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 |
When my first wartime Christmas came, I was in basic training in New Jersey and not sure if I would make it home for the holidays. Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have the three-day holiday posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers. It was Christmas Eve when I arrived home, and a little snow had fallen. Mother opened the front door. I could see beyond her, into the corner of the living room where the tree had always stood. There were lights, all colors, and ornaments (饰品) shining against the green of a pine.
"Where did it come from?" I asked.
"I asked the Gates boy to cut it," my mother said. "I wouldn't have had one just for myself, but when in great need... such a rush! He just brought it in this afternoon."
The pine reached to the proper height, almost to the ceiling, and the Tree Top Crystal（水晶） Star was in its place. A few green branches reached out a little awkwardly（难看） at the side, I thought, and there was a bit of bare trunk showing in the middle. But the tree filled the room with warm light and the whole house with the pleasant smell of Christmas.
"It's not like the one you used to find," my mother went on. "Yours were always in good shape. I suppose the Gates boy didn't know where to look for a better one. But I couldn't be fussy(挑剔的)."
"Don't worry," I told her. "It's perfect."
It wasn't, of course, but at the moment I realized something for the first time: All Christmas trees are perfect. What did his mother's Christmas tree look like?
From the passage we can infer (推断) that______.
| A．all the soldiers had the three-day holiday |
| B．the writer could not go home for Christmas |
| C．the writer spent his first Christmas during the war |
| D．not all the soldiers went home for Christmas during the war |
From the passage, we can conclude that ______ .
| A．his mother didn't like Christmas trees |
| B．the writer didn't like the tree cut by someone else |
| C．the writer used to cut very beautiful Christmas trees |
| D．his mother didn't want to have a Christmas tree during wartime |
The best title for this passage would be ______.
| A．The Perfect Christmas Tree |
| B．How to Choose a Christmas Tree |
| C．How Soldiers Spent Their Christmas |
| D．A Christmas with an Ugly Christmas Tree |
What does the writer mean by saying “All Christmas trees are perfect”?
| A．Nothing is as perfect as Christmas. |
| B．Once at home, everything is so nice. |
| C．During the war, trees are hard to find. |
| D．All Christmas trees are the most beautiful. |
Martha was busy with her job. She believed she had to work harder because she loved her father who was sick with cancer. She had to provide for his expensive medicines. Her brothers and sisters meanwhile stayed with their father most of the time. They bathed him, sang for him, spoon-fed(用匙喂) him or simply kept him company.
One day Martha was hurt. She overheard(无意中听到) her father telling her mother, "All our children love me except Martha."
"How can this be?" Martha thought. "Am I not the one killing myself in my work to have money to pay for his medicines? My brothers and sisters do not even provide their share in the expenses."
One night, as Martha was as usual late in going home, she saw her father was lying awake. She walked close to his bedsides. Her father held her hands and said, "I miss you. I don't have much time. Stay with me." And she stayed with her father holding his hand the whole night.
The next morning Martha said to everybody, "I have taken a leave of absence. I would like to be with father. I will bathe him and sing for him from now on." Her father had a beautiful smile. He knew Martha loved him, too.
As children, we need the presence of our loved ones. Adults need no less. I have observed my mother’s orchids(兰花). When she is away for a long time, they are unhealthy and many of them wither(干枯). But when she is around , they bloom with beautiful flowers. My mother does nothing special . She just spends her time looking after them.Before Martha heard her parents’ talk ,she thought her father _____.
| A．was satisfied with her love for him |
| B．disliked her brothers and sisters |
| C．was proud of her |
| D．would recover from the disease |
After staying with her father for one night, Martha _____.
| A．decided to give up her job |
| B．understood what her father really needed |
| C．realized her father loved her most |
| D．loved her father more than before |
By telling Matha’s story, what does the author try to express?
| A．Nothing is more important than the company of loved ones. |
| B．Money and a successful career don’t always bring happiness |
| C．Adults need the presence of their loved ones more than children do. |
| D．Plants like orchids do have feelings. |
About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college. I was working as a practice student at my University's Museum of Natural History. One day while working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was kind of set on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and main body. She was wearing a little white dress with red dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me, I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink(眨眼). As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the cutest(可爱的), largest smile I have ever seen.
All of a sudden her handicap (残疾)was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. She took me from a poor, unhappy college student and brought me into her world--- a world of smiles, love and warmth.
That was ten years ago. I'm a successful business person now and whenever I feel down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.What do we know about the author?
| A．He graduated from Natural History University. |
| B．He majored in Natural History at university . |
| C．He ran a gift shop in the university |
| D．He is a successful businessman |
When the author looked again, he saw that the little girl____.
| A．was wearing a beautiful red dress |
| B．wasn’t able to move in the wheelchair |
| C．was badly injured |
| D．was only able to smile |
In the author’s opinion, the little girl was not disabled at all because ______.
| A．she told everyone how to live a good life |
| B．she offered him suppport in his business |
| C．she could take good care of herself |
| D．she had a strong spirit |
What would be the best title for his passage?
| A．World of smiles | B．Love of a girl |
| C．A badly disabled girl | D．Secret of a businessman |
On 27th February 2008, something very unusual happened in the UK; there was a rather large earthquake. It was the biggest earthquake in 25 years in the UK. There have been very small tremors in the past but they pale into insignificance compared to this one.
