Buyer fraud is typically less damaging than seller fraud. The most common type of fraud a buyer can commitis simply not paying for an item. Sellers can deal with non-paying bidders by filing an Unpaid Item dispute. eBay will then attempt to contact the buyer and get her to pay. If she does not respond to eBay's attempts after eight days, the seller is reimbursed(赔偿) for eBay's cut of the final sale price and can relistthe item for free. If the buyer does respond, the dispute can end in one of three ways:

The buyer decides to pay, and everybody's happy.

The buyer and the seller decide together to abandon the transaction,the seller gets reimbursed for the final-value fee and relists the item for free,and everybody's happy.

The seller decides noe to deal with the buyer, the buyer gets an unpaiditem strike against her, and the seller gets reimbursed for the final-value fee and relists the item for free.

In the end, the damage to the seller is relatively small. Another type of buyer fraud occurs when a buyer sends false payment. In most cases,this is in the form of a bounced check, and the seller finds out about it before shipping the item. Bounced checks are as common on eBay as they are in the rest of the world, and many sellers choose not to accept personal checks for this reason.

Seller Fraud

Seller fraud is what most people think about when they worry about using eBay. There are two main ways in which a buyer can be defrauded by a seller: The item the buyer purchased is dramatically different from how it was described in the listing; or the item simply never arrives.

One thing to keep in mind when you think you've been defrauded is that miscommunication is common on eBay.For instance, if you didn't read every word of the auction listing for your item, you may have missed the part that said the seller would be out of town for three weeks and wouldn't be able to ship the item untilshe returned. This could be why you don't have your item and the seller isn't answering your e-mails. Also,e-mail is not the most straightforward form of communication. If your item hasn't arrived after two weeks, and you've e-mailed the seller but haven't heard back, it's a good idea to check your junk mail folder. Your seller may have sent a response e-mail that just never made it to your inbox. If there's nothing fromthe seller in your junk folder, you can request that eBay reveal your seller's phone number so you can give him a call and see what's going on.

If you don't get an answer to your phone call (or if your seller lives in another country and it would cost too much money to call), your next step is to start the dispute process. When a buyer believes he has been defrauded, he can file a complaint, and eBay will work to solve the problem. When you file a complaint in eBay's "Item Not Received or Significantly Not as Described" system,eBay will act as middleman between you and your seller to try to settle the dis pute. lf that fails, you can file a claim to get reimbursed for your purchase.

参考译文

eBay购物

eBay是一种全球化现象，它是世界上最大的旧货出售和在线购物中心、汽车经销商和拍卖站点。自2005年3月起它已在30个国家拥有了1.47亿个注册用户。你能在eBay上找到一切东西．从百科全书到橄榄、雪地靴、立体音响、到飞机，应有尽有。[1]如果你在eBay监察员插手之前偶然上上eBay网，你甚至可能找到一个人的肾脏或一个虚拟约会对象。

eBay基本知识

eBay首先是一个在线的拍卖站点。你可以通过分类目录浏览古董、小船、服装和装饰品、电脑和互联网类产品、珠宝扣手表以及电子游戏等物品。你看见你喜欢的东西时，你可以点击一下拍卖标题，看看包括产品图片、产品描述、支付选择和送货方式等有关该产品的详细信息。

如果你竞标一件物品，赢得拍卖的话。你就可以输入一项合同协议买下它。所有的拍卖品都有一个最低起价，并且有些产品还有一个保留——卖方愿意接受的秘密的最低价。[2]如果投标达不到保留价，卖方就不必出售该商品了。除拍卖之外，你还可以在eBay上找到大量价格固定的商品，这使得在eBay购物就像在其他任何一家在线商场购物一样。你看见你喜欢的东西，买下它，付钱，然后就等货物上门。

[3]对于在eBay上买的东西，你可以采用包括汇票、银行支票、现金、个人支票和像PayPal和BidPay一样的电子支付服务在内的多种付款方式。到底用哪种方式付款取决于各个卖家愿意接受哪种方式。

正如你在eBay上几乎能买到任何东西一样，你也几乎可以在上面出售任何东西。列张清单，你就可以将你所有放在地下室里不要的东西摆出去竞卖。你在eBay出售一样物品时，你得支付挂牌费并且把最后售价的一部分分给eBay。

[4]一旦你注册了（免费）eBay，你就能进入eBay网并在一个叫“我的eBay”的单独的地方进行所有的买卖活动了。

eBay的基础设施

1999年发生的一系列服务混乱使eBay的经营出现了实质性的问题。在三天多的时间里，超载的服务器出现间歇关闭，这意味着用户在此期间不能查看拍卖情况，不能投标或完成交易。买方、卖方和eBay都非常不开心，因此在那之后eBay公司进行了—次彻底的技术结构改造。

