Alibaba started taking the lead in China, simply enough, by connecting big Chinese manufacturers(制造商)with big buyers across the world. Its business-to-business site, Alibaba.com allowed business to buy almost everything. Alibaba’s advantage wasn’t hard to identify: size. Alibaba is just big, even by Chinese standards. Its marketplaces attract 231 million active buyers, 8 million sellers, 11.3 billion orders a year—and Alibaba is just the middleman. It encourages people to use its markets—not charging small sellers a percentage of the sale.
If you want a quick look into the influence of Alibaba on daily Chinese life, take my experience. I moved to Beijing almost a year ago and quickly got tired of visiting small stores across the crowded, polluted city of 20 million people in search of new electronics, bathroom furnishings, and anything else my wife wanted. “You’re looking for what exactly? Why not try it? ” my Chinese teacher asked me one day. With that, my wonderful new relationship with Alibaba began.
Alibaba’s original business-to-business model now is secondary to consumer buying. Chinese retail（零售）buying makes up 80% of Alibaba’s profit, and leading that group is Taobao, with 800 million items for sale and the most unbelievable selection of things you’ll ever find. TMall.com is Alibaba’s other big site, where you can find brand name goods from Nike and Unilever near the lowest prices.
What I have a hard time explaining to friends and family back in the U.S. is how China has gone beyond traditional shopping—big-box retailers especially —in favor of online purchases on Taobao and a few other sites. In smaller towns than Beijing, where big retailers have not yet traveled, shopping online is shopping, and shopping is Taobao.
I have a list of some of my recent purchases on Taobao for a sense of how extensive the marketplace is. Almost everything arrived a day or two after ordering with free shipping. I’m not even a big buyer, because I need friends to help me search the Chinese-language site. When I was searching my purchase history on my Chinese teacher’s iPad, which helps me buy goods, I looked through with great difficulty about 10 of her purchases for every one of mine.Alibaba’s advantage mainly lies in ___________.
| A．its big size |
| B．its business-to-business service |
| C．its not charging small sellers |
| D．its low price |
What can we learn from the underlined sentence in the passage?
| A．Alibaba is of middle size among all the online sites |
| B．Alibaba will continue to develop. |
| C．Alibaba stands out as the best online site. |
| D．Alibaba acts as a bridge between the buyers and sellers. |
What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．a new store | B．Alibaba |
| C．a business | D．a foreign website |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The author’s Chinese teacher is also an online purchase lover. |
| B．Taobao has no obvious advantage over other similar online sites. |
| C．Alibaba’s business-to-business service earns more money than retail now. |
| D．TMall.com provides more profit than Taobao. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Shopping online is TaoBao. |
| B．The influence of shopping online goes beyond traditional shopping. |
| C．Alibaba greatly influences people’s daily purchase in China. |
| D．How the author purchases online in China. |
They already guide blind and disabled people; now dogs are to be trained to help people with dementia（痴呆） or Alzheimer's．Alzheimer's can make people confuse night and day or forget basic things such as washing or drinking enough water．
The dogs will be trained to respond to sound triggers（触发器） in the home that cause them to perform tasks．The duties will include reminding their owners to take medicine, as well as encouraging them to eat, drink and sleep regularly．
The idea was developed by design students at the Glasgow School of Art and will now be put into practice by Alzheimer's Scotland and Dogs for the Disabled．The first dogs will be distributed to four Scottish couples, where one of the partners is in the early stages of dementia．Some 670,000 people in Britain have dementia and one in three over 65s will develop the condition．By 2021 this is expected to rise to one million．
Joyce Gray of Alzheimer's Scotland said, "People in the early stages of dementia are still able to live a relatively normal life, and dogs help to maintain routine．" Another advantage of using the pets as companions is that dogs can give them a sense of silent support and companionship．Ms Gray said, "The evidence is that people may forget familiar faces but not pets．It's such a strong bond that people often remember them longest．People don't need to communicate verbally （言语地） but they can still interact．You can have a speechless bond．"
Helen McCain, director of Dogs for the Disabled, said, "People with dementia often forget to take the medicine．If a dog presents them with a bag with pills in it there's a greater chance of them taking it．The dog would also encourage the owner to take them out for walks, ensuring they keep exercising and interacting with other people．"In Britain people with dementia _ _．
| A．are likely to increase in number |
| B．are mostly over 65 years old |
| C．will be trained to respond to sound triggers |
| D．will be able to live a relatively normal life |
The dogs are taught to perform tasks by -．
| A．making some sound signals |
| B．communicating with the patients |
| C．reminding the patients by barking |
| D．reacting to some sound triggers |
What does the underlined word "them" in Paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．Faces． | B．Triggers． | C．Pets． | D．Companions． |
What is mainly talked about in the passage?
