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. |
【改编】We can infer from the passage____
| A．The author’s Chinese teacher is also an online purchase lover. |
| B．Taobao has no apparent advantage compared with other similar online sites. |
| C．Alibaba’s business-to-business service earns much more money than retail now. |
| D．TMall.com provides more profit than Taobao. |
【改编】The passage mainly talks about_____
| A．Alibaba has a great influence on people’s daily purchase in China. |
| B．The influence of shopping online goes beyond traditional shopping. |
| C．Shopping online is TaoBao.. |
| D．How the author purchases online in China. |
It is not unusual to see your desk-mate yawn (打呵欠) as he complains that he didn't have a good sleep the night before. Many teens don't get enough sleep because they have too much homework, which keeps them up at night. Some teens cannot sleep at night even when they want to.
Studies show that during your teenage years, the body's biological clock is reset, telling you to sleep later at night and wake up later in the morning.
But changes in the body clock aren't the only reason teens lose sleep. Lots of people have insomnia (失眠). The most common cause of insomnia is stress. But all sorts of things can lead to insomnia. These include physical discomfort, emotional troubles and even sleeping environment. It's common for everyone to have insomnia from time to time. But if it lasts for a month or more go and see a doctor.
Some people have a condition that causes stomach acid (酸) to move backward towards the chest. This produces the uncomfortable, burning feeling called heartburn. So even if the person doesn't notice the feelings of heartburn because he is sleeping, he may feel tired the next day.
Most teens have nightmares sometimes. But, if they are frequent, a person's sleep pattern can be seriously affected. The most common cause of nightmares is emotional problems, such as stress (压力) or anxiety. If you have them a lot, it's a good idea to talk to a doctor.
Doctors encourage teens to make lifestyle changes to develop good sleeping habits. You probably know that coffee can keep you awake, but did you know that playing video games or watching TV does the same?
1. The main idea of the first paragraph is ________.
A. There is a problem that teenagers can’t get enough sleep.
B. Sleeping problems have different causes.
C. Yawning is a good way to get rid of sleep.
D. Teenagers care too much for homework.
2. The Teenagers’ biological clock ________.
A. easily makes teenagers lead to insomnia
B. is the origin of their insomnia
C. provides them with plenty of time at night
D. is helpful to improve their concentration(注意力)
3. What does the writer say about “nightmares”?
A. It is nothing and shouldn’t be taken seriously.
B. It can release their stress or anxiety.
C. Emotional problems are the only way to form nightmares.
D. People will suffer from sleep if frequent.
4. Which way can help to get rid of insomnia?
A. Drinking some coffee before going to bed.
B. Playing video game or watching TV from time to time.
C. Turning to a doctor for help.
D. Eating much medicine for insomnia.
Half of all bosses say a lack of sleep makes them irritable (易怒的) and prone to(有……倾向的) shout at their staff, a study said.
One in five managers also said being kept awake at night meant they were more likely to make mistakes, the Mori poll of 1,006 people revealed(显示).
Some 48% of people aged 35 to 44 said they did not get enough sleep compared to a national average 39%.
Among that age group, people with young children and managerial (管理的) jobs were most likely to suffer.
The report, commissioned (委托) by the think tank Demos and Ikea, said the issue of sleep had been forgotten in the work / life balance debate.
Report author Charles Leadbeater said, "On any working day, a quarter of all managers in Britain are likely to be in a bad mood because they have not slept well. "
"These sleep-deprived and shouty managers with a tendency to make mistakes are responsible for millions of British workers. It’s hardly a recipe for good management. "
And Mr. Leadbeater called on the government and employers to take action.
A small loss of sleep is likely to have a big impact on people who lead stressful lives.
"Stressed out parents are already not sleeping enough. They are the people most likely to have their sleep disrupted and they are least able to recover."
Apart from children keeping their parents awake, worrying about work is the biggest cause of wakefulness at night among managers.
Women are five times more likely than men to lose sleep because their partners snore (打呼噜).
The report predicted that there was likely to be a growing market of sleep-deprived people, with an increase in "public napping".
Opportunities to take a nap at work are also likely to increase, and the report recommended that employers take their responsibility for ensuring employees were well slept more seriously.
Peter Jelkeby, marketing manager at Ikea, said the research confirmed suspicions Britons were not getting enough sleep.
And he added: "This is having a detrimental effect on our society as a whole. "
9. Which of following is true according to the text?
A. Half of the people say a lack of sleep makes them irritable.
B. 20% managers said being kept awake at night meant they were more likely to make mistakes.
C. Some 48% of people said they did not get enough sleep.
D. People with young children and managerial jobs were most likely to suffer.
10. What does the underlined word "detrimental" mean?
A 良好的. B.有害的 C.片面的 D.致命的
11. Who that suffered sleep disrupted are least able to recover?
A. The bosses. B. Managers.
C. People aged 35 to 44.D. Stressed out parents.
12. Apart from children keeping: their parents awake, ________is the biggest cause of wakefulness at night among managers.
A. worrying about work B. their partners’ snoring
C. the relationship D. working conditions
Land, unlike labor and capital, has a special feature: It is in strictly fixed supply in total. Because of this, we say that its price is demand-determined. In other words, the price of land is determined completely by what families and firms are willing to pay for it. But not all the land is the same. Some land is more valuable than other land. The value of land to a potential user may depend upon the characteristics of the land itself or upon its location.
