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. Alibaba’s advantage wasn’t 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 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 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.
Alibaba’s advantage mainly lies in .
| A．its low price |
| B．its big size |
| C．its not charging small sellers |
| D．its business-to-business service |
We know from the passage that Alibaba .
| A．will continue to develop. |
| B．charges all the sellers on its site a percentage of the sale. |
| C．acts as a bridge between the buyers and sellers. |
| D．is of middle size among all the online sites. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Alibaba’s business-to-business service earns more money than retail. |
| B．TMall.com provides more profit than Taobao. |
| C．Taobao has no obvious advantage over other similar online sites. |
| D．The author’s Chinese teacher is also an online purchase lover. |
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 people’s daily purchase in China. |
How to Be a Winner
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes （糖尿病）．Believing my career （职业生涯）was over, I felt extremely low．Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing．That was it----the encouragement I needed．I could still be a winner if I believed in myself．I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes．But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t finished yet．Nothing is to stand in my way．”
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week．I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary．This is the key to success—you can’t follow a career in any field without being well-organized．List what you believe you can achieve．“Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them．”
Kirsten Best
Poet ＆ Writer
“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something．Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies．The key is to concentrate．When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind．It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence．This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological （心理的） tool．”What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?
| A．Difficulties influenced his career． |
| B．Specialists offered him medical advice． |
| C．Training helped him defeat his disease． |
| D．He overcame the shadow of illness to win． |
What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?
| A．Her training schedule． | B．Her daily happenings． |
| C．Her achievements． | D．Her sports career． |
What does the underlined word “distractions” probably refer to?
| A．Ways that help one to focus． |
| B．Words that help one to feel less tense． |
| C．Activities that turn one’s attention away． |
| D．Habits that make it hard for one to relax． |
According to the passage, what do the three people have in common?
| A．Courage． | B．Devotion． | C．Hard work． | D．Self-confidence． |
I was waiting for a phone call from my agent．He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled．I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later．So I waited and waited, but there was still no call．Three hours passing by, I became more and more and impatient．I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me．I was overcome with that thought．I started to shout at the phone, “Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”
At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on．Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket．
I stood watching her, speechless．What on earth．．．?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the test of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room----if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”
Then she turned to me．Kissed me and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control．” With that, she left the room．
After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight , I noticed that something in my mood （情绪） had changed．I was laughing．How could I have trouble with that phone? Her anties helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things．Twenty minutes later my agent did call．I was able to listen to him and talk to him and talk to him calmly．Why did the author shout at the telephone?
| A．He was mad at the telephone． | B．He was angry with his agent． |
| C．He was anxious about his wife． | D．He was impatient with the secretary? |
What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?
| A．She said nothing． | B．She shouted at him． |
| C．She called the agent． | D．She threw the phone away． |
What made the author laugh?
| A．His own behavior | B．His wife’s suggestion |
| C．His changeable feelings． | D．His wife’s sweet kiss． |
What does the underlined word “anties” refer to?”
| A．Smut words | B．Unusual actions． |
| C．Surprising Looks | D．Anxious feelings． |
We already know the fastest, least expensive way to slow climate change: Use less energy. With a little effort, and not much money, most of us could reduce our energy diets by 25 percent or more—doing the Earth a favor while also helping our wallets.
Not long ago, my wife, PJ, and I tried a new diet—not to lose a little weight but to answer an annoying question about climate change. Scientists have reported recently that the world is bending up even faster than predicted only a few years ago, and that the consequences could be severe if we don’t keep reducing emissions（排放）of carbon dioxide（CO2）and other greenhouse gases that are trapping heat in our atmosphere. 21世纪We decided to try an experiment. For one month we recorded our personal emissions of CO2. . We wanted to see how much we could cut back, so we went on a strict diet. The average US household（家庭）produces about 150 pounds of CO2 a day by doing common-place things like turning on air-conditioning or driving cars. That’s more than twice the European average and almost five times the global average, mostly because Americans drive more and have bigger houses. But how much should we try to reduce? For an answer, I checked with Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth. In his book, he had challenged readers to make deep cuts in personal emissions to keep the world from reaching extremely important tipping points, such as the melting（融化）of the ice sheets in Greenland or West Antarctica. “To stay below that point, we need to reduce CO2 emissions by 80 percent,” he said.Good advice, I thought. I’d opened our bedroom windows to let in the wind. We’d gotten so used to keeping our air-conditioning going around the clock. I’d almost forgotten the windows even opened. We should not let this happen again. It’s time for us to change our habits if necessary. Why did the author and his wife try a new diet?
