In the late 20th century, information has acquired two major utilitarian connotations. On

the one hand, it is considered an economic resource, somewhat on par with other resources such as labour, material, and capital. This view stems from evidence that the possession, manipulation, and use of information can increase the cost-effectiveness of many physical and cognitive processes. The rise in information-processing activities in industrial manufacturing as well as in human problem solving has been remarkable. Analysis of one of the three traditional divisions of the economy, the service sector, shows a sharp increase in information-intensive activities since the beginning of the 20th century. By 1975 these activities accounted for half of the labour force of the United States, giving rise to the so-called information society.

As an individual and societal resource, information has some interesting characteristics that separate it from the traditional notions of economic resources. Unlike other resources, information is expansive, with limits apparently imposed only by time and human cognitive capabilities. Its expansiveness is attributable to the following: (1) it is naturally diffusive; (2) it reproduces rather than being consumed through use; and (3) it can' be shared only, not exchanged in transactions. At the same time, information is compressible, both syntactically and semantically.

The second perception of information is that it is an economic commodity, which helps to stimulate the worldwide growth of a new segment of national economies-the information service sector. Taking advantage of the properties of information and building on the perception of its individual and societal utility and value, this sector provides a broad range of information products and services. By 1992 the market share of the U.S. information service sector had grown to about $ 25 billion. This was equivalent to about one-seventh of the country's computer market, which, in turn, represented roughly 40 percent of the global market in computers in that year. However, the probable convergence of computers and television (which constitutes a market share 100 times larger than computers) and its impact on information services, entertainment, and education are likely to restructure the respective market shares of the information industry before the onset of the 21st century.

The first paragraph is mainly about ______.

A．the remarkable rise in information-processing activities

B．a sharp increase in information-intensive activities

C．information as an economic resource

D．the birth of information society