Alibaba started taking the lead in China, simply enough, 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 identify: size. Alibaba is just big, even by Chinese standards. Its marketplaces attract 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 almost 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 secondary 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 extensive 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 big size |
| B．its business-to-business service |
| C．its not charging small sellers |
| D．its low price |
What can we learn from the underlined sentence in the passage?
| A．Alibaba is of middle size among all the online sites |
| B．Alibaba will continue to develop. |
| C．Alibaba stands out as the best online site. |
| D．Alibaba acts as a bridge between the buyers and sellers. |
What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．a new store | B．Alibaba |
| C．a business | D．a foreign website |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The author’s Chinese teacher is also an online purchase lover. |
| B．Taobao has no obvious advantage over other similar online sites. |
| C．Alibaba’s business-to-business service earns more money than retail now. |
| D．TMall.com provides more profit than Taobao. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Shopping online is TaoBao. |
| B．The influence of shopping online goes beyond traditional shopping. |
| C．Alibaba greatly influences people’s daily purchase in China. |
| D．How the author purchases online in China. |
Two good friends, Sam and Jason, met with a car accident on their way home one night. The next morning, Sam woke up blind. His legs were broken. The doctor, Mr Lee was standing by his bed, looking at him with a thoughtful expression. When he saw Sam awake, he asked, “How are you feeling, Sam?” Sam smiled and said, “Not bad, Doctor. Thank you for doing the operation (手术).” Mr Lee was moved by Sam. When he was leaving, Sam said, “Please don’t tell Jason about it.” “... OK.” Mr Lee replied.
Months later when Jason’s wounds (伤) healed, Sam was still very sick. Neither could he see or walk. What he could do was just stay in his wheelchair all day long. At first, Jason stayed with him for a few days. But days later, Jason felt very discouraged and embarrassed to spend time staying with a disabled man like Sam. So he went to see Sam less and less. He made new friends. From then on, he didn’t go to visit Sam any more. Sam didn’t have any family or friends other than Jason. He felt very sad.
Things went from bad to worse. Sam died a year later. When Jason came, Mr Lee gave a letter to him. It was from Sam. In the letter Sam said, “Dear Jason, I am disabled. But I want you to be a healthy man. So I gave my eyes to you so that you can enjoy life as a healthy man. Now you have new friends. I’m glad to see that you are as healthy and happy as usual. I’m glad you live a happy life. You are always my best friend ... ... Sam”. When he finished reading the letter Mr Lee said, “I have promised that I will keep this a secret until Sam is gone. Now you know it.” Jason stood there. Tears ran down his face. The reason why Sam thanked Mr Lee was that ____.
| A．Mr Lee was very kind and friendly to him |
| B．Mr Lee came to see him early in the morning |
| C．Mr Lee did the operation according to his wish |
| D．Mr Lee saved both his and Jason’s lives |
Which of the following happened according to the order of time?
a. Jason made new friends. b. Sam gave his eyes to Jason.
c. Sam and Jason were caught in a car accident. d. Sam became disabled and needed friends.
e. Sam died and Jason knew the truth.
| A．dacbe | B．dcbea | C．cbdae | D．cdbea |
We can infer from the passage that ____.
| A．Sam drove too badly and caused the car accident |
| B．the unsuccessful operation led to Sam’s blindness |
| C．Jason knew how Sam helped him before Sam died |
| D．it was Jason that was made blind in the car accident |
Sam was a man who ____.
| A．thought friendship was very important |
| B．was unfriendly to his friends |
| C．felt hopeless after the car accident happened |
| D．always listened to his friends |
The underlined word “healed” in the second paragraph may mean “____”.
| A．was sleepy after working for a long time |
| B．became healthy again (after being ill) |
| C．felt surprised when hearing bad news |
| D．ran away when something bad happened |
Every English learner hopes to find a patient native speaker who will politely correct mistakes and teach him some useful new vocabulary. But native speakers can be hard to find. If you’re having trouble communicating in English, American situation comedies are one good way to help.
They can not only give you a lot of information about American culture, but also offer some useful daily expressions. Watching them will help you enlarge your vocabulary and teach you correct language usage in different situations. Best of all, situation comedies are a fun way to learn.
