E-COMMERCE

E-commerce is definitely booming. Some firms boast that up to 40% of

their sales are electronic, and several big companies are turning a (1)
____________ profit and, buoyed by a solid reputation in the
marketplace, branching (2) _____________ into every imaginable
realm. Tight security for on-line sales keeps fraud to a (3)
_______________, helping to ensure consumer confidence.

So why do we still want to talk to a live human being when we buy

something? Last week I had to book a plane ticket which cost a
month’s salary and, although I’d spent hours combing the Internet for
deals, I couldn’t (4) ______________ myself to actually purchase my
ticket on-line. I could only (5) _________ my credit card number once
I’d racked up a big long-distance phone bill talking to a real person. In
the (6) _________________, my cheap ticket cost the same as it would
have if I’d bought it from my local travel agent.
(Adapted from BALANCE : READING AND VOCABULARY)
1. A. clean B. tidy C. neat D. fresh
2. A. off B. away C. out D. around
3. A. fraction B. minimum C. smidgen D. trifle
4. A. get B. push C. bring D. make
5. A. hand out B. part with C. give away D. share out
6. A. event B. case C. end D. way