| A．The idea of dementia dogs was developed by students． |
| B．Dogs are trained to assist Alzheimer's patients． |
| C．British people with Alzheimer's are in poor condition． |
| D．The dementia dogs perform most duties of a doctor． |
Dining Experiences at Belmond Grand Hotel Europe
Delicious cuisine is paired with excellent musical entertainment at Belmond Grand Hotel Europe．
TCHAIKOVSKY NIGHT
Every Friday, dine in Lobby Bar and be treated to a special musical accompaniment．
Enjoy timeless classics from the great Russian composer Tchaikovsky, performed by local dancers and a
chamber orchestra．
Time: 7 pm - 10 pm
Price: RUB 2, 000 per adult
RUSSIAN AFTERNOON TEA
Take a seat in the Mezzanine Cafe at a table laid out with Imperial Porcelain china．Feast on Borodinsky
bread sandwiches with various fillings, hot smoked trout（鳟鱼）, delightful mini pirozhki and sweets such
as vatrushkas, all accompanied by good, strong tea and light music．
Available daily 2 pm - 6 pm, priced at 1800 RUB for two．
TAITTINGER CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH
Enjoy a wide variety of international dishes and unlimited drinks accompanied by live jazz at L'Europe
Restaurant every Sunday．A supervised playroom for children is also available．
Time: I pm - 4:30 pm
Price: RUB 4, 900 per adult; Children': up t0 7 - free / 7 t0 15 - RUBI, 800 / above 16 - full price
VODKA EXPERIENCE
Available in the Caviar Bar, let our seasoned chef take you through caviar and vodka pairings．
You can also take part in cocktail demonstrations, or enjoy vodka-themed treatments at the beauty salon．
Available daily 4 pm - 11 pm, priced at RUB 3, 000 for one bottle．A couple with twins aged 5 dining at L'Europe Restaurant should pay at least ．
| A．RUB 14, 400 | B．RUB 19, 600 |
| C．RUB 9, 800 | D．RUB 3, 600 |
Which of the following will be your best choice, if you like classical music?
| A．Lobby Bar． | B．The Mezzanine Caf6． |
| C．Caviar Bar． | D．L'Europe Restaurant． |
Where does this passage probably come from?
| A．A science fiction． | B．A hotel brochure． |
| C．A recipe book． | D．A geography textbook． |
On countless mornings over the past year, I stood with my son, James, in our driveway, watching our neighbor hurry off to kindergarten．My wife and I wanted to give James the best education, but that meant we'd have to change our jobs and spend less time with our kid．I asked myself, "Would this trade-off be worth it?" When I look at the research on child development, I think it might not．Where our kids go to school might matter less than most American parents think．
Social scientists have long tried to determine why some children grow up to be successful．In a 2001 study, Greg Duncan, a professor of education at the University of California, measured the influence that the people in a child's life have on how well the child does in school．Duncan and his team found almost no relationship between how students did on the test and whom they sat beside in class, whom they hung out with after school and who lived in their block．The only meaningful link they found was between siblings （兄弟姐妹） and twins in particular．
For a long time, scholars thought that a family's income heavily affected how well kids did in life．But that might not be the case．When Susan Mayer at the University of Chicago looked at the relationship between family income and lifetime achievement, she ran a series of experiments to measure it, finding such outcomes weren't caused by income．She argued that the things that make a difference are relatively inexpensive: the number of books a kid has or how often his family goes to museums．
Lareau, another scholar began one of the most in-depth observations of American parenting．He concluded that success is much more related to the amount of time parents spend with their children．He said "Many parents I interviewed are anxious about their children's futures．But they have exaggerated（夸大） the sense of the risks involved if they don't give their children 'the best' of everything．"
So at last, we decided to leave things as it were．More time with our kid is the best we can provide．The first paragraph is intended to _．
| A．introduce the topic of the passage |
| B．confirm the result of a research |
| C．stress the importance of good education |
| D．support a research on child development |
From the passage we know that most American parents _．
| A．spend a lot of time with their children |
| B．like to buy a variety of books for their children |
| C．think children's achievement largely depends on schools |
| D．believe their income cannot afford children's education |
Who believes children's brothers and sisters may influence their academic performance?
