Showrooming
One of the biggest challenges facing brick-and-mortar retailers(实体零售店) in recent years has been the “showrooming”．Driven by the desire to get the best prices, many shoppers are now visiting brick-and-mortar stores to personally check on products that interest them, only to leave and then buy the items online．The new trend is forcing retailers to find out new ways to keep consumers from leaving their store for cheaper prices online.
Recent research found that 40 percent of U.S．shoppers have showroomed previously, with big-box retailers suffering the most．Specifically, the study shows that Best Buy, Walmart and Target are the most likely brick-and-mortar stores to have shoppers test out a product in-store and then purchase it online later, while Amazon is benefiting most from the practice, with nearly 60 percent of shoppers using the online retail giant(巨人) most often to make their showrooming purchases.
Smartphones have pushed showrooming into the front．Shoppers no longer have to wait until they get home to see if they can find a cheaper price for the products they’re considering buying．With smartphones, consumers can now compare virtual prices, at both other brick-and-mortar stores and online ones while still inside a retail store．If they can find what they’re seeking for less online, the majority will be seeking the first exit．A recent study showed that 45 percent of customers shopping at brick-and-mortar stores walk out and buy their purchase online for a discount of as little as 2.5 percent．
This puts pressure on retailers to provide both an in-store experience worth staying for and an online presence that can attract shoppers who are showrooming in other businesses.
To cut down on showrooming, many retailers are adopting new methods to keep shoppers in their stores．Among the steps they’re taking are price-matching guarantees that allow shoppers to pay a discounted price if they find it cheaper online．This ensures that even a showrooming shopper can make the purchase in the store—regardless of whether they find the cheaper price online.
Another popular method to fight against showrooming is to give shoppers the ability to buy something online and pick it up at the store．This reduces shipping costs and gets customers in the store, where they may be encouraged to make an additional purchase．
It is also important for businesses to take into consideration what makes shoppers purchase something in-store rather than online, and meet those needs．Research has found that more than 8 in 10 Americans consider being able to take the goods home immediately and the ability to touch and feel them—the most important aspects when deciding to purchase in a store rather than online.According to the passage, a showrooming shopper tends to ______.
| A．pay for everything online |
| B．have better bargaining skills |
| C．rush to buy things in a store |
| D．purchase online for a lower price |
What contributes to the growing popularity of showrooming?
| A．The wide use of smartphones． |
| B．The competition between big stores. |
| C．The advertisement by online retail giants. |
| D．The decline of the brick-and-mortar stores. |
The underlined words “seeking the first exit” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
| A．searching for lower prices |
| B．leaving as soon as possible |
| C．locating the first exit quickly |
| D．making a purchase on the spot |
The last three paragraphs mainly talk about ways of ______.
| A．increasing sales at stores |
| B．preventing purchase online |
| C．satisfying customers’ needs |
| D．advising shoppers to buy more |
US researchers have found traces of an ancient lake on Mars recently, increasing hopes of discovering evidence that billions of years ago the Red planet hosted life.
The lake, which dates back some 3.4 billion years, appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep, said the team from the University of Colorado.
“This is the first clear evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars,” said Boulder’s research associate, Gaetano Di Achille, in a study published in the latest edition of Geophysical Research Letters.
“The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago.”
Analysis of the images has shown the water carved out the canyon (溪谷) in which it was found, which then opened out into a valley depositing (使淤积) sediment (沉积) which formed a delta(三角洲).
“Finding shorelines is a great discovery to us,” said assistant professor Brian Hynek, adding it showed the lake existed at a time when Mars was thought to have been cold and dry.
Scientists believe the oldest surfaces on Mars formed during the wet and warm era known as the Noachan epoch, about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago.
The newly discovered lake is believed to date from the Hesperian era and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on Mars by 300 million years, according to the study.
Scientists believe deltas next to the lake may well hold secrets about past life on Mars as such places on Earth have become the natural deposits of organic carbon and other markers of life.The size of the lake found on mars is_____.
| A．80 square miles | B．1,500 square miles |
| C．3.4 billion square miles | D．300 million square miles |
When the lake existed, the weather on Mars was_____.
| A．hot and wet | B．wet and warm | C．cold and dry | D．cold and wet |
Why do scientists think deltas near the lake may hold secrets about past life on Mars?
| A．Because similar places on Earth have become natural deposits of markers of life. |
| B．Because someone has put secrets about past life on Mars there. |
| C．Because past life has been found in other deltas on Mars. |
| D．Because some people are said to have already seen life marks there. |
Which of the following statements is Not true according to the passage?
| A．The Noachan epoch was a wet and warm era. |
| B．The lake might have existed 3.4 billion years. |
| C．The discovery can’t fully prove that the Mars once hosted life. |
| D．The lake traces prove that there exists life on Mars now. |
I was reading these interesting stories behind a group of great logos (标志) in the world. Personally Nike is my favorite one—it’s so simple. And I liked the stories behind them, which made me forget all other things. McDonald’s, Apple, Mercedes Benz and Adidas own great logos as well, and they are among my favorites.
