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Shopping in the United States changes a lot．About ninety years ago most people shopped in small stores that were owned by one person or a family．Women went from the bakery to the butcher’s to the grocer and on to the fruit and vegetable seller in order to get their food for the week．Then, about sixty years ago, supermarkets were born．In a supermarket, people could get all the different kinds of food they needed without going to different stores．
The next big change in shopping in the United States was the shopping mall．A shopping mall is a group of stores under one roof．Because malls allowed people to shop without worrying about the weather, they soon became very popular．The mall became a place for people to socialize in addition to shopping．If you walk through a mall, you will see older people sitting, chatting and drinking coffee．Malls are places for teenagers to hang out．Many teens will often just “go to the mall” and spend time with their friends．
The recent change in American shopping was the superstore．Large chain stores such as Wal-Mart, Office Depot and Toys “R” Us have been built all across the United States．Because they are so large, they can buy goods at a great discount and sell them much cheaper than smaller stores．Sometimes, when they are built near small towns, many of the small town stores have to close．They just cannot compete with their giant neighbors．
And now, online shopping is becoming more and more popular all over the States．People are too busy to go to the physical stores, so they go shopping over the Internet．Online shopping has lots of advantages．For instance, online stores are usually available 24 hours a day．Searching or browsing online shops can be faster than browsing the physical stores．While, online shopping also has its disadvantages．People are at higher risk of being cheated on the part of the merchant than in a physical store．And privacy of personal information may be let out．
1.Which of the following shows the right order of shopping development in the United States?
①small stores ②superstores ③shopping malls ④shopping online ⑤supermarkets
A．①②③④⑤ B．①⑤③②④ C．②③④①⑤ D．①⑤②③④
2.Which is the place for people to spend time with others according to the passage?
A．Small stores． B．Supermarkets． C．Shopping malls D．Superstores．
3.Why can the superstores sell products at much lower prices?
A．Because they can buy goods at a reduction in price．
B．Because they are across the United States．
C．Because they sell all kinds of products people need．
D．Because they are built near small towns．
4.What’s the disadvantage of online shopping according to the passage?
A．Wasting time． B．Fixed prices．
C．No chance to do physical activities. D．Leaking personal information．
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Volunteers, as an essential part of a successful world exposition, are a major channel for the public to participate in, serve and share the world exposition and a means to showcase the image of the host country and city．The following information is about the volunteer for the World Exposition 2010 Shanghai China．
I．Basic Requirements for Volunteers
Be willing to participate in voluntary services of Expo 2010;
Age limit: Expo Site volunteers must be born before April 30, 1992 and Expo City Voluntary Service Station volunteers before April 30, 1994;
Obey the laws and regulations of the PRC;
Be able to participate in training and relevant activities before the opening of Expo 2010;
Possess necessary knowledge and skills needed by the position;
Be in good health to meet the requirements of corresponding voluntary positions．
II．Further Information for Volunteers
Source
Residents of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese, and foreigners can all apply to be the volunteers．
Signup methods
Applicants may log in onto the official websites for online signup．They may also consult or connect with the Expo Volunteer Stations．
Time
May 1 – December 31, 2009
III．Volunteer Training
Volunteer training includes general training, special training and position training．General training is carried out through the Internet, while special training and position training are provided through classroom lectures and field practice．
IV．Volunteer Types
Expo Site volunteers refer to those offering voluntary services to visitors and the Organizer in the Expo Site, mainly including information, visitor flow management, reception, translation and interpretation, assistance for the disabled, and assistance in media service, event and conference organization and volunteer management．
Information booth volunteers are stationed in the Expo’s information booths at key transportation centers, commercial outlets, tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels and cultural event places outside the Expo Site．They offer services including information, translation, interpretation and even first aid．
1.What’s the purpose of this writing?
A．To recruit（招募） the volunteers for the World Expo 2010
B．To give some basic information of the World Expo 2010
C．To praise the hard work of the volunteers
D．To attract people to visit the World Expo 2010
2.If you were born in April 1993, where can you be a volunteer?
A．In the Expo Site． B．In the host country．
C．In the Expo City． D．In Chinese mainland．
3.
4.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills（泄露） on people, nature, and the environment．
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．
Of all of today’s environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term．
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Sicily Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run!
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power（太阳能）, electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal．
If the world’s millions of cars were 10% more efficient（高效的）— and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient — we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．
1.What is the passage mainly talking about?
A．Oil tanker accidents． B．Oil spills pollution．
C．What oil pollution is． D．How to reduce oil pollution．
2.How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?
A．By giving a description． B．By making an argument．
C．By giving an example． D．By drawing a diagram．
3.What does the underlined word “risk” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A．Transportation depending more on oil．
B．Poisonous oil breaking down naturally．
C．Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea．
D．More environmental damage being caused．
4.Which suggestion is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?
A．We should develop new technologies to cut oil use
B．Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines．
C．We should build safer oil tankers in the near future．
D．Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea．
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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They are among the 250, 000 people under the age of 25 who are out of work in the Netherlands, a group that makes up 40 percent of the nation’s unemployed．A storm of anger boils up at the government-sponsored （政府资助的） youth center, even among those who are continuing their studies．
“We study for jobs that don’t exist,” Nicollets Steggerda, 23, said．
After thirty years of prosperity, unemployment among 10 member nations of the European Community has reached as much as 11 percent, affecting a total of 12．3 million people, and the number is climbing．
The bitter disappointment long expressed by British youths is spreading across the Continent．The title of a rock song “No Future” can now be seen written on the brick walls of closed factories in Belgium and France．
One form of protest（抗议） tends to put the responsibility for a country’s economic troubles on the large numbers of “guest workers” from Third World nations, people welcomed in Western Europe in the years of prosperity．
Young Europeans, brought up in an extended period of economic success and general stability, seem to be similar to Americans more than they do their own parents．Material enjoyment has given them a sense of expectation, even the right to a standard of living that they see around them．
“And so we pass the days at the discos, or meet people at the café, and sit and stare,” said Isabella Cault．"There is usually not much conversation．You look for happiness．Sometimes you even find it．”
1.Unemployment in the Netherlands has affected _______
A．one million people B．250,000 people
C．1ess than half of the population D．about 0.6 million people
2.What Nicollete Steggerda said （Para．2） means that ________．
A．the students cannot get work after graduation
B．what the students learn is more than necessary
C．the students’ aim in study is not clear
D．school education is not sufficient
3.The underlined word ‘‘it” in the last paragraph most probably refers to ________．
A．material enjoyment B．a sense of expectation
C．happiness D．a job
难度: 中等查看答案及解析