Over three million people will do their Christmas shopping entirely online this year without once visiting an actual shop, a poll (民意调查) has found. Overcrowding and long queues in shops are forcing people away from the high street as the hassle (烦扰) of Christmas shopping becomes too much.
The number of people turning their backs on the high street is almost one million higher than it was last year, according to the poll by YouGov. Last Christmas 2.4 million shoppers did not do any of their shopping in actual shops. The figure this year is predicted to be around 3.4 million, equal to around 7 percent of the adult population.
Over a third of people said that the main turn-off about shopping on the high street is 0ver-crow-ding. Meanwhile almost a quarter said that long queues at the cheek-out are the worst thing about it.
Of the 2.065 people pored, even those who are stir taking to the shops plan to spend less time in them this Christmas. Around 31 percent of shoppers who plan to spend at least some time on the high street will spend less than half of their shopping time in actual shops, using the rest of the time to shop remotely via the internet. This compares to 28 percent of people last year. Meanwhile the proportion of people spending over half of their shopping time in high street shops has dropped from 41 percent last year to 39 percent this year. Just 2 percent of people said that they are looking forward to dealing wi.th store staff this festival season.
Guy Boxall, senior product marketing manager at Casio Business Solutions Division, which commissioned the research from YouGov, said that despite the fall in people visiting the high street,humans are "social creatures" who actually like spending time together.
"Although the high street is facing a big challenge Christmas, retailers (零售商) should see this research as a challenge to improve the in-store shopping experience, rather than the nail in the coffin. We are social creatures, and the desire to spend time with each other, particularly at Christmas, is never going to go away," said Mr. Boxall.
【小题1】According to the poll, in this year's Christmas       

A.about 7 % of the population will do both online and actual shopping
B.about 31% of shoppers will do half of their shopping in actual shops
C.about 39% of shoppers will do more than half of their shopping in actual shops
D.over three million shoppers will quit actual shopping just because of the long queues
【小题2】What's the meaning of "turn-off" in Para.5?
A.Something that makes people lose heart
B.Something that makes people lose face
C.Something that makes people lose interest
D.Something that makes people lose courage
【小题3】It can be inferred from Mr. Boxall's words that                                                                                                   
A.retailers should reduce their in-store goods.
B.retailers wiR be pessimistic about the result of this research.
C.retailers should focus on the advantage of in-store shopping.
D.retailers will make more profits this Christmas than last Christmas
【小题4】Wheat's the writer's attitude towards Christmas online shopping?
A.Concerned.B.Doubtful.C.Approving.D.Objective.

All over Britain there are ruins of castles that reflect their entire past. Over the years, legends have focused on these castles.

Castell Coch

This castle was built in the 1870's. Lfor Bach was once the owner of this castle many decades ago, and it is told that he hid a treasure in the nearby tunnel(地道). Rumors say that it is guarded by three eagles waiting for Lfor to return to collect his treasure.

Luffness Castle

In the basement(地下室) of this castle is a huge door leading to a room. The family kept this door open at all times, but one day the door was found locked and the key was missing. The whole family was surprised. The door was so big that it could not be broken down. One day the son of the family shone of a torch the door. He discovered that the key was on the inside of the room. To this day the door remains locked from the inside.

Toddington Castle

  This castle was built during the 13th century. This castle has a local legend that tells about a witch who was put in prison within the castle and died. It is told that her spirit remains and if you put your ear to the floor at Easter, you can hear her cooking below.

Castell Gwynionydd

A legend rests on this castle that states the devil(魔鬼) was the one who built it. It is said the devil had a problem with some people and had planned on punishing them. On his way, the devil met a cobbler(修鞋匠).The cobbler pointed out that it was still a reasonable distance until he would reach his destination. The cobbler displayed how many shoes he had worn out. Listening to him, the devil did not think his plan was worth so much effort and gave up his plan.

50.Which of the castles mentioned in the passage is said to be guarded by several birds?

A.Castell Coch.          B.Luffness Castle.      

C.Toddington Castle.   D.Castell Gwynionydd.

51.Which of the following castles is related to the legend about a witch?

A.Castell Coch.         

B.Luffness Castle.      

C.Toddington Castle.  

D.Castell Gwynionydd.

52.We can learn from the passage that          .

A.Castell Coch is said to be built by the devil

B.Castell Gwynionydd is a great place to celebrate Easter

C.Luffness Castle was once broken down

D.Toddington Castle dates back to the 13 th century

 

 

 

 

NANJING, June 13,2009 (Xinhua) – China will see the longest total solar eclipse (日食) in 500 years on July 22, a scientist said Saturday.

The most important time of the total eclipse was expected to

begin from 9:00 a.m. to 9:38 a. m. (Beijing Time), said Wang

Sichao, a research fellow with the Nanjing – based Purple

Mountain Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

“The total eclipse will l ast up to six minutes, which is the longest

one that can be seen in China in almost 500 years from 1814 to 2309,” Wang said.

He said viewers in parts of eleven provinces in China's southwestern, central-southern and eastern areas, such as Tibet, Hunan and Jiangsu, will be able to witness the total solar eclipse, while in most parts of Shanghai, viewers can see the spectacular phenomenon. For viewers in other provinces, including Beijing, they can observe a partial eclipse, he said.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is caught between the sun and the earth while each of them moves along their fixed orbits. In a total solar eclipse, the sun, the moon and the earth are directly aligned as the sun swings into the cone of shadow cast by the moon.

Wang said the next total solar eclipse that can be seen in China will fall on March 20 th, 2034.     "But it can only be seen remote provinces, such as Tibet and Qinghai. It cannot not be compared with the upcoming one -- in terms of duration and number of cities that can see the eclipse," he added. The last total solar eclipse visible in China took place on Aug. 1 last year. It was observed in northwest China and lasted two minutes in Yiwu County of northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the best place to see the phenomenon.

