WiththeWorldCupalwaysheldinthe-优题课

What is the first thing you notice when you walk into a shop? The products displayed (展示) at the entrance? Or the soft background music?
But have you ever notice the smell? Unless it is bad, the answer is likely to be no. But while a shop’s scent may not be outstanding compared with sights and sounds, it is certainly there. And it is providing to be an increasing powerful tool in encouraging people to purchase.
A brand store has become famous for its distinctive scent which floats through the fairly dark hall and out to the entrance, via scent machines. A smell may be attractive but it may not just be used for freshening air. One sports goods company once reported that when it first introduced scent into its stores, customers’ intension to purchase increased by 80 percent.
When it comes to the best shopping streets in Pairs, scent is just as important to a brand’s success as the quality of its window displays and goods on sales. That is mainly because shopping is a very different experience to what it used to be.
Some years ago, the focus for brand name shopping was on a few people with sales assistants’ disproving attitude and don’t-touch-what-you-can’t-afford displays. Now the rise of electronic commerce (e-commerce) has opened up famous brands to a wider audience. But while e-shops can use sights and sounds, only bricks-and-mortar stores (实体店) can offer a full experience from the minute customers step through the door to the moment they leave. Another brand store seeks to be much more than a shop, but rather a destination. And scent is just one way to achieve this.
Now a famous store uses complex man-made smell to make sure that the soft scent of baby powder floats through the kid department, and coconut (椰子) scent in the swimsuit section. A department store has even opened a new lab, inviting customers on a journey into the store’s windows to smell books, pots and drawers, in search of their perfect scent.
According to the passage, what is an increasingly powerful tool in the success of some brand store?

A．Friendly assistant.	B．Unique scents.
C．Soft background music.	D．Attractive window display.

E-shops are mentioned in the passage to ______.

A．show the advantages of brick-and-mortar stores

B．urge shop assistants to change their attitude

C．push stores to use sights and sounds

D．introduce the rise of e-commerce

The underlined word “destination” in Paragraph 5 means ______.

A．a platform that exhibits goods

B．a spot where travelers like to stay

C．a place where customers love to go

D．a target that a store expects to meet

The main purpose of the passage is to ______.

A．compare and evaluate	B．examine and assess
C．argue and discuss	D．inform and explain

When I told my father that I was moving to Des Moines, Iowa, he told me about the only time he had been there. It was in the 1930s, when he was an editor of the literary magazine of Southern Methodist University（SMU）in Dallas, Texas. He also worked as a professor at SMU, and there was a girl student in his class who suffered from a serious back disease. She couldn’t afford the operation because her family was poor.
Her mother ran a boardinghouse in Galveston, a seaside town near Houston, Texas. She was cleaning out the attic（阁楼）one day when she came across an old dusty manuscript（手稿）. On its top page were the words, “By O. Henry”. It was a nice story, and she sent it to her daughter at SMU, who showed it to my father. My father had never read the story before, but it sounded like O. Henry, and he knew that O. Henry had once lived in Houston. So it was possible that the famous author had gone to the beach and stayed in the Galveston boardinghouse, and had written the story there and left the manuscript behind by accident. My father visited an O. Henry expert at Columbia University in New York, who authenticated the story as O. Henry’s.
My father then set out to sell it. Eventfully, he found himself in Des Moines, meeting with Gardner Cowles, a top editor at the Des Moines Register. Cowles loves the story and bought it on the spot. My father took the money to the girl. It was just enough for her to have the operation she so desperately needed.
My father never told me what the O. Henry story was about. But I doubt that it could have been better than his own story.
Who found the O. Henry’s manuscript?

A．The girl’s mother.	B．The author’s father.
C．The girl.	D．The author.

Which of the following might explain the fact that the manuscript was found in the attic?

A．O. Henry once worked in Houston.

B．O. Henry once stayed in Galveston.

C．O. Henry once moved to Des Moines.

D．O. Henry once taught at SMU.

The underlined word “authenticated” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.

A．named	B．treated
C．proved	D．described

According to the text, why did the author’s father go to Des Moines?

A．To sell the O. Henry story.

B．To meet the author himself.

C．To talk with the O. Henry expert.

D．To give money to the girl.

Since the end of World War I(WWI) in 1918, Canadians, and millions of others around the world have paused at the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month to honour the sacrifice our soldiers have made in different ways, fighting for the freedoms that we all enjoy today.
Known as Remembrance Day, the day originated as a tribute to the soldiers of WWI, a dark period for our young country, which claimed the lives of over 60,000 military personnel and civilians and over 16 million dead worldwide. As there are no more surviving soldiers of WWI, today we rely on the wisdom and words of those soldiers who fought in the wars that followed and this day now also recognizes their heroic contribution. They tell us to always remember what those brave souls fought for, and all they ask in return is that we never forget.
That’s why we wear the red poppy(罂粟花); that’s why when we see a soldier in uniform we should stop him or her and say “Thank you”; that’s why we take a pause from our busy lives for two short minutes today to honor that request. Yet this message is fading away, year after year. Take for example the terrible decision to allow parents to excuse students from Remembrance Day ceremonies at school. Not only is this disrespectful, it distances the student from his or her classmates.
It is difficult to understand why any Canadian parent would want to remove their child from the time-honored tradition of reading the poem in Flanders Fields, while a wreath of poppies is laid. It is more important than ever to teach school-aged children about our history, no matter how violent it was. Sheltering them from the realities of war is a great disservice. Understanding why conflicts happened, or happen today can help shape choices and decisions they make as adults.
Of course, because we live in a free society, we cannot force an individual to do something. It is unfortunate, but some parents now have their child “opt-out” of the services. These people should be reminded they are free to make such choices only because of the men and women the rest of us are remembering.
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a Remembrance Day activity today?