The Apprentice
The American reality (现实) TV show is hosted by the famous businessman Donald Trump. It’s based on the idea of the final job interview for the final job. The show picks 16 people to compete for a job with Trump’s business. Those who fail their weekly tasks have to meet with Trump. They have to explain why they should not be fired (解雇).
The Apprentice is useful for English students who want to learn how to make up a persuasive (令人信服的) argument. For example, rather than say “I think I did a good job”, one may also learn to throw off the possibility of uncertainty by saying, “I did a good job.”
Desperate Housewives (DH)
Desperate Housewives is set in an invented American town, Wisteria Lane. It follows a group of middle-aged women as they go through their daily family lives. But in fact, those women live a life of lies, secrets, criminal (犯罪的) acts, and mystery.
This program is good at expressing the funny life of American neighbors. And, it’s the perfect comedy series for foreign learners wanting to see how to hold a relaxed daily conversation.
Another reason for watching DH is to learn some expressions American families use that are not in your English language textbooks. For example, the mothers often use words such as “sport” and “you guys” to speak about their kids. According to the passage, The Apprentice and DH are introduced because _____.
| A．they are now the most popular programs |
| B．they are helpful in English learning |
| C．they are advertised for English beginners |
| D．they are enjoyed by most young people |
Through watching the two American comedy series, English learners can do the following EXCEPT _____.
| A．communicate with native speakers |
| B．know about American culture |
| C．pick up English daily expressions |
| D．learn more English words |
In the author’s opinion, learning English through TV series is _____.
| A．common | B．difficult | C．enjoyable | D．possible |
We can learn from the passage that The Apprentice _____.
| A．tells a story of school life | B．is about real life |
| C．has 15 actors | D．is about some businessmen |
Which of the following statements about DH can we get from the introduction?
| A．The story happens in a village of America. |
| B．The housewives join in the same job interview. |
| C．The women in the American town lead a life full of sadness. |
| D．It does well in describing an interesting neighborhood in America. |
If you were on the street in Mexico today you might think you were in an operating room, surrounded by doctors. You could see many concerned people with masks (口罩) trying their best to stop the swine flu (猪流感). And the masks aren’t only being used in Mexico. A friend of mine traveling from New York City to Florida was given a mask and a pair of gloves just after he reached the airport. And another friend went to get a haircut only to be faced with a hairdresser wearing a mask!
But do the masks really work? Is covering your nose and mouth the key to stopping the swine flu? To find out the truth, ABC’s reporter Sharyn Alfonsi talked with germ (细菌) expert Dr. Elaine Larsen. It turns out that when you sneeze (打喷嚏) the air coming out of your mouth at a speed of one hundred miles per hour carries germs which can travel anywhere around you and make people around you infected (被感染).
However, whether you become infected actually depends on the weather. As Sharyn reported, when you sneeze, the germs leave your body in small drops of water coming out of your mouth. If the weather is wet, the wet air will make the small drops bigger and heavier and they drop down towards our feet. If this happens, we won’t become infected. But if the air is dry, those small drops can float higher up, making it possible for them to touch someone else’s nose, mouth or their mask.
Larsen says the masks can stop the germs well but after a few hours, they start to get wet, holding a lot of germs they come across and causing you to breathe them in. The masks do work, but the key to stopping the germs is changing your masks often.According to Para.1, in Mexico you can see that ____.
| A．the patients are treated in the open air |
| B．some doctors work in the street |
| C．people speak little to each other in the street |
| D．many people wear masks in the street |
According to the passage a patient spreads germs mainly through ____.
| A．breathing | B．Speaking | C．touching others | D．sneezing |
We learn from the passage that on a wet day ____.
| A．sick people will be infected |
| B．germs can spread very far |
| C．germs spread very quickly |
| D．few people will be infected |
If you keep wearing a mask for a long time, ____.
| A．the mask will be old and worn out |
| B．you’ll love the feeling of wearing it |
| C．germs will be kept away from you |
| D．it will be easy for you to be infected |
What should we pay attention to when wearing masks?
| A．Keeping the masks dry. | B．Changing the masks often. |
| C．Choosing very thick masks. | D．Wearing big masks. |
Last night I drove a long way (about 500 km) to return home. It was late and I was driving fast because I wanted to get home as soon as possible. So several times when I was driving behind a slow-moving truck on a narrow road, I wanted to shout at the driver ahead.
