单项选择题

A market is commonly thought of as a place where commodities are bought and sold. Thus fruit and vegetables are sold wholesale at Covent Garden Market and meat is sold wholesale at Smithfield Market. But there are markets for things (21) commodities, in the usual sense. There are (22) estate markets, foreign exchange markets, labor markets, short-term capital markets, and so on; there may be a market for anything which has a price. And there may be no particular place (23) dealings are confined. Buyers and sellers may be (24) over the whole world and instead of actually meeting together in a market-place they may deal with one another (25) telephone, telegram, cable or letter. (26) dealings are (27) to a particular place, the dealers may consist wholly or in part of agents (28) instructions from clients far away. Thus agents buy meat at Smithfield (29) retail butchers all over England; and (30) on the London Stock Exchange buy and sell (31) on instructions from clients all over the world. We must therefore define a market (32) any area over which buyers and sellers are (33) such close touch with one another, either directly or (34) dealers, that the prices (35) in one part of the market affect the prices paid in other parts. 　　Modem means of communication are so rapid that a buyer can discover (36) asking, and can accept it if he wishes, (37) he may be thousands of miles away. Thus the market for anything is (38) . the whole world. But in fact things have, normally, only a local or national market. 　　This may be because nearly the whole demand is concentrated (39) one locality. These special local demands, (40) , are of quite minor importance. The main reason why many things do not have a world market is that they are costly or difficult to transport.