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 shopping. 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. |
The main aim of Environment Awareness Week is to _____．
| A．educate the public on protecting the environment |
| B．discuss global warming and other environmental problems |
| C．explain ways for producing freshwater to save the environment |
| D．learn about renewable energy sources that protect the environment |
The organizer of the event is _____．
| A．Global Gaia Network | B．Clean Energy Agency |
| C．Green Earth Foundation | D．International Environment Fund |
If you are interested in renewable energy sources, you should go to _____．
| A．Hall 1 | B．Hall 2 | C．Hall 3 | D．Hall 4 |
The "3 Rs" stand for _____．
| A．Read, Realize and Remember | B．Reduce, Reuse and Recycle |
| C．Green Earth Foundation | D．Global Gaia Network |
Which of the following statements is NOT true of the event?
| A．It will last a week and the halls will be open 11 hours a day． |
| B．You can send an email to Mrs．Daisy Soh for more information． |
| C．Each hall charges the same amount of money as the other． |
| D．Lectures in Hall 1 will be given by university students． |
The 47-year-old singer talks about the new album Symphony（交响乐） that came out of a “very dark time”, including her decision to give up trying to have children. “People have suggested I could adopt,” Brightman says. “But work is central to my life now. And so I am going to put it to one side. After a while not having children becomes the norm and perhaps that might sound alarming, to parents especially, but I have never known anything different. I’m not hurt by not having children. My life and career are incredibly rich.”
Talking about growing up in a large family in Berkhamsted (father a property developer who later committed suicide), she says: “I was gifted as a child, and very musical. I seemed to be good at anything to do with the arts. At 5，I understood the music I was dancing to and had an eye for costume.” She first appeared in a West End musical at 11 and hated boarding school.
Brightman led the saucy dance troupe（辣妹三人舞） Hot Gossip and had her first hit with I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper in 1978. At 18 she married a music manager called Andrew Graham Stewart. “I was probably in love but I can’t remember. Girls change such a lot between 18 and 22. It didn’t really work out.” In 1981 she was spotted by Lloyd Webber. She became his leading lady in Song and Dance, Requiem and Phantom of the Opera. They married in 1984.
Brightman says she felt hostility(敌意) “from the beginning. I haven’t tried to understand it. I’ve done very well everywhere else, especially the US, where I now live, I just accept it for what it is. The more you are away from Britain, the more you appreciate it. But I don’t miss it, although I miss my family. Our profession can be uncomfortable but I enjoy what I do. I get on with it.”The first paragraph tells us that _____.
| A．Brightman is very popular around the world except in America |
| B．Brightman’s musical style is a mixture of opera, pop and jazz |
| C．the British people don’t like her for her style of music |
| D．Brightman is much older than Andrew Lloyd Webber |
Brightman decided to give up having children because _____.
| A．she could adopt one |
| B．her life and career were unbelievably rich without children |
| C．she felt it normal not to have children |
| D．she was too busy |
The following statements are true except ______.
| A．Brightman first appeared in a West End musical at 5 |
| B．Brightman disliked life on the campus |
| C．Brightman was very gifted when she was young |
| D．The saucy dance troupe made Brightman famous |
The underlined word in the fourth paragraph probably means _____.
| A．located | B．admired | C．followed | D．found |
What does the author try to say in the last paragraph by quoting Brightman’s words?
| A．Brightman has to accept the fact that she is not liked in Britain |
| B．Brightman lives in America but she loves her own country |
| C．The British coldness towards Brightman led to her hatred to her homeland |
| D．Brightman was at a loss why she was not welcome in Britain |
One of the best-loved American writers was William Sydney Porter, or O.Henry. From 1893 he lived with his family in a house in Austin, Texas, which is now a museum. Visitors to Austin can see the house. It was saved from destruction (破坏) and turned into a museum in1934. The museum is a good way to learn about the interesting life of the American writer.
William Porter rented this house in Austin and lived there with his wife Athol and daughter Margaret for about two years. Many objects in the museum belonged to the Porters. Others did not. An important piece in the room is the original photograph over here. It was taken there in the house about 1895. The piano there goes back to the 1860s. His wife took lessons on it when she first moved to Austin.
Porter did not start his career as a successful writer. He worked at a farm, land office and bank. He also loved words and writing. The museum has a special proof of Porter’s love of language --- his dictionary. It is said that he had read every word in that dictionary.
Later William Porter was forced to leave Austin because he was charged with financial wrongdoing at the bank and lost his job. Because he was afraid of a trail (审判), he left the country secretly. But he returned because his wife was dying. After her death, he faced the trial and became a criminal. He served three and a half years in a prison in Ohio.
William Porter would keep his time in prison a secret. But there was one good thing about it. It provided him with time to write. By the time he was freed, he had published 14 stories and became well known as O.Henry.