Nike
In the Greek myth, Nike is the goddess of victory and the source of inspiration for soldiers. This logo represents the wing in the famous statue of the Greek goddess. Nike’s logo was designed by Carolyn Davidson in 1971 for $ 35, and was registered as a trademark in 1995.
McDonald’s
The logo was designed in 1962 by Jim Schindler to resemble the archshaped(拱形的) signs on the side of the company’s then walk-up hamburger stand. Later on, the two golden arches were combined together to form the M. The McDonald’s name was added to the logo in 1968.
Apple
There are different stories behind Apple’s logo. The first logo was a reference to the religious story of Adam and Eve, in which the apple represented the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. One year later, the second logo was designed in 1977 by Steven Jobs and Ronald Wayne, and it described Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. This logo didn’t stay long. One year later it was replaced almost immediately by graphic designer Rob Janoff’s “ rainbow apple”, a rainbow- colored silhouette (轮廓) of an apple with a bite taken out of it. And then the rainbow- colored apple was replaced by the one- colored logo in 1998. It has not been changed so far.
Mercedes Benz
The Mercedes Benz logo, which was originally created by Gottlieb Daimler in 1909, consists of a simple description of a three- pointed star that represents its rule of the land, the sea and the air. The company was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Marcedes is the name of Maybach’s elder daughter, while Benz came as a result of a combination with Benz, Cie.and DMG in 1926.
Adidas
The Adidas logo, which was created by the founder of the company Adi Dassler, represents mountains, pointing towards the challenges that are seen ahead and goals that can be achieved. The logo was used for the first time in 1976.What does the author think of the stories of the great logos?
| A．They are boring | B．They are out of date. |
| C．They are attractive | D．They are practical |
What does Nike’s logo stand for?
| A．The goddess of victory |
| B．The source of inspiration for soldiers |
| C．The statue of the Greek goddess |
| D．The wing of the Greek goddess. |
We can learn that Apple’s present logo is______.
| A．the religious story of Adam and Eve |
| B．a bitten apple with only one color |
| C．Newton’s sitting under an apple tree |
| D．the rainbow- colored bitten apple |
Which of the following time orders describes the births of the great logos?
| A．Mercedes Benz – McDonald’s – Nike – Apple. |
| B．Nike – McDonald’s – Apple – Mercedes Benz. |
| C．McDonald’s – Apple – Nike – Mercedes Benz. |
| D．Nike –Mercedes Benz –McDonald’s – Apple, |
I appreciate how biking to work allows me to be outside for at least a small part of my day. I’m a senior program director. If I didn’t bike to work, I’d spend my weekdays almost entirely indoors—underground tunnel. On the bike, I get trees, air and a great way to get to know city neighborhoods. Of course, I also get bad weather and city traffic. But it’s worth the trade-off. The weather’s not often bad, and rain and snow have their charms.
I’ve been cycling to work since the late 1990s. I started when the city was doing some construction in the subways and rerouting passengers, which would have lengthened my trip considerably. I tried riding my sister- in- law’s bike to work one day and liked it, so I bought my own. Even though I hadn’t biked since I was a child, I got back into it right away.
I bike during all four seasons. In summer, I wear shorts and a T- shirt and carry a messenger bag over my shoulder for my lunch and anything else I need. Once at the office, I change into business- casual clothes. In winter, I wear layers and a thin hat under my helmet. A cold winter day can be the best time to be on a bicycle. When the air is clear, free of oppressive summer haze, the city can look beautiful.
Biking to work also comes in handy during the workday itself. I have a rack (网架) on the back of my bike that accommodates panniers that allow me to pick up groceries. During work hours, a colleague will occasionally need to send or retrieve documents by messenger. If I have the time, I volunteer. Pedaling 30 blocks and back is a nice way to take a break from work—and to save the office a few bucks on messenger fees.
I’m sure that some people thinking my mode of transportation might be afraid of Midtown traffic. I’m no hero; I don’t want to get hurt riding to work. It just takes time getting used to it. There’s a risk, but all travel has risks. They’re worth it to me.Which is the reason for the author cycling to work?
| A．To save money | B．To lose weight |
| C．To smell the roses outside | D．To protect the environment |
What made the author began to ride a bike to work?
| A．The author bought his own bike. |
| B．His sister- in- law lent him a bike. |
| C．There were few bikes on the street then. |
| D．The subway construction in the city was under way. |
The underlined phrase “come in handy” most probably means ______ ?
| A．useful | B．available | C．valuable | D．economical |
In the last paragraph, the author implies that _______.
| A．He is not a hero. |
| B．He will go on cycling to work. |
| C．All travel has risks. |
| D．He is afraid of Midtown traffic. |
The cruelty and inhumanity (残暴) of the war is just as cruel an inhumane through the eyes of a horse. Or at least in the eyes of Joey, the star of War Horse (《 战马》). The film has come out in cinemas on February 28, 2012 on the Chinese mainland.