It was felt in a large area across the country too, from as far north as Edinburgh in Scotland to as far south as Plymouth on the south coast of England.
The epicenter of the earthquake was in a small town in Lincolnshire, which is an area about two and a half to three hours north of London by car. A magnitude of 5.2 was registered on the Richter scale.
There were lots of reports in the news from people who felt the earth move. One man said, "We had loads of vibrating and wall shaking and stuff, noise coming off the roof. I came outside – the chimney's on the floor!"
A collapsed chimney was the cause of what was probably the worst injury from the earthquake; a man broke his pelvis when the chimney fell on him.
Another man who spoke to the BBC described the moment the earthquake occurred, "Everything was shaking. As soon as it happened we all went outside and saw everyone else down the street, coming out and just realized it was an earthquake."
The huge rumble, which was felt by a lot of people, surprisingly caused very little structural damage to property.
Most British people would be surprised to learn that there are 200-300 earthquakes in Britain every year, but most of them are so small, they go unnoticed. The magnitude of this earthquake is fairly small in comparison to some other natural disasters that have made international news, but for the people affected, it certainly came as quite a surprise.
60. Before this earthquake _______.
A. there was no signs of any shakings at all.
B. people did not feel anything unusual.
C. many people realized there would be a bigger one to come.
D. some small quakes were only too small to be ignored.
61. From this passage we know ______ is in the south of Great Britain.
A. LincolnshireB. Edinburgh
C. Plymouth D. Scotland
62. This earthquake _____.
A. hardly caused any damages to the people’s belongings..
B. brought down many buildings in England.
C. scared many people to death.
D. made the world greatly surprised.
63. After reading this passage we can infer_______.
A. people in England faced the earthquake bravely.
B. this earthquake seemed to be felt all over Great Britain.
C. this earthquake is the biggest one in history.
D. the chimneys in Britain are the most poorly built parts of the houses.
Speaking of Copenhagen, what do you think of? The little Mermaid, the fairy tale writer H.C. Anderson, the COP15 meetings , or a city where people bike even though they have cars.
When landing on Copenhagen Tasstrup Airport, you can see numbers of white propeller generators standing in the blue waterfront. The constant moving paddles are producing renewable energy to the city. During the recent Climate Change Conference, the city was introduced to the world as an example of climate-friendly city. Evidences other than wind power stations were obvious everywhere.
While private cars can be a great source of pollution in other cities, the main form of transport in the capital of Denmark is, however, public transportation. By public transportation, I mean one of very good quality. Buses are usually Volvo and most of the traffic lights are of Siemens. Additionally, buses, metros and intercity-trains (named S-train) are well equipped, constantly maintained, special and good-looking. The seats in the trains are of sofa-designed. Sticky gum or dirty spot rarely appear. Thanks to a small population, it is much easier to maintain the condition of the vehicles. Free wireless internet service is provided in S-trains. Seats are always possible even at rush hours if the passenger is patient enough to look for it. Taking the convenience for granted, Danish people find it hard to imagine how the metro in Tokyo can be as crowded as a “sardin can”. Pets and baby-wagons are allowed in buses, subways and S-trains. All the facilities enable better service to bigger passenger group. It is also notable that the mass transit uses green fuels and electricity.
Cars are common in Copenhagen, but people have an alternative of short distance transport: bikes. Denmark is known as bike-friendly for many reasons, such as flat land, splendid cycle ways, and the Danish fond of motion. But please be aware that riding a bike in Copenhagen is not like biking in Beijing. First of all, it is quite speedy. Many people ride to work every morning. Punctuality is important and they have to ride as fast as possible to be on time. So why not speed up? Not my philosophy. As a result, I am often hastened by impatient riders who unfortunately piled up after me. Second, considering the speed, bike helmets, front and back lights and other necessary accessories are required. Riders need to set a white light in the front of the bike and red light at the back. One may end up with a big fine if not riding with them.
72. In the passage we get to know that _____.
all energy come from wind power stations
different kinds of green energy keep this city running
a lot of electricity is imported from other countries
people in this city use little energy
73. S-trains are a kind of transportation______.
A. which send their passengers from one city to another.
B. which uses wind to run their ways
C. which is the only way for you to go from one city to another.
D. which you are not allowed to take if you take a pet.
74. In the last paragraph what does “Punctuality” mean?
A. Being fit B. Not being scolded C. Not being late D. Speeding
75. In Copenhagen if you ride too slow ,_____
A. you will be fined by police.
B. it means that you need to buy a better bike.
C. you may block the traffic flow.
D. many bike riders will shout at you.