A．Stopping at 11a.m. to remember the war dead.

B．Listening to stories told by WWI soldiers.

C．Wearing a red poppy to show respect.

D．Showing gratitude to soldiers in uniform.

What can we learn from the passage?

A．War history is too violent for school children

B．The writer was once a soldier in the Canadian army

C．Few students are willing to take part in Remembrance Day ceremonies.

D．More parents are keeping their children away from frightening war stories.

The underlined word “It” in the last paragraph probably refers to_______.

A．the death of so many soldiers in wars

B．the fact that there were so many wars after WWI.

C．people’s ungratefulness for the freedom they have.

D．removing children from Remembrance Day events.

The writer believes that ______.

A．the sacrifice of the soldiers should always be remembered.

B．Remembrance Day is becoming less important for soldiers.

C．school no longer think Remembrance Day is necessary.

D．people should be forced to learn about the realities of war.

A newly-published study has shown that loneliness can spread from one person to another, like a disease. Researchers used information from the Framingham Study, which began in 1948. The Framingham Study gathers information about physical and mental health, personal behavior and diet. At first, the study involved about 5,000 people in the American state of Massachusetts. Now, more than 12,000 individuals are taking part.
Information from the Framingham Study showed earlier that happiness can spread from person to person. So can behaviors like littering and the ability to stop smoking.
University of Chicago psychologist John Cacioppo led the recent study. He and other researchers attempted to show how often people felt lonely. They found that the feeling of loneliness spread through social groups.
Having a social connection with a lonely person increased the chances that another individual would feel lonely. In fact, a friend of a lonely person was 52% more likely to develop feelings of loneliness. A friend of that person was 25% more likely. The researchers say this shows that a person could indirectly be affected by someone’s loneliness.
The effect was strongest among friends. Neighbors were the second most affected group. The effect was weaker on husbands and wives, and brothers and sisters. The researchers also found that loneliness spread more easily among women than men.
The New York Times newspaper reports that, on average, people experience feelings of loneliness about 48 days a year. It also found that every additional friend can decrease loneliness by about five percent, or two and a half fewer lonely days.
Loneliness has been linked to health problems like depression and sleeping difficulties. The researchers believe that knowing the causes of loneliness could help in reducing it.
The study suggests that people can take steps to stop the spread of loneliness. They can do this by helping individuals they know who may be experiencing loneliness. The result can be helpful to the whole social group.
What is TRUE about the Framingham Study?

A．It was only conducted in 1948.

B．It involves more than 12,000 participants.

C．It was led by John Cacioppo.

D．It showed that any behavior could spread.

Which statement about the spread of loneliness is true?

A．The spreading effect was the second strongest among friends.

B．No spreading effect was found on husbands and wives.

C．Women are more likely to be affected than men.

D．Brothers are more easily affected than neighbors.

What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Actions should be taken to help lonely people.

B．People feel lonely for many reasons.

C．Ways to fight against loneliness.

D．Lonely people can affect others.

Ridgewood is a small, quiet town 20 miles from Manhattan. It is a typical suburban town, perfect for raising children away from the fast pace of the city. However, some Ridgewood kids feel as upset as if they were on the city’s busy streets. In addition to hours of homework, Ridgewood’s children are occupied with afterschool activities — from swimming to piano to religious classes.
Out of desperation one day, the town decided to schedule another activity. This one was called “Ridgewood Family Night — Ready, Set, Relax!” Instead of schedules filled with sports, music, or overtime at the office, some of the town’s 25,000 residents decided to take the night off and stay home. For a few months before Family Night, a committee of volunteers worked hard to spread the word. Younger students took “Save the Date for Me” leaflets home to their parents. The mayor issued a statement, and schools and clubs agreed to cancel homework and meetings so families could relax and be together.
The tension between a hope for a more relaxed lifestyle and the knowledge that the benchmark for success has been raised in recent years weighs heavily on the minds of the townspeople. Some parents like to recall a different kind of childhood, one without so many scheduled afterschool activities. However, these same parents feel obliged to make sure their children are prepared to survive in today’s high-pressure work environment. They are afraid that any gap in their children’s physical or intellectual development might mean they won’t be admitted to the “right” universities and won’t succeed in a more and more competitive world.
Nevertheless, it seems that Family Night worked, at least to a point. Cars moved easily around Ridgewood’s normally busy downtown streets, and stores and restaurants saw a drop in business. Some families ate supper together for the first time in months.
Initially, there was great hope of taking back their lives. But sadly, few families believe that one night will change their lives. Many are sure that they will fall back into the habit of over-scheduling their children to be overachieving adults.
The writer describes Ridgewood as a town where ________.

A．residents take little notice of education

B．children are stressful and over expected

C．parents are concerned about children’s safety

D．children lead a life of relaxed, ordinary rhythms

According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about the Family Night?

A．Schools assigned no homework.

B．Fewer people ate in the restaurants.

C．The streets were less crowded.

D．People enjoyed meeting each other.

According to the passage, the parents in Ridgewood ________.

A．have conflicting desires about what experiences to offer their children

B．are happy with the lifestyle they have chosen for themselves and the children

C．believe that it is their duty to make a change for the stressful life style

D．are worried about their children’s lacking of big ambition

We may get the conclusion from the passage that ________.

A．the concept of Family Night will become a regular part of life in Ridgewood

B．Ridgewood people believe the Family Night will change their way of living

C．Family Night is not as popular as people have originally thought

D．schools are worried about students being given too much free time

A．$ 1,600,000	B．$ 2,500,000
C．$500,000	D．$ 2,200,000