The story starts on a farm in Devon, southwest England. The Narracott family—Dad, Mum, and their teenage son Albert – rent the farm. When Dad buys a beautiful horse, Albert falls in love with him. He trains him and names him Joey. They become as close as it is possible for a human and an animal to be.
But World War I breaks out. Dad has to sell the horse to an English Army officer to pay the rent. Joey and Albert can no longer be together. Albert promises Joey that they’ll find each other again one day. Then Albert goes on a journey to search for his friend.
But the four years of war are about Joey’s journey. He starts as the mount (坐骑) of the English officer. Then he becomes a German workhorse. He is given to a French teenager and her grandpa. He has to face the tanks on the front line. The story ends in a sunset scene on the battlefield. Albert has become a soldier. The two are reunited.
Battle scenes are part of the story , but the movie’s Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg said that War Horse is not a war movie.
“I consider it to be a love between a horse and a young man… It’s about the connectivity (联系) that an animal can bring to human characters,” Spielberg said.
Roger Moore of the Chicago Tribune said Spielberg manages in the film to “measure a man by how he acts toward animals”.
In one scene, a British soldier and a German soldier join hands to vindicate Joey.
“ Men on opposing (对立的) sides of war find their shared humanity in their love of animals in War Horse, I appreciated this work.” Moore concluded.Why did Albert’s father sell the horse to an English Army officer?
| A．to make money for his son’s school fees. |
| B．to earn the officer’s admiration. |
| C．to pay the rent of the farmland. |
| D．The family could not afford the horse’s cost. |
According to the director’s description, which statement is true?
| A．The movie was just talking about war. |
| B．The movie reflected the love between the human being and animal. |
| C．The movie fully represented human’s cruelty. |
| D．The key role of the movie was only the young man. |
The underlined word “vindicate” refers to ______.
| A．rescue | B．support | C．beat | D．catch |
Judging from the last paragraph, what’s Moore’s attitude towards the movie?
| A．Doubtful. | B．Negative. | C．Neutral. | D．Supportive. |
A German study suggests that people who were too optimistic（乐观）about their future actually faced greater risk of disability or death within 10 years than those pessimists（悲观主义者）who expected their future to be worse.
The paper, published this March in Psychology and Aging, examined health and welfare surveys from roughly 40,000 Germans between ages 18 and 96. The surveys were conducted every year from 1993 to 2003.
Survey respondents (受访者) were asked to estimate their present and future life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10, among other questions.
The researchers found that young adults (age 18 to 39) routinely overestimated their future life satisfaction, while middle-aged adults (age 40 to 64) more accurately predicted how they would feel in the future. Adults of 65 and older, however, were far more likely to underestimate their future life satisfaction. Not only did they feel more satisfied than they thought they would, the older pessimists seemed to suffer a lower ratio (比率) of disability and death for the study period.
“We observed that being too optimistic in predicting a better future than actually observed was associated with a greater risk of disability and a greater risk of death within the following decade,” wrote Frieder R. Lang, a professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Lang and his colleagues believed that people who were pessimistic about their future may be more careful about their actions than people who expected a rosy future.
“Seeing a dark future may encourage positive evaluations of the actual self and may contribute to taking improved precautions (预防措施),” the authors wrote.
Surprisingly, compared with those in poor health or who had low incomes, respondents who enjoyed good health or income were associated with expecting a greater decline(下降). Also, the researchers said that higher income was related to a greater risk of disability.
The authors of the study noted that there were limitations to their conclusions. Illness, medical treatment and personal loss could also have driven health outcomes.
However, the researchers said a pattern was clear. “We found that from early to late adulthood, individuals adapt their expectations of future life satisfaction from optimistic, to accurate, to pessimistic,” the authors concluded.According to the study, who made the most accurate prediction of their future life satisfaction?
| A．Optimistic adults. | B．Middle-aged adults. |
| C．Adults in poor health. | D．Adults of lower income. |
Pessimism may be positive in some way because it causes people ______.
| A．to fully enjoy their present life |
| B．to estimate their contribution accurately |
| C．to take measures against potential risks |
| D．to value health more highly than wealth |
How do people of higher income see their future?
| A．They will earn less money. |
| B．They will become pessimistic. |
| C．They will suffer mental illness. |
| D．They will have less time to enjoy life. |
What is the clear conclusion of the study?
| A．Pessimism guarantees chances of survival. |
| B．Good financial condition leads to good health. |
| C．Medical treatment determines health outcomes. |
| D．Expectations of future life satisfaction decline with age. |