TEXT F

　　First read the following question.
　　82. The passage is mainly about___.
　　A. Christmas sales
　　B. retailing business
　　C. Internet population
　　D. online shopping

　　Now, go through TEXT F quickly and answer question 82.
　　Online shopping (网上购物) has become a major force in retailing this year with more than US$1 billion in Christmas season sales, industry analysts say. The figure for the holiday tops the total for Internet shopping in all of 1996. Online shopping for the holiday season remained just a drop in the ocean of the estimated US$450 billion spent by US consumers. But the figure is growing rapidly. International Data Corporation, a market research group, predicts the World Wide Web (万维网) population will reach almost 100 million by 1998 and that online commerce will grow to more than US$20 billion.