在1999年，eBay是靠一台巨大的数据库服务器和一些单独的系统运行检索功能。到2005年，eBay有了大约200台数据库服务器和20台检索服务器。

eBay的结构采用一种网格计算体系，可以进行错误修正和升级。除检索功能以外，eBay的一切操作实际上都能在大约50台服务器上运行。这些服务器包括Web服务器，应用服务器和数据存储系统。[5]每台服务器有6到12个微处理器。这50多台服务器是分开运行的，但是他们可以彼此交流，因此如果某个地方出了问题，大家都会知道。需要的时候，eBay只需给网格增加服务器就行了。

当大部分站点都能在50台服务器上运行时,eBay又增加了3倍的服务器。200台服务器被分成了四组，每级50台服务嚣，各占一个位置。服务器全部都在美国。使用eBay时，你可以在任何时候和任何一个位置的服务器进行交流——它们存储的数据都是一样的。如果其中一个系统崩溃，还有其他3个可以用。

[6]你登陆eBay网站，点击一下波斯小地毯的目录，你的电脑便会将信息传达给Web服务器，Web服务器又将信息传达给应用服务器，应用服务器于是从贮存服务器中提出数据，你就可以查到最新的竞标价以及这项拍卖还剩下多少时间。eBay在很多国家都有负责传送eBay的静态数据以减少下载时间的本地合伙人，在全世界45个城市还有不断扫描网络问题的监控系统。

使用eBay：安全

为了使购买者在eBay上买东西的时候感到更安全，所有的有形物品都会自动投保200美元。[7]不过通过电子邮件发送给你的一份食谱就不被认为是一件有形物品了。如果你购买了一套扬声器但一直没送到，你可以接通纠纷处理平台，eBay会确定你是否被欺骗了，如果是，你就可以得回高达200美元的保险金。

买方欺诈

与卖方的欺诈行为相比，买方欺诈通常造成的损失较小。买方最常见的欺诈行为就是买了东西不付栈。[8]卖方可以通过向eBay“出价不要纠纷处理平台”提出申请来对付那些不付款的投标者。eBay会尽量与买方联系让她付钱。如果在eBay催款8天之后她仍未做出反应.eBay就会取消收取该商品的最后销售提成以补偿卖方，卖方可以把那件商品免费重新放到商品目录上去。如果买方做出回应，纠纷就会以下列三种方式之一了结：

买方决定付钱，皆大欢喜。

买方和卖方一同协商后决定放弃交易．卖方通过免交最后销售价提成得到补偿，并将该商品免费重新放到商品目录上，也是皆大欢喜。

卖方决定不与买方交易以打击买方的不付款行为，卖方通过免交最后销售价提成得到补偿，并将该商品免费重新放到商品目录上。

最后，对卖方造成的损失相对来说就很小了。另一种类型的买方欺诈行为是买方用假支票支付。在大多数情况下，买方使用空头支票会被卖方在寄送商品之前查出来。[9]空头支票在全世界其他地方随处可见，在eBay上也是如此。因此很多卖家都选择不接受个人支票付款。

卖方欺诈

大多数人不放心在eBay购物就是因为考虑到卖方可能的欺诈行为。卖方主要以两种方式欺骗买方：买方购买的东西与商品目录上的描述有非常大的差别；或者卖方没有将东西选到买方手中。

当你认为你被欺骗了的时候，要注意一件事．即在eBay上经常发生交流失误。例如，如果你在拍卖目录里没有详细阅读你要买的商品的每一句描述，你可能就会错过说卖方将外出3周，要等她回来才能送货的这部分信息。这可能是为什么你没有收到你买的东西，以及为什么卖方没有回你邮件的原因。此外，电子邮件不是最直接的交流方式。如果你要的东西在两周之后还没到，并且你已经发了电子邮件给卖方，但是没有收到回复，你最好检查一下你的垃圾箱。你的卖方可能回了一封电子邮件给你，但没有被放到你的收件箱。如果你的垃圾箱也没有卖方的任何田复，你就可以要求eBay显示卖方的电话号码，你可以打电话给他，看看是怎么回事。

如果打电话也没有回音（或者如果你的卖方住在另一个国家。打电话太贵），你可以进入下一步的纠纷处理。当买方确信自己已经被欺骗时，他可以正式提出投诉．eBay会对此问题进行处理。当你在eBay的“物品未收到或与描述的严重不符”系统提出投诉时，[l0]eBay会作为你和你卖方的中间人进行纠纷调解。如果调解失败，你就可以正式提出索赔得到补偿。

测试题

1. Which of the following may be banned by eBay overseers?

A) Virtual dates.