| A．Lareau． | B．Greg Duncan． | C．Susan Mayer． | D．James． |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Parents' time matters to children's future． |
| B．School education determines children's future． |
| C．Family income counts to children's achievements． |
| D．Less education means more risks for children's success． |
LaMar Baylor, an American performer in the Broadway musical, spends most of his time in New York City．But since 2011, he has also spent weeks in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda．There, he teaches dance to boys who live on the street．His teaching is part of an effort by the Rebecca Davis Dance Company．The project helps young people learn more about dance and learn how to behave in a classroom environment．
Rebecca Davis and LaMar Baylor teach ballet to street children in Kigali, Rwanda．The children have lost all of their families．Some have been in prison; others have sold their bodies for sex．Dance classes provide the children with structured learning and self-expression that they've never had before．
Rebecca Davis is the founder and director of the dance company．She got the idea for the project after visiting Rwanda in 2008．There she met a large number of street children who were dancing, and she thought that dance could be used to get them off the street and into a safe place．She believes that learning to dance is a step toward education．She says children can take classes in information and technology after they have learned to attend classes and follow directions．
Boys who have done best in the classes win scholarships and are sent to the Sunrise Boarding School．About 30 boys have won this kind of financial aid．
As for LaMar Baylor, he knows from his own experience how dance can lead to a better life．He is from Camden, New Jersey．Camden has sometimes been called America's poorest and most dangerous city．He now thanks dancing for saving his life．
The Rwanda program is the largest one set up by the Rebecca Davis Dance Company, and Ms．Davis has also set up dance programs in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Guinea．About 2,000 children in the three countries have taken part in the project since it was begun in 2010．The dance project aims to____．
| A．give the street children parental care |
| B．provide scholarship for the street children |
| C．help the street children receive some education |
| D．keep the street children in good health |
What do we learn about the street children from the passage?
| A．All of them can be sent to the Sunrise Boarding School． |
| B．It may be hard for them to adapt to classroom rules at first． |
| C．They only take classes in dancing． |
| D．Many of them have been in prison． |
What LaMar Baylor and the street children in the project have in common is that _．
| A．they all benefit from dancing |
| B．they borrowed money from the project |
| C．they learn to express themselves in dance class |
| D．they were homeless at one time |
We can infer from the last paragraph that -．
| A．the dance project was started in Guinea |
| B．the Rwanda program is the first program by Rebecca Davis |
| C．the Rwanda program has attracted about 2,000 children |
| D．the dance project gains popularity and grows quickly |
According to Beth Anaclerio, an Evaston mother of two, ages 4 and 18 months, a child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be a hassle; it can be a basket of fun, “Having a party at home usually requires a lot of running around on the part of the parents, and often the birthday boy or girl gets lost in wild excitement．But it really doesn’t have to be that way,” said Anaclerio．Last summer, Anaclerio and her friend Jill Carlisle, a Northbrook mother of a 2-year-old, founded a home party-planning business called “A Party in a Basket．” Their goal is to help parents and children share in the fun part of party planning, like choosing the subject or making a cake, while they take care of everything．
Drawing on their experiences as mothers, they have created 10 ready-to-use, home party packages．Everything a family needs to plan a party, except the cake and ice cream, is delivered to the home in a large basket．
“Our parties are aimed for children 2 to 10,” Anaclerio said, “and they’re very interactive（互动） and creative in that they build a sense of drama based on a subject．For example, at the Soda Shoppe party the guests become waiters and waitresses and build wonderful ice cream creations．”
The standard $200 package for eight children includes a basket filled with invitations, gifts, games and prizes, paper goods, a party planner and the like．For more information, call Anaclerio at 708-864-6584 or Carlisle at 708-205-9141．The main purpose of writing this text is _____．
| A．to share information about party planning |
| B．to introduce the joys of a birthday party |
| C．to sell a service |
| D．to announce a business plan |
The most important idea behind the kind of party planning described here is that _____．
| A．it brings parents and children closer together |
| B．guests play a part in the preparation of a party |
| C．parents are spared the trouble of sending invitations |
| D．it provides a subject of conversation |
What does the underlined word “hassle” probably mean?
| A．a party designed by specialists． |
| B．a plan requiring careful thought． |
| C．a demand made by guests． |
| D．a situation causing difficulty or trouble． |
Which of the following is most likely to be a party planner?
A． |
B． |
C． |
D． |