Alibaba started taking the lead in China 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. Alibabas advantage wasnt hard to judge: size. Alibaba is just big, even by Chinese standards. Its market attracts 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 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 second 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(物品) 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 Beiji
ng, 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 wide 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. Alibabas advantage mainly lies in .
| A．its low price |
| B．its big size |
| C．its not charging small sellers |
| D．its business-to-business service |
What can we learn from the underlined sentence in the passage?
| A．Alibaba will continue to develop. |
| B．Alibaba stands out as the best online site. |
| C．Alibaba acts as a bridge between the buyers and sellers. |
| D．Alibaba is of middle size among all the online sites. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．TMall.com provides more profit than Taobao. |
| B．The authors Chinese teacher is also an online purchase lover. |
| C．Taobao has no obvious advantage over other similar online sites. |
| D．Alibabas business-to-business service earns more money than retail. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Shopping online in China is TaoBao. |
| B．How the author purchases online in China. |
| C．Shopping online goes beyond traditional shopping. |
| D．Alibaba influences peoples daily purchase in China. |
Here’s an unusual story: a diamond ring was recently found in an egg. The magician, Liu Qian, discovered it in front of an audience of millions at CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala. Liu’s magic tricks have made the centuries – old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China.
As a seasoned magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include the United States, Japan, South Korea and the UK. Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’s love for magic.
Liu is known for his interaction with his audiences. He has a unique understanding of showmanship(演出技巧)。“It’s actually thinking rather than one’s manipulation (处理) skills that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more interesting,” Liu said.
Liu Qian’s success dated back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.
Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a proper job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career.
To refine his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields, for passersby, policemen and farmers.
“Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds,” Liu said.The story is about ________.
| A．why people love magic |
| B．how Liu Qian became China’s hottest magician |
| C．how fashionable magic is |
| D．what magic tricks are |
People love to watch magic because ________.
| A．they love watching magicians make the impossible happen |
| B．it arouses their curiosity |
| C．they can’t figure out the secret of magic |
| D．it is a centuries – old art |
Which of the following is the key reason that Liu Qian decided to make magic his career?
| A．He was interested in magic when he was little. |
| B．He had won Taiwan’s Youth Magic Contest. |
| C．He couldn’t find an acceptable job after graduation. |
| D．He became an amateur magician in his spare time. |
What does the underlined word “seasoned” in Paragraph2 mean?
| A．experienced |
| B．freshman |
| C．amateur |
| D．unskillful |
From the story we know that______.
| A．Liu Qian competed in many magic competitions. |
| B．Liu Qian often invites audiences to be in his magic show. |
| C．Liu Qian does street show to make money. |
| D．Liu Qian performs on the streets in order to increase his fame. |
China is a country on the move- especially around its Lunar New Year holiday. This year, the holiday crush（客流量） promises to be even heavier than before。
Government officials estimate that Chinese people will take to the air, roads and railways 3.62 billion times over a 40-day period around the nation's most important holiday this year as people push their way home for family gatherings or to satisfy their new-found passion for travel.
Getting tickets to all those would-be travelers is a discounting challenge that annually tries patience. And it is the railway system that routinely is most unable to cope. Railways are the transport of choice for low-cost long-distance travel, and that's where the ticketing system routinely falls down
Much of the criticism has, focused on the railway's-online purchasing system. Which has been unable to keep pace with the huge demand and also failed to stop scalpers（票贩子） from ending up with many of the hard-to-find tickets.
While insisting that online sales were the fairest way to get tickets for travelers, railway officials told
reporters that the public need to be patient. Efforts were being made to provide online identity checks that would reduce the ticket scalping problems. While officials had little good news for rail passengers, they did manage to bring a few smiles to those traveling by car as the country's extremely expensive highway tolls （通行费）will be free of charge for the period of the official holiday.Which of the following words can replace the underlined word "discounting" in Paragraph 3?
| A．Promising. |
| B．Discouraging. |
| C．Pleasing. |
| D．Rewarding. |
According to the text, getting tickets_____. around the official holiday.
| A． is just a piece of cake |
| B． is more costly |
| C． takes great effort |
| D． is convenient for travelers |
We can learn from the text that _______. around the New Year holiday.
A. there will be 3. 62 billion people going home
B the railway system will be facing more stress
C.. people's complaint .focus on the failure of online purchase
D. not railways but cars are the best choices for travelingWhich of the following can best describe the author's attitude to the railway service?