72.According to the report, the total eclipse on July the 22 nd will last         .

A.over a month                                                    B.about 38 minutes

C.about 6 minutes                                              D.less than 30 minutes

73.Viewers can possibly witness the total solar eclipse in            .

A.Liaoning                   B.Sichuan                    C.Beijing                      D.Xinjiang

74.When a total solar eclipse happens,          .

A.the moon goes into the shadow cast by the sun

B.the earth stays between the sun and the moon

C.the sun temporarily moves into the moon’s orbit

D.the sun is in a line with the moon and the earth

75.Which is the best title for this report?           .

A.China to witness longest total solar eclipse in 500 years

B.The most important total solar eclipse will favor China

C.The beginning time of the total solar eclipse is expected

D.China has been the best place to witness the solar eclipse

 

I had this exchange with my 6-year-old last week.

       Him: Mom, we have to start buying Danimals.

       Me: Why?

       Him: So, I can bring it to |school for lunch.It's yogurt .

       Me: Why do you want it so badly?

       Him: Because Danimals i|s giving away five fantastic Caribbean vacations.

       I had to explain that there was little chance that he would win a vacation.It's a strategy used to encourage kids to beg for artificially-colored (人工着色的) yogurt that costs a lot.

       Marketing follows my kids —and yours—wherever they go .It comes via TV commercials. Store displays and websites are also constantly selling at our kids .But the most powerful means in kids" lives is the presence of licensed characters on every product imaginable.

       Children can begin their day in character clothing.There's even character -themed wall paint available.A breakfast in a character bowl can be followed by a character toothbrush and character toothpaste(牙膏), character soap and shampoo, and a character wash cloth and towel .Then, they can put on character clothing and character shoes.Check that, character clock on the wall: Is it time for characier-shaped fruit snacks yet?

       Surround kids with enough of the characters and they'll come to believe they need them.Most of us, of course, don't buy all those items.But say no to four products out of five and your home can still get filled with these tiny items encouraging brand loyalty (品牌忠诚)

       At this time of year, parents buy licensed school supplies.With so much marketing around us, it can be tough to stop the tide.

       "One thing that helps parents'is that they can talk to other parents about, this kind of thing," Linn suggested ."If you decide you want to buck this, it helps to find other people who will do the same thing .That way, if your child says."Everyone's doing it," you can really have a sense of whether everyone is." |

1.From the dialogue between the author and the son, we can infer that ____-

       A.the son likes drinking yogurt a lot.

       B.buying Danimals may win a free tour

       C.the son's school encourages kids to eat yogurt

       D.Danimals in the most popular yogurt among kids.

2.We can learn from th^ passage that     '

       A.character bowls increase kids' appetite.

       B.character-themed wall paint is expensive

       C.household goods are becoming the target of advertisers.

       D.Linn considered character-themed products a foolish marketing strategy.

3.The underlined word "buck" in the last paragraph probably means _____.

       A.support        B.resist           C.advertise            D.learn

4.What does the passage mainly tell us ?  .

       A.Marketing is affecting kids all the time.

       B.Most kids now don't have a happy childhood,

       C.Kids like buying licensed school supplies a lot.

       D.Licensed character produce are doing great harm to kids.

 

Father Maurice Chase used a special way to celebrate his 90th birthday. The Catholic priest(神父) took $ 15,000 in cash to Los Angeles’ Skid Row (贫民区) and gave it away. Twenty wheelchair – bound people received $100 bills, while the rest received $1to $ 3 each.

“I come out here to tell them that God loves them and I love them and that some one is concerned about them,” Chase said.

Chase has given away cash and blessings every Sunday at the same corner for 24 years.Several hundred people wait for him every week.

He makes a point of coming on Thanksgiving and Christmas, too, but this is the first year he spent his birthday in the downtown neighborhood where people live mainly in shelters and on dirty sidewalks.

    “ It’s the place that makes me the happiest.I just love it,” said Chase. “I look forward to coming here.”

The money comes from donations he receives from rich and famous people he met during his work as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University.

The crowd broke into choruses of “Happy Birthday” several times. Some people presented him birthday cards, to his delight.

Travis Kemp, a 51 – year – old disabled man with long black hair, was one of the lucky 20 to receive $ 100. He said he had no special plans for spending the money. “He has a lot of respect from me,” Kemp said. “I know I couldn’t do it.”

1.On his 90 th birthday, Chase      

    A.handed out cash to the needy

    B.collected money for poor people

    C.visited poor people’s homes with gifts

    D.held a party at Los Angeles’ Skid Row

2.Which of the following makes Chase feel the happiest?

    A.Celebrating his birthday with his neighbours.

    B.Working in Loyola Marymount University.

    C.Celebrating Christmas with the people he has helped.

    D.Going to Los Angeles’ Skid Row to help people there.

3.What’s the source of the money Chase used to help people?

    A.All his savings.

    B.His earnings as a Catholic priest.

    C.Donations from the wealthy and celebrities(名人).

    D.Donations from Loyola Marymount University.

4.Travis Kemp is mentioned in the text to show .

    A.he was the luckiest person on that day

    B.the disabled need to be taken care of

    C.Chase is greatly appreciated by the needy

    D.even old people came to celebrate Chase’s birthday

5.Which statement is CORRECT according to the passage?

    A.Every recipient could get $100 in cash from Father Maurice Chase.

    B.Father Maurice Chase gave the cash away not only on his birthday but also on other occasions.

    C.Although Father Maurice Chase gave the cash away on his birthday, he didn’t receive anything in return.

    D.Father Maurice Chase earned a lot of money as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University.

 

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