Porter later moved to New York City and found great success there. He published over 180 stories in the last eight years of his life.O.Henry’s house in Austin has been well kept up till now so that ____.
A. Americans can explore their history
B more visitors will be attracted to Austin
C. visitors can learn about O.Henry’s life
D. it can show the way of life in the 1860sWhat do we know about the piano in the house?
| A．It was hated by Porter’s daughter. |
| B．It has a long history of about 150 years. |
| C．Porter’s wife gave music lessons on it. |
| D．Porter usually created music on it. |
How does the museum prove (证明) Porter was fond of language?
| A．With a dictionary he used. | B．With the records they keep. |
| C．Using the books they wrote. | D．Using the photograph they keep. |
Why did Porter escape from Austin?
| A．He didn’t want to lose his job. | B．He didn’t want to make trouble. |
| C．He meant to save his wife’s life. | D．He was charged with a crime. |
From the last two paragraphs we know that _______.
| A．Porter became famous suddenly |
| B．Porter spent his time in prison writing |
| C．Porter suffered a lot from his time in prison |
| D．life in prison provided what he could write for Porter |
To do for you
Baby and me
St. Benedicts Family Medical Center’s “Baby and me” classes, 11 a.m. to noon Tuesdays, at Jerome Public Library, 101 First Ave. E.
This week’s topic: story telling. The class is educational support for parents and babies. A baby scale is available each week.
Free; 324-6133
Infant (婴儿)care
Infant care class of St. Benedicts’ prepared childbirth series (系列), 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, at Jerome Public Library, 101 First Ave. E.
Topics: baby care and early parenting. The class is offered separately, or as part of the childbirth series. Mothers may register (登记) even if their babies will be born at a different hospital.
Cost is $5. Register: 732-3148.
Self defense （自我保护）
College of Southern Idaho’s Community Education Center is offering a course “Self defense,” 7-8:30 p.m. Thursdays, beginning this week to Dec. 16, in room 304 in the College of Southern Idaho gym. Bryan Matsuoka and Gary Phelps will instruct.
Learn defensive skills and the coordination (协调) of mind and body.
Cost is $105. Register: 732-6442 or communityed.csi.edu.
Fitness for seniors
South Central Public Health District is observing Fall Prevention AWARENESS Week Sept.19-25 to raise awareness (意识)of falls and reduce fall risk in south central Idaho.
The health district will provide a Fit and Fall proof class leader training from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday at 1020 Washington St. N. in Twin Fall. Training is for individuals interested in volunteering. Volunteers aren’t required to have a physical education degree but should have exercise experience. Register for the training by Wednesday: 737-5988.
“To do for you” is a listing of health-related activities, events and education in the following Monday.“Baby and me” classes are held mainly for ______.
| A．teachers and parents | B．children and teachers |
| C．parents and children | D．parents and babysitters (保姆) |
Which activity can help the women who will soon have babies?
| A．Baby and me | B．Infant care | C．Self defense | D．Fitness for seniors |
Which of the following phone number can help you reduce fall risk?
| A．737-5988 | B．324-6133 | C．732-6442 | D．732-3148 |
I had about 10 minutes to exercise before I had to pick up my two older daughters from school yesterday. It was a busier day than usual for me with a couple of meetings besides my regular work.
Years ago, I would have put off my workout and would have left things for the next day. But since it was a busy day as well, I knew that I may not have all that much time either. So, I picked up my kettle-bell (哑铃) and went to town for 4 minutes.
See, 4 minutes, if that’s all you’ve got, is enough to give your body a great fat-burning exercise. How did I get a killer workout in 4 minutes? I used a training workout discovered 10 years ago by a Japanese Sports Scientist called a TABATA.
It includes 20-second periods of warm-up, followed by 10-second periods of rest and 4-minute straight exercise. How is a 4-minute exercise able to burn fat? It all depends on the quality of work you do. Not on the quantity. Here’s how I did it yesterday.
You should never forget your warm-up. A TABATA workout is 20 seconds of 2-arm Kettle-bell swings, 10 seconds rest, 20 seconds push-ups, and 10 seconds rest. You should do those 4 rounds. That’s it. I was done in a total time of 8 minutes by the time and when I got to school my heart was still pumping pretty hard.
A healthy body is needed for studying and working, and efficiency (效率) is the key to building a great body in the least amount (数量) of time possible and you can’t get more efficient than a 4-minute workout.We can learn from the passage that the author ______.
| A．is busy with his work | B．has a weak body now |
| C．has two children in all | D．is a manager in a film |
The underlined phrase “went to town” in Paragraph 2 means “_______”.
| A．put off doing something | B．went to a very small city |
| C．did something with interest | D．hated to do something |
What is the most important thing in taking exercise according to the author?
| A．The goal | B．the quality | C．The quantity | D．The method |