Consider the potential uses of a piece of land in a suburb of Kansas City, Allan wants to build a clothing store in that place. He estimates that he can earn economic profits of $ 10,000 per year there because of the land’s excellent location. Bella, another person interested in buying the comer, believes that she can earn $ 35,000 in economic profits if she builds a drug store there. Clearly, Bella will be more likely to get the land.
Because location is often the key to profits, ‘landowners are frequently able to squeeze their renters. One of the most popular locations in the Boston area, for example, is Harvard Square. There are dozens of restaurants in and around the square, and most of them are full most of the time. Despite this seeming success, most Harvard Square restaurant owners are not getting rich, because they must pay very high rents for the locations of their restaurants. A large part of the restaurant’s revenues goes to rent the land.
Although the supply of land is generally perfectly fixed, the supply of land in a given use may not be so. As the population of a city grows, housing developers find themselves willing to pay more and more for land. As land becomes more valuable for development, some farmers sell out, and the supply of land that can be used for development increases.
5. What’s the difference between land and other resources?
A. Land’s supply is strictly fixed. B. The prices of other resources are lower.
C. Land can’t be used up. D. Land is more useful.
6. Which of the following can’t determine the price of a piece of land?
A. Its location. B. Its purchasers’ purpose.
C. The total amount of its supply for general use. D. Its features.
7. Which of the following is wrong according to the passage?
A. The price of a piece of land is changeable.
B. The profit of a shop is often determined by its location.
C. Most Harvard Square restaurant owners would be getting rich, if they paid lower rents for the locations of their restaurants.
D. The supply of land for development might fall down.
8. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. The Use of Land B. The Natural Resources
C. The Land Market D. The Land Development
Within fifteen years Britain and other nations should be well on with the building of huge industrial complexes (结合)for the recycling of waste. The word "rubbish" could lose its meaning because everything that goes into the dumps would be made into something useful. Even the most dangerous and unpleasant wastes would provide energy if nothing else.
The latest project is to take a city of around half a million inhabitants and discover exactly what raw materials go into it and what go out. The aim is to find out how much of these raw materials could be provided if a plant for recycling waste were built just outside the city. This plant would recycle not only metal such as steel, lead and copper, but also paper and rubber.
Another new project is being set up to discover the best ways of sorting and separating the rubbish. When this project is complete, the rubbish will be processed like this: first, it will pass through sharp metal bars which will tear open the plastic bags in which rubbish is usually packed; then it will pass through a powerful fan to separate the lightest elements from the heavy solids; after that grounders and rollers break up everything that can be broken. Finally the rubbish will pass under magnets, which will remove the bits of iron and steel; the rubber and plastic will then be sorted out in the final stage.
The first full-scale giant recycling plants are, perhaps, fifteen years away. Indeed, with the growing cost of transporting rubbish to more distant dumps, some big cities will be forced to build their own recycling plants before long.
1. The main purpose of the passage is ________.
A. to show us a future way of recycling wastes B. to tell the importance of recycling wastes
C. to warn people the danger of some wastes D. to introduce a new recycling plant
2. How many stages are there in the recycling process?
A. 3. B. 4. C. 5. D. 6.
3. What is the main reason for big cities to build their own recycling plants?
A. To deal with wastes in a better way. B. It’s a good way to gain profits.
C. It’s more economical than to dump wastes in some distant places.
D. Energy can be got at a lower price.
4. The first full-scale huge recycling plants ________.
A. have been in existence for 15 years B. takes 15 years to build
C. can’t be built until 15 years later D. will remain functioning for 15 years
The first breath-taking pictures of the Earth taken from space showed it as a solid ball covered by brown land masses and blue-green oceans. We had never seen the Earth from that distance before. To us, it appeared as though the Earth had always looked that way and always would. Scientists now know, however, that the surface of the Earth is not as permanent as we had thought.
Scientists explain that the surface of our planet is always moving. Continents moves about the Earth like huge ships at sea. They float on pieces of the Earth’s outer skin. New outer skin is created as melted rock pushed up from below the ocean floor. Old outer skin is destroyed as it rolls down into the hot area and melts again.
Only since the 1960s have scientists really began to understand that the planet Earth is a great living machine. Some experts have said this new understanding is one of the most important revolutions in scientific thought. The revolution is based on the work of scientists who study the movement of the continents—a science called plate tectonics.
The modern story of plate tectonics begins with the German scientist Alfred Wegener. Before World War One, Wegener argued that the continents had moved and were still moving. He said the idea first occurred to him when he observed that the coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. He proposed that the two continents might have been one and then split apart.
Wegener was not the first person to wonder about the shape of the continents. About 500 years ago, explorers thought about it when they made the first maps of Americas. The explorers noted the east coast of North America and South America would fit almost exactly into the west coast of Europe and South Africa. What the explorers did not do, but Wegener did, was to investigate the idea that the continents move.
4. What does the writer mainly tell us in the passage?
A. The first breath-taking pictures of the Earth taken from space.
B. Human’s recognition of the earth’s surface.
C. The German scientist Alfred Wegener.
D. The early explorers’ discovery.
5. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. We didn’t see the Earth from far away until we saw the picture taken in the space.
B. Our ancient thought that the surface of the earth is still.
C. Alfred Wegener was not the first person to investigate the idea that the continents move.
D. The coastline of India and Africa fit together.
6. The last word of the third paragraph “tectonics” mean “________”.
A. study of construction B. study of architecture
C. earth surface D. structural geology
7. What did the explorers find?
A. The coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together.
B. The coastlines of North America and Africa could fit together.
C. The east coastlines of North America and the west coast of Europe could fit together.
D. The coastlines of North America and India could fit together.