A. Objective.
B Doubtful.
C. Satisfied
D．Worried.
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social-progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In theirsingle-minded pursuit of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success.By not trying, they always have an excuse:"I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try." What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistake belief that-one's self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve (缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.What does this text mainly talk about?
A Competition helps to set up self-respect.
B. People hold different opinions about competition.
C. Competition is harmful to personal quality development.
D. Failures are necessary experience in competition.Some people favor competition because they think it __.
| A． pushes society forward |
| B． builds up a sense of pride |
| C． improves social abilities |
| D． develops people's relationship |
The underlined phrase "the most vocal”in Paragraph 3 refers to those who
| A． try their best to win |
| B． highly value competition |
| C． are strongly against competition |
| D． mostly rely on others for success |
Which viewpoint does the author agree to?
A Self-worth relys on winning.
B. Competition leads to unfriendly relationship.
C. Winning should be a life-and-death matter.
D. Fear of failure should be removed in competition.
The Asuncion zoo is looking for a mate for Coco, an endangered hyacinth macaw （蓝紫金刚鹦鹉），and it is the last known male of his species left in Paraguay.
Coco was sent to the zoo eight years ago. A recent DNA test showed that he is male. Zoo worker Celia said To avoid mixing species, the zoo has had to keep him apart from the other macaws, which has left him lonely and bored. "He is quite sociable, although he has only learned to say 'Hello', but when he hears music, he dances" Celia said
He has a yellow circle around his eyes that set off the rest of his blue feathers. He is more or less a cousin to Blu , he macaw that starts in the movie, Rio.That species, cyanopsitta-spixii（小蓝金刚鹦鹉），is all blue and even more endangered than the hyacinth macaw.
Like the bird in the movie, scientists hope to find Coco a mate to- rebuild the species. Because international laws against animal training are now so strict, nobody is willing to lend the zoo a female. "The best solution is to find a female hyacinth macaw in our country. " Celia said, "there are at least two other known hyacinth-macaws but without DNA test, it is impossible to know if they are female, and the owners are not willing to help,because the mating process can take some time and be a little hard on females.“From the text we know that Coco____
| A． is the last known hyacinth macaw |
| B． lives apart from the other macaws |
| C． has adapted to being left alone |
| D． can say "Hello" when he hears music |
Why is it difficult to find a mate for Coco?
A. Because there is no known female macaw in Paraguay.
B. Because the international laws are against Coco mating.
C, Because the DNA test on female Coco takes time.
D. Because nobody is willing to hunt for a female.It can be inferred from the text that______.
| A． Coco stars Rio in a movie |
| B． Coco has only blue feathers on his body |
| C． Coco is the most endangered macaw |
| D． rebuilding the Coco's species will take time |
Which of the following would be the best title?
| A． Coco, a Rare Macaw-in Asuncion Zoo |
| B． Asuncion Zoo Is Seeking a Mate for Coco |
| C． Hyacinth Macaws Are Endangered in Paraguay |
| D． Coco, the Only Known Male Macaw in Paraguay |
Welcome to the 2015 Winter Camp
The 2015 Winter Camp opens between 9: 30 a m and 11:30 a. m .from Feb.5th to Feb. 15th. A11 children aged 8-14 are welcome. Each child can take part in only one of the following activities and needs to pay,￥150 for it
1. Sports (basketball, football, table tennis, etc )
2. Internet Groups (painting online, piano-learning, computer study, etc. )
3. English World (English songs/games/plays, English speaking contest etc.)
Some American children are coming to the camp. If you really want to spend an interesting winter holiday, please join us for learning with fun. Act now! Book your seat as soon as possible either by phone or by e-mail Pay before Jan. 25th, then you can have a Mickey T-shirt as a member of the camp,
Beijing Children's Palace
No. 23, Fu Xing Road, Beijing City
Tel: 010-888093445
E-mail: Children's Palace@163. comThis Winter Camp is intended for
| A．parents |
| B．teachers |
| C．students |
| D．English learners |
The participants can do the following things except _____;
| A． making friends with American children |
| B． playing computer games |
| C． learning English songs |
| D． having basketball matches |
What should you do if you want to get a T-shirt?
| A． Book the seats as soon as possible. |
| B． Phone the Palace in advance. |
| C． Pay money before Jan. 25th |
| D． Ask some others to join in, |