| A．To take special kinds of food | B．To respond to climate change. |
C．To lose weight | D．To improve their health |
The underlined words “tipping points” most probably refer to .
| A．freezing points | B．burning points | C．melting points | D．boiling points |
It can be inferred from the passage that 2___. ..
| A．it is necessary to keep the air-conditioning on all the time .. |
B．it seems possible for every household to cut emissions of CO2 |
C．the average US household produces about 3,000 pounds of CO2 a month. |
D．the average European household produces about 1,000 pounds of CO2 a month. |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Saving Energy Starts at Home | B．Changing Our Habits Begins at work |
| C．Changing Climate Sounds Reasonable | D．Reducing Emissions of CO2 Proves Difficult |
I know what you’re thinking : pizza （比萨饼）? For breakfast? But the truth is that you can have last night’s leftovers in the a. m. if you want to.I know lots of women who skip breakfast （不吃早餐） , and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it . Some say they don’t have time. others think they’re “saving” calories （卡路里）, still others just don’t like breakfast food .But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you’re trying to lose weight. “Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all,” says Katherine Brooking , R , D , who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year’s “SELF CHALLENGE”. And even pizza can be healthy if it’s loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece. 21Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories. Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day. Researchers at the University of Southem California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal.So eat something in the morning, anything. I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice. I say, try heating up last night’s leftovers-it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it! I find if I tell myself, “You can always eat it tomorrow,” I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it…you may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories. And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects.The word “leftovers” in Paragraph 1 probably means__________.
| A．food remaining after a meal |
B．things left undone |
C．meals made of vegetables | D．pizza topped with fruit |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Working women usually have breakfast in a hurry. |
B．Many people have wrong ideas about breakfast. |
C．There are some easy ways of cooking a meal. |
D．Eating vegetables helps save energy. |
According to the last paragraph, it is important to____________.
| A．eat something for breakfast | B．be careful about what you eat |
| C．heat up food before eating it | D．eat calorie-controlled food |
The text is written mainly for those_____________.
| A．who go to work early | B．who want to lose weight |
C．who stay up late | D．who eat before sleep |
Sunday, October 5
Clear, 69°F
My wife, Eleanor , and I took the train from Paris to Strasbourg, where we were met by our driver and guide,and the minibus which goes along with the boat. We stopped off in Barn for an hour on the way. Then we were taken to Nancy where the boat was kept.
After the other passengers arrived, we had our first dinner on the boat. After dinner we walked into downtown Nancy, a village with a large square and wooden houses.
Monday, October 6
Rained last night, cloudy in the morning, 69°F
We spent about two hours in Nancy, then sailed on the Canal de la Marne au Rhine. Kind of a lazy day. Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, after dinner we watched a tape on Baccarat. Where we will visit tomorrow.
It was pleasant to sit out on deck （甲板）and watch the scenery go by at about 3 mph.
Tuesday, October 7
Light rain, 64°F
This mourning we drove over to Baccarat and toured its museum and the church , which has this unbelievable lamp that is going on a world tour the next day. We did lost of shopping , then walked across the bridge to see a very , very modern Catholic church with special Baccarat windows.
We drove to the top of the Voges Mountains and started down the eastern side Later we drove to Sorrenbourg to see the 13th century church at the Cordeliers. It contains the largest window by Mar.
Wednesday, October8
Cloudy.65 °F
Today we sailed from Schneckenbush to Saverne. We went though two caves, an extremely unusual part of the journey. This river scenery is very different. We were in a mountain valley with grassland on one side and a forest beginning to show some color on the other.
Thursday, October9
Cloudy, 66°F
Our dependable minibus was waiting to load the luggage and take us to the hotel where everyone went their separate ways. Our boating days are over until next time. Where did the author get off the train?
| A．Paris | B．Strasbourg | C．Nancy | D．Barn |
On which days did the tourists spend most of their time on the boat?
| A．Monday and Tuesday | B．Tuesday and Wednesday |
| C．Wednesday and Wednesday | D．Monday and Wednesday |
From the text, we learn that Baccarat and Sorrenbourg are the names of_________.
| A．towns | B．churches | C．museums | D．mountains |
What does the author think of the tour?
| A．Tiring | B．Expensive | C．Enjoyable | D．Quick |