B) Any over-priced products.

C) Priceless antiques.

D) Rare animals for pets.

2.Sellers have the right to refuse the deal if the offer is lower tban__________________.

A) the minimum starting bid

B) the reserve price

C) the average market price

D) the wholesale cost

3.PayPal and BidPay are special names for_____________________.

A) money orders

B) cashier's checks

C) personal checks

D) electronic payment services

4.On eBay, you buy or sell an item at______________________.

A) My Account

B) My Market

C) My Store

D) My eBay

5.At present, each of eBay's server is equipped with_______________microprocessors.

A) 200

B) about 50

C) 6 to 12

D) 20

6.When you click on a listing on the eBay Web site,your computer first com municates to______________.

A) search servers

B) Web servers

C) application servers

D) storage servers

7.A recipe is not considered tangible item if________________.

A) it is delivered later than the contracted time

B) it never arrives at your place

C) it is delivered to the buyer through e-mail

D) it costs less than the market price

8.Sellers may contact eBay and apply for an Unpaid Item dispute against__________________.

9.Many sellers tend to refuse personal checks for fear of___________________.

10.During the dispute process between the seller and the buyer, eBay plays the role of_____________.

答案详解

1.[A][定位]根据题干中的eBay overseers定位至首段末句。

解析：在原文该句末明确提到，此处是唯一提到overseers的地方，其他选项均来提及，很明显，本题答案为A。

2.[B][定位]本题题干的题眼不明显，根据选项关键词bid，price，cost等在原文查找与“出价”有关的细节，由此定位至第1个小标题eBay Basics部分的第2段笫3句。

解析：题干中的have the right to refuse the deal是原文该句doesn’t have to part with the item的近义改写，因此答案为B。

3.[D][定位]根据题干中的PayPal和BidPay定位至第1个小标题eBay Basics部分的第3段首句。

解析：原文该句末的electronic payment services like PayPal and BidPay表明PayPal和BidPay属于electronic payment services，因此本题应选D。

4.[D][定位]根据题干中的buy or sell及选项定位至第1个小标题eBay Basics部分的末段。

解析：本题的题干题眼不明显，应从选项入手，因为这些选项都是专有名词，在原文应该比较显眼。逐一查找选项就可发现只有D在第1个小标题下末段提及，其他选项均未提及。

5.[C][定位]根据题干中的server和microprocessors定位至第2个小标题eBay Infrastructure部分的第3段第3句。

解析：本题除了可根据题干的题眼定位原文找到答案外，还可查找与选项数字相关的内容，这些数字集中在第2个小标题下第2、3段，这样，查找到C的时候就可发现这一组数字为正确答案。

6.[B][定位]根据题干中的listing和Web site定位至第2个小标题eBay Infrastructure部分的末段首句。

解析：原文该句提到了多个server，还有多个套叠的定语从句，但是根据题干中的first可以迅速选择B，因为这是在原文中首先提到的server。

7.[C][定位]根据题干中的recipe和tangible定位至第3个小标题Using eBay：Security部分的首段第2句。

解析：根据题眼定位后，可知只有C在原文提及，其他选项都属于无中生有。

8.[non-paying bidders]

[定位]根据题干中的Unpaid Item dispute定位至第3个小标题Using eBay: Security部分的次标题Buyer Fraud下首段第3句。

解析：空白处应为名词（词组）。本题要求查找申请Unpaid Item dispute的用处，原文句中的deal with... by filing an Unpaid Item dispute表明卖方以此对付那些不付款的投标者，因此deal with后的宾语non-paying bidders为本题答案。

9.[bounced checks]

[定位]根据题干中的personal checks定位至第3个小标题Using eBay: Security部分的次标题Buyer Fraud下末段末句。
解析：空白处应为名词（词组）。只要在原文找到this reason的所指，就能顺利解决本题。根据该段的主要内容和末句的主语可以推断this reason指的就是bounced checks，这就是本题答案。

10.[middleman]

[定位]根据题干中的dispute process定位至全文末段倒数第2句。

解析：空白处应为名词（词组）。题目中的plays the role of与原文中的act as为同义词，加上题目中的between the seller and buyer和原文一致，不难判断本题答案应为原文act as后的middleman。