Unit 4
E-commerce
— Text A
Characteristics of E-commerce^
E-commerce
Electronic commerce, commonly known as
(electronic marketing) e-commerce or
eCommerce, consists of the buying and
selling of products or services over electronic
systems such as the Internet and other
computer networks.
Main Categories of Ecommerce
Electronic commerce that is conducted
between businesses is referred to as
business-to-business or B2B.
 Electronic commerce that is conducted
between businesses and consumers, on
the other hand, is referred to as
business-to-consumer or B2C.

Q: Can you give an example website for each category?
Key: B2B (Alibaba.com); B2C (Taobao.com)
Business applications
Some common applications related to electronic
commerce are the following:
• Email
• Enterprise content management
• Instant messaging
• Newsgroups
• Online shopping and order tracking
• Online banking
• Online office suites
• Domestic and international payment systems
• Shopping cart software
• Teleconferencing
• Electronic tickets
Enterprise Content
Management
Instant Messaging
Online Shopping
Online Shopping
Q: Can you name some famous websites for online shopping?
Online Bookstore
Amazon.com; Dangdang.com
Online Trading Platform
eBay.com; Taobao.com
Online Travel Agency
Ctrip.com; Mangocity.com
Online Supermarket
Yihaodian.com
Online Digital Store
Newegg.com.cn; 360buy.com
Domestic and international
payment systems
Shopping cart software
Teleconferencing
Electronic tickets
Basic Concepts
1. Definition of E-commerce?
—— E-commerce or electronic commerce, a subset of
e-business, is the purchasing, selling, and exchanging
of goods and services over computer networks (such
as the Internet) through which transactions or terms
of sale are performed electronically.!
2. Four main business patterns of E-commerce?
—— B2B, B2C, C2B, and C2C.
E-commerce
narrow sense
Business over computer networks
E-business
broad sense
Business over telegram/telephone
/television/broadcast/fax /internet
3. What is B2B?
—— Business-to-Business.
Business is done between two companies.
e.g. Manufacturers sell to distributors.
Wholesalers sell to retailer.
4. What is B2C?
—— Business-to-Consumer.
Business is done between companies and consumers.
e.g. Ordinary consumers can purchase a book, a
computer system, or a trip through the Internet.
E-store , online shop catalogs ,shopping cart software
e.g. Dell
5. What is C2B?
—— Consumer-to-Business.
Business is done between consumers and companies.
Procedures:
Step 1: A consumer posts his project online.
Step 2: Companies bid on the project.
Step 3: The consumer selects the company which
meets his requirements.
5. What is C2C?
—— Consumer-to-Consumer.
Business is done between two consumers.
Successful cases:
eBay’s auction service
Key words, phrases & usages
utilize vt.
— (formal )to use something for a particular purpose
Example 1:
Scientists are trying to find more efficient ways of
utilizing solar energy.
Example 2:
我们应充分利用这一机遇
We should utilize this chance
Key words, phrases & usages
advent
— 1) Advent The period of four weeks before Christmas
in the Christian religion (基督教的)降临节
Example:
An Advent calendar is a special calendar which is used
to count or celebrate the days of Advent in anticipation of
Christmas.
— 2) The advent of something is the fact of it starting or
coming into existence.
Example:
The advent of the computer changed people's life greatly .
Key words, phrases & usages
literally
—virtually
Example:
The city was literally destroyed
Translate:
He translated the passage literally.
Idioms usually cannot be translated literally in
another language
literacy &illiteracy
Key words, phrases & usages
bid (bid, bid, bidding)
— 1) to offer to do work or provide services for a specific
price, in competition with other offers bid for/on sth.
Example:
Four companies were invited to bid for the contract.
Invite public bidding 招标
— 2) to offer to pay a particular price for goods,
especially in an auction
bid + money + for sth.
Example:
Jill bid $200,000 for an antique desk.
Advent
Calendar
Advent
Calendar
Key words, phrases & usages
empower
— give power or authority to
Example:
The new law empowered the police to search private
houses
Translate:
国会被授权征税。
Congress is empowered to levy taxes.
Key words, phrases & usages
renew vt.
— to arrange for an agreement or official document to
continue for a further period of time
Example:
renew sb's contract/license/membership
I need to renew my passport this year.