Then I came to a crossroad with a traffic light. As I drove near, it turned red. I stopped my car at once. I looked left，right and behind. I found no cars or persons — I was alone on the road. The person who would come to the crossroad was at least a mile away in any direction. Certainly going through the light would cause no danger. I could pass the traffic light. But strangely enough, I just stopped there, waiting for several minutes until the light went green. I asked myself why I refused to run the light. Surely it was unnecessary for me to be afraid of danger or being fined (罚款), because there were no cars or police around at all. But I remained waiting until the light changed.
When I finally got home, it was near midnight. My wife had fallen asleep. The question of why I stopped for that light came back to me again, because I stopped another two times for the red lights as “special” as the first one. I stopped, not because of the law, but because it was a good habit I had developed. In fact, we were used to doing something right just because we have made obeying the rules a good habit. We do it just because we should do it. I thought if another man met with the same thing, he would make the same choice. I believed so. And I could be trusted (信任) by others. I believed that everyone would and could control (控制) himself/herself well. It was amazing that we trusted each other to do the right things, wasn’t it? When the author drove behind the slow-moving truck, he felt ____.
| A．confused but happy | B．sleepy and tired | C．excited but tired | D．angry and worried |
Who made the author stopped at the crossroad?
| A．A policeman. | B．The author’s wife. | C．The author himself. | D．Another driver. |
The author waited until the light went green because ____.
| A．running the light would make him fined | B．he was afraid to cause an accident |
| C．he was prevented by the passers-by | D．he was used to obeying traffic rules |
The author is a person who ____.
| A．believes others easily | B．can control himself well |
| C．treats others very unfriendly | D．is very experienced in driving |
We can infer from the passage that ____.
| A．running the light could help the author get home earlier |
| B．the author’s wife was angry because he got home late |
| C．the truck driver in front of the author might be drunk |
| D．it was very necessary to have very strict traffic rules |
The structure and workings of the university are ever changing. The university of the past is not like the university of the present and the university of the present will not be like the university of the future. This “adaptation” to the times is what can make some universities great or make some universities among the worst in the nation.
In the past the university was very set in their ways. They did things the way they wanted them done. They paid no attention to the rest of the society and the way the ones paying the bills wanted them done. In the past the professors would lecture endlessly to the students, which often left the students bored and with no idea what was really said to them in the lecture. This is no way to try and teach students; students need interaction with the professors that are paid to teach them. As Paulo Freire believed there needs to be communication between the students and the professors and the class should not be totally memorization. This is the way that things were done in the past.
In the present many universities have either changed or are changing the way that they run their universities. The universities now are taking on many of the modern educational beliefs in order to make changes in the teaching methods. Universities are breaking down many of the divides between majors that they offer. By breaking these barriers the universities are becoming less specialized and more diverse. This goes along with the ideas of Berry who believes that the schools are over-specialized and that the universities are now just machines that are merely meant to produce workers. In the past few years the colleges have been lowering the standards of admission, which in turn lowers the standards of all the schools below the college level. The universities are now on the right track by increasing the standards of admission into their colleges. In the author’s view, what can decide a university’s quality?
| A．What its structure is like. | B．How its workings are run. |
| C．What times it belongs to. | D．Whether it’ll adjust itself. |
Which of the following is NOT a feature of universities in the past?
| A．They were run in a fixed way. |
| B．They ignored the needs of society. |
| C．They had lower standards of admission. |
| D．Professors lacked interaction with students. |
What is the author’s main attitude towards universities in the present?
| A．Positive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Passive. | D．Uncertain. |
What would the author most probably focus on in the following part of this passage?
| A．Universities in the future. |
| B．The standards of schools. |
| C．The admission into some colleges. |
| D．Other changes of teaching methods. |
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