Do you like shopping? For shopaholics in the UK, the place to head to used to be the “high street”. It was the place where you could find familiar fashion brands and essential everyday items in the centre of a town. But change in our shopping habits has taken its toll on the British high street.
News about shops losing money and shutting is now common. Some city-centre department stores have closed and even long-established retailers (零售商) have reported profit slumps. According to a recent survey, a record 2,481 shops disappeared from UK high streets last year — up by 40 percent.
As the BBC’s Emma Simpson writes, things have become a lot harder for traditional retailers in recent years. They have faced rising costs from wages, business rates and the requirement to introduce Europe’s new data law. But the biggest threat has come from online shopping. She says “Consumers now spend one in every five pounds online — and if businesses are seeing 20 percent fewer sales on the shop floor, as well as their fixed costs rising, then profit margins will be squeezed.”
While some of us like to window shop — browsing for things to buy, only to purchase them online at a discount — the fact is that, overall, shoppers are making fewer visits to high streets. Eventually, town centres could become like ghost towns. If people aren’t out and about shopping, they won't use other services, like cafes, restaurants and cinemas, which leads to job losses. The high street has also suffered from the arrival of big shopping malls, which offer a retail experience under one roof, with free parking, away from the bad weather!
Meanwhile, back on the high street, some shops still exist. Analysts have said it's those that have moved away from traditional retailing that are surviving. These include beauty salons, nail bars and independent coffee shops — but are these kinds of shops enough to keep the British high street open for business?
1.What do we know about “high street” according to the passage?
A.It sold only fashionable daily items.
B.It has changed people’s shopping habits.
C.It was a big shopping mall in downtown Britain.
D.It was the destination for people who love shopping in the UK.
2.Which is closest in meaning to the underlined word “slumps”?
A.Sharp fall. B.Steady rise.
C.Slow increase. D.Slight loss.
3.What’s the hardest part for traditional shop owners to run their shops?
A.The rising costs from wages.
B.The boom of window shopping.
C.The popularity of shopping online,
D.The introduction of Europe’s new data law.
4.What change is taking place in the British high street at present?
A.Discounts are offered to attract more consumers.
B.Parking is free of charge in time of bad weather.
C.Better service is provided to satisfy the customers.
D.Some conventional retailer turn to other businesses.
高三英语阅读理解困难题
Do you like shopping? For shopaholics in the UK, the place to head to used to be the “high street”. It was the place where you could find familiar fashion brands and essential everyday items in the centre of a town. But change in our shopping habits has taken its toll on the British high street.
News about shops losing money and shutting is now common. Some city-centre department stores have closed and even long-established retailers (零售商) have reported profit slumps. According to a recent survey, a record 2,481 shops disappeared from UK high streets last year — up by 40 percent.
As the BBC’s Emma Simpson writes, things have become a lot harder for traditional retailers in recent years. They have faced rising costs from wages, business rates and the requirement to introduce Europe’s new data law. But the biggest threat has come from online shopping. She says “Consumers now spend one in every five pounds online — and if businesses are seeing 20 percent fewer sales on the shop floor, as well as their fixed costs rising, then profit margins will be squeezed.”
While some of us like to window shop — browsing for things to buy, only to purchase them online at a discount — the fact is that, overall, shoppers are making fewer visits to high streets. Eventually, town centres could become like ghost towns. If people aren’t out and about shopping, they won't use other services, like cafes, restaurants and cinemas, which leads to job losses. The high street has also suffered from the arrival of big shopping malls, which offer a retail experience under one roof, with free parking, away from the bad weather!
Meanwhile, back on the high street, some shops still exist. Analysts have said it's those that have moved away from traditional retailing that are surviving. These include beauty salons, nail bars and independent coffee shops — but are these kinds of shops enough to keep the British high street open for business?
1.What do we know about “high street” according to the passage?
A.It sold only fashionable daily items.
B.It has changed people’s shopping habits.
C.It was a big shopping mall in downtown Britain.
D.It was the destination for people who love shopping in the UK.
2.Which is closest in meaning to the underlined word “slumps”?
A.Sharp fall. B.Steady rise.
C.Slow increase. D.Slight loss.
3.What’s the hardest part for traditional shop owners to run their shops?
A.The rising costs from wages.
B.The boom of window shopping.
C.The popularity of shopping online,
D.The introduction of Europe’s new data law.
4.What change is taking place in the British high street at present?
A.Discounts are offered to attract more consumers.
B.Parking is free of charge in time of bad weather.
C.Better service is provided to satisfy the customers.
D.Some conventional retailer turn to other businesses.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
How do you pay for things in a shop? Perhaps you like the touchable reliability of hard cash? Maybe the financial flexibility of a credit card suits you better? Or perhaps you prefer the simple convenience of a smartphone?
Whatever you use today, experts believe all these methods could soon become outdated. Instead, we will use our bodies: our eyes, our fingerprints, even our mere presence in the store. In fact it's happening already. Amazon are trialing stores which have no checkouts, where technology tracks the items you've taken from the shelves and deducts(扣除) the total from your account when you leave the shop.
French supermarket Monoprix takes a different path: you choose your groceries and leave them with a human cashier. You then leave the shop while the cashier adds up your bill, charges your account, and organizes delivery to your home.
Amir, CEO of Barclaycard predicts that such new developments mean the end of the plastic credit card. Instead, wearable items such as rings, necklaces and key chains will carry chips(芯片) that allow shoppers to shop, going between the web, an app or in store.
And while all the above payment methods are supported by accounts held in traditional currencies, let's not forget the rise of alternatives such as Litecoin. Virtual(虚拟) currencies can rise in value very quickly. One such possibility is explored in the movie In Time. It imagines a futuristic society in which the currency is time itself, where people trade the amount of time they have left to live.
Or perhaps we'd do better to wind back the clock to the simpler financial world of the equal exchange economy. While the term recalls images of bags of grain and herds of sheep being exchanged in ancient times, there are signs that are making a comeback in today's world of modern technology. Maybe the only thing we know for certain is that money will keep updating.
1.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Payment is done by the cashiers at Amazon.
B. All the methods of payment have become outdated.
C. Shopping at Monoprix is convenient for customers.
D. Customers can leave their credit cards at Monoprix.
2.What might replace the credit cards in the future according to Amir?
A. Smartphones. B. Wearable items.
C. Virtual currencies. D. Fingerprints.
3.What is used as a currency in the movie In Time?
A. Litecoin. B. Human life.
C. Time. D. Bags of grain.
4.Which is the best title for the passage?
A. The Rise of Virtual Currencies. B. The History of Money.
C. The Ending if Credit Cards. D. The Changing Nature of Money.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Do you think shopping online will __ take the place of shopping in stores?
A.especially | B.frequently | C.merely | D.finally |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Do you think shopping online will __ take the place of shopping in stores?
A. especially B. frequently C. merely D. finally
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Do you think shopping online will ______ take the place of shopping in stores?
A.especially B.frequently C.merely D.finally
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Do you think shopping online will________take the place of shopping in stores?
A.especially | B.frequently | C.merely | D.finally |
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Do you think shopping online will ________ take the place of shopping in stores?
A.especially B.frequently C.merely D.finally
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Do you like shopping? Or does the thought of wandering round the shops fill you with terror? For some of us,shopping is an enjoyable way of spending our spare time and our money. For me.it's something I would rather avoid.Thank goodness for the Internet! It's more convenient to buy CDs,electrical items,even food,from the comfort of your sofa.But that’s not the only reason:price is an important factor.We can buy goods and services cheaper online. But sometimes the problem is knowing what to buy.This has led to a type of shopping called “showrooming”.
Showrooming is something I've done.I will go to a shop to see,touch and try out products but then go home and buy them online at a knock—down price.I'm not alone in doing this.Research by a company called Foolproof,found 24%of people showroomed while Christmas shopping in 2013.
Amy Cashman,Head of Technology at TNS UK,says the reasons for this new shopping habit are that“people are lacking time,lacking money and they want security about the products they are buying.”She explains that consumers are not only shopping online at home but they are using the Internet in store or on their smartphones to shop around.
But does this mean technology will kill shops? Certainly shops will change.They will have to offer more competitive prices or encourage people to buy more by giving in—store discounts or free girls.
We mustn’t forget that buying in a shop means you can get expert advice from the sales assistant and you can get good aftercare.It’s good to speak to a real human rather than look at a faceless computer screen but at least by showrooming,you get the best of both worlds!
1.The two questions in Paragraph l are raised to
A.introduce the topic B.give two examples
C.compare different opinions D.get answers from readers
2.What does showrooming mean in the text?
A.Trying in shops and buying online.
B.Showing products in a room.
C.Buying something in a store.
D.Shopping on the Internet.
3.According to Amy Cashman,which is not the reason for showrooming?
A.The lack of time. B.The comfort of the sofa.
C.The shortness of money. D.The security of the product.
4.What can be inferred from Paragraph 4 ?
A.Online shops will disappear.
B.Free gifts will surely promote sales.
C.Shops need necessary changes.
D.Shops will be replaced by online shops.
5.The author's attitude towards showrooming is
A.critical B.neutral C.supportive D.casual
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Do you like shopping? Or does the thought of wandering around the shops fill you with terror? For some of us, shopping is an enjoyable way of spending our spare time and our money. For me, it’s something I would rather avoid. Thank goodness for the Internet! It’s more convenient to buy CDs, electrical items, even food from the comfort of your sofa. But that’s not the only reason: price is an important factor. We can buy goods and services cheaper online. But sometimes the problem is knowing what to buy. This has led to a type of shopping called “showrooming”.
Showrooming is something I’ve done. I will go to a shop to see, touch and try out products but then go home and buy them online at a knock-down price. I’m not alone in doing this. Research by a company called Foolproof, found 24% of people showroomed while Christmas shopping in 2013.
Amy Cashman, head of Technology at TNS UK, says the reasons for this new shopping habit are that “people are lacking time, lacking money and they want security about the products they are buying”. She explains that consumers are not only shopping online at home but they are using the Internet in store or on their smartphones to shop around.
But does this mean technology will kill shops? Certainly shops will change. They will have to offer more competitive prices or encourage people to buy more by giving in-store discounts or free gifts.
We mustn’t forget that buying in a shop means you can get expert advice from the sales assistant and you can get good aftercare. It’s good to speak to a real human rather than look at a faceless computer screen, but at least by showrooming, you get the best of both worlds!
1.The two questions in Paragraph 1 are raised to ________.
A. introduce the topic
B. give two examples
C. compare different opinions
D. get answers from readers
2.According to Amy Cashman, which is not the reason for showrooming?
A. The lack of time.
B. The comfort of the sofa.
C. The shortness of money.
D. The security of the product.
3.The author’s attitude towards showrooming is ________.
A. critical B. neutral C. casual D. supportive
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Do you like shopping? Or does the thought of wandering round the shops fill you with terror? For some of us, shopping is an enjoyable way of spending our spare time and our money. For me, it’s something I would rather avoid. Thank goodness for the Internet! It’s more convenient to buy CDs, electrical items, even food, from the comfort of your sofa. But that’s not the only reason:price is an important factor. We can buy goods and services cheaper online. But sometimes the problem is knowing what to buy. This has led to a type of shopping called "showrooming".
Showrooming is something I’ve done. I will go to a shop to see, touch and try out products but then go home and buy them online at a knock-down price. I’m not alone in doing this. Research by a company called Foolproof, found 24% of people showroomed while Christmas shopping in 2013.
Amy Cashman, head of Technology at TNS UK, says the reasons for this new shopping habit are that"people are lacking time, lacking money and they want security about the products they are buying". She explains that consumers are not only shopping online at home but they are using the Internet in store or on their smartphones to shop around.
But does this mean technology will kill shops? Certainly shops will change. They will have to offer more competitive prices or encourage people to buy more by giving in-store discounts or free gifts.
We mustn’t forget that buying in a shop means you can get expert advice from the sales assistant and you can get good aftercare. It’s good to speak to a real human rather than look at a faceless computer screen but at least by showrooming, you get the best of both worlds!
1.The two questions in Paragraph l are raised to .
A. introduce the topic B. give two examples
C. compare different opinions D. get answers from readers
2.What does showrooming mean in the text?
A. Trying in shops and buying online. B. Showing products in a room.
C. Buying something in a store. D. Shopping on the Internet.
3.According to Amy Cashman, which is not the reason for showrooming?
A. The lack of time. B. The comfort of the sofa.
C. The shortness of money. D. The security of the product.
4.The author’s attitude towards showrooming is .
A. critical B. neutral
C. supportive D. casual
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析