—
to begin doing something again after a period of not
doing it
Local people have renewed their efforts to save the school
Key words, phrases & usages
substantial
— large in amount or number
Example:
The document requires substantial changes
I care more about the spiritual life than the substantial
life.
— having substance or capable of being treated as fact;
not imaginary; real; material
Key words, phrases & usages
deploy
—organize people or things, especially soldiers, military
equipment etc. so that they are in the right place and
ready to be used
Example:
The U.S. plans to deploy ground and air forces in
Europe and Asia, and naval forces worldwide.
Iraq could deploy chemical and biological weapons
within 45 minutes.
Translate:
With all of ATM's sophistication, it's no wonder that
people want to deploy it.
由于ATM具有种种先进性，人们希望部署它就不足为奇了。
Key words, phrases & usages
facilitate
— to make it easier for a process or activity to happen
Example:
Modern devices have greatly facilitated housework.
Zip codes are used to facilitate mail service.
TOMCAST, a free desktop software device, facilitates
you to access Web information.
Translate:
When the goods are ready for shipment, pls send us
shipping advice by FAX to facilitate us to make insurance
arrangement.
以便我们…
Key words, phrases & usages
forgo
— cease to hold or adhere to
Example 1:
She decided to forgo the party and prepare for the
English exam
Do not, for one repulse, forgo the purpose that you
resolved to effort
不要只因一次挫败，就放弃你原来决心想达到的目的
Example 2:
玛丽决定放弃看电影而去作她的功课
Mary decided to forgo the movies and do her lessons
Key words, phrases & usages
propel
— to move, drive, or push something forward
Example 1:
The Long March II-F carrier rocket propelling the
Shenzhou VII spacecraft spectacularly blasts off at the
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s
Gansu Province last night.
Example 2:
His addiction to drugs propelled him towards a life of
crime.
propeller/-or
Unit 4
E-commerce
— Text B
M-commerce
1. A Comparison between The Definitions of
m-commerce
&
the traditional
e-commerce
next-generation
e-commerce
first-generation
e-commerce
wireless
e-commerce
wireline
e-commerce
through wireless
handheld devices
need to find a
place to plug in
(MP/PDA)
2. What is the technology behind m-commerce?
WAP — Wireless Application Protocol
3.What is a mobile phone equipped with
Web-ready micro-browser called?
WAP-enabled smart phones
Key words, phrases & usages
stride
— 1) [n.] a long step;
[v.] walk with long steps
Example:
Translate:
He
up with her.
Helengthened
was out of his
the stride
room to
inkeep
two strides.
“Thank you,” she said coldly, and strode away.
— 2) rapid progress in the development of something
Example:
We’ve made great/giant/major strides in reducing
crime in the city.
Similar phrase:
China’s science and technology are advancing by
leaps and bounds.
Key words, phrases & usages
pave the way for …
— to make a later event more likely to happen by
producing the right conditions
Example:
Galileo’s achievements paved the way for Newton’s
scientific discoveries.
The economic policy paved the way for industrial
expansion.
Key words, phrases & usages
beat/bang the drum for
— to support something strongly
Example:
The manager was out to bang the drum for the
company’s new products.
Goodman rushed back to L.A. to beat the drum for
his new movie.
Key words, phrases & usages
on the fly
— in a haste, busy with doing something else
Example:
My wife is always on the fly.
She wrote those letters on the fly.
匆匆忙忙地、忙忙碌碌地
Key words, phrases & usages
pose
— 1) sit or stand in a particular position in order to be
photographed or painted
Example:
That group of fans want their idol to pose for pictures.
— 2) pose a problem/challenge/threat/danger/risk etc.
Example:
His ill health poses serious problems for the future.
Some of the more extreme members may pose a
terrorist threat.
Key words, phrases & usages
uptake
— 1) be slow/quick on the uptake
(Informal) be slow/fast at learning or understanding things
Example:
You only have to tell Tina once; she's very quick on
the uptake .
You will have to be patient with her. She's a little slow
on the uptake .
— 2) the process of taking a substance into a system
Example:
The disease limits the uptake of nutrients into the tree.
They developed paper napkins with great uptake of
liquids.
Key words, phrases & usages
disclaimer
— [C] a statement that you are not responsible for
something, that you do not know about it etc., often used
in advertising
不承担责任/对某事不知情的声明（常用于广告中）
Example:
The diet pills include the disclaimer: “For many
dieters, weight loss is temporary.”