It is "one of the few bright spots in the Chinese economy," says Zeng Ming． He is talking about e-commerce． Mr Zeng, the chief strategy officer for Alibaba, a giant Chinese Internet firm, predicts that digital transactions on his firm's platforms will top l trillion yuan （$159 billion） this year-more than Amazon's and eBay's combined． That is a bold claim, but consider what happened on Singles Sunday．
Invented a few years ago by students and seized upon by digital marketers, this festival for lonely hearts falls annually on the  llth day of the llth month （since l is the loneliest number）．It is like St Valentine's Day, only worse． Singletons shower each other with tender gifts: a barrage of pearls; a storm of sweets．
This November llth they spent a surprising 19 billion yuan on Alibaba's online platforms-a fourfold increase on a year ago, and more than double what Americans spent online last Cyber Monday （the Monday after Thanksgiving, when retailers urge Americans to shop online）． About 100m purchases were logged, accounting for 80% of the packages shipped that day． Couriers（怏递员） were buried in parcels．
So life is good for China's e-tailers, then? Not exactly． The number of digital marketers is increasing and online sales are booming． Consumers are enjoying lower prices, better service and more variety． The problem? The pressure on profits in Chinese e-commerce is worse than in America, reckons Elinor Leung of CLSA, a broker． "Almost no one makes money," she says．
The fiercest battles are being fought between online retailers and their bricks-and-mortar（实体的） rivals．Dangdang, a firm． that resembles Amazon,．and 360buy, another online retailer, have cut prices fiercely． Tencent, a cash-rich online giant known for its instant-messaging software, is splashing out to win market share． 360buy has also just raised $400m from investors to do the same． But it is unclear how much longer such firms can burn through capital．
【小题1】What's the best title of this passage?

A．The Ambition of Alibaba

B．Fierce Competition between Retailers

C．A Newly Sprung Festival for the Singles

D．Chinese Booming and Developing E-commerce

【小题2】According to Zeng Ming, this year Alibaba will        ．

A．outweigh Amazon and eBay in worldwide influence

B．rank top among all the Internet firms

C．have more than 159 billion dollars' sale

D．create another sales miracle just like the one on Singles Day

【小题3】How many packages were shipped on November ll th from Alibaba's online platforms?

A．About 80 million．	B．About 100 million．
C．About 125 million．	D．About 180 million．

【小题4】What's the author's attitude towards online retailers in China?

A．Optimistic．	B．Concerned．
C．Sympathetic．	D．Indifferent．

It is "one of the few bright spots in the Chinese economy," says Zeng Ming． He is talking about e-commerce． Mr Zeng, the chief strategy officer for Alibaba, a giant Chinese Internet firm, predicts that digital transactions on his firm's platforms will top l trillion yuan （$159 billion） this year-more than Amazon's and eBay's combined． That is a bold claim, but consider what happened on Singles Sunday．

Invented a few years ago by students and seized upon by digital marketers, this festival for lonely hearts falls annually on the  llth day of the llth month （since l is the loneliest number）．It is like St Valentine's Day, only worse． Singletons shower each other with tender gifts: a barrage of pearls; a storm of sweets．

This November llth they spent a surprising 19 billion yuan on Alibaba's online platforms-a fourfold increase on a year ago, and more than double what Americans spent online last Cyber Monday （the Monday after Thanksgiving, when retailers urge Americans to shop online）． About 100m purchases were logged, accounting for 80% of the packages shipped that day． Couriers（怏递员） were buried in parcels．

So life is good for China's e-tailers, then? Not exactly． The number of digital marketers is increasing and online sales are booming． Consumers are enjoying lower prices, better service and more variety． The problem? The pressure on profits in Chinese e-commerce is worse than in America, reckons Elinor Leung of CLSA, a broker． "Almost no one makes money," she says．

The fiercest battles are being fought between online retailers and their bricks-and-mortar（实体的） rivals．Dangdang, a firm． that resembles Amazon,．and 360buy, another online retailer, have cut prices fiercely． Tencent, a cash-rich online giant known for its instant-messaging software, is splashing out to win market share． 360buy has also just raised $400m from investors to do the same． But it is unclear how much longer such firms can burn through capital．

1.What's the best title of this passage?

A．The Ambition of Alibaba

B．Fierce Competition between Retailers

C．A Newly Sprung Festival for the Singles

D．Chinese Booming and Developing E-commerce

2.According to Zeng Ming, this year Alibaba will        ．

A．outweigh Amazon and eBay in worldwide influence

B．rank top among all the Internet firms

C．have more than 159 billion dollars' sale

D．create another sales miracle just like the one on Singles Day

3.How many packages were shipped on November ll th from Alibaba's online platforms?

A．About 80 million．                      B．About 100 million．

C．About 125 million．                     D．About 180 million．

4.What's the author's attitude towards online retailers in China?

A．Optimistic．                           B．Concerned．

C．Sympathetic．                         D．Indifferent．

 

“Who made your T-shirt?”A Geo etown University student raised that question. Pietra Rivoli, a professor of business, wanted to fin the anwer.A few weeks later, she bought a T-shirt and began to follow its path from Texas cotton form to Chinese factory to charity bin (慈善捐赠箱). The result is an interesting new book , The Tra ’s of a T-shirt in the Global Economy(经济).

Following a T-shirt around the world in a way to make her point more interesting, but it also frees Rivoli from the usual arguments over gobal trade. She goes wherever the T-shirt goes,and there are surprises around every corner. In China, Rivoli shows why a clothing factory , even with its poor conditions, means a step toward a better   e for the people who work there. In the colorful used-clothing markets of Tanzania, she realizes,th   “it is only in this final stage of life that the T-shirt will meet a real market,” where the price of  a shirt changes by the hour and is different by its size and even color .Rivoli’s book is full of mem able people and scenes, like the noise, the bad air and the “muddy-sweet smell (泥土香味) of  the  cotton. ”She says, “Here in the factory, Shanghai smells like Shallowater Texas.”

Rivoli is at her best when making those sorts of unexpected connections. She even finds one between the free traders and those who are against globalization. The chances opened up by trade are vast, she argues, but free markets need the correcting force of politics to keep them in check . True economic progress needs them both.

1. What do we learn about Professor Rivoli?

A.She used to work on a cotton farm.

B.She wrote a book about world trade.

C.She wants to give up her teaching job.

D.She wears a T-shirt wherever she goes.

2.By saying T-shirt “meet a real market”,Rivoli means in Tanzania            .

A.cheaper T-shirt are needed.

B. used T-shirt are hard to sell

C. prices of  T-shirt rise and fall frequently

D. prices of  T-shirt are usually reasonable

3.What does the word “them”  underlined in the last paragraph refer to ?

A.Free-markets.

B.Price changes.

C.Unexpected connection .

D. chances opened up by trade.

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A.What T-shirt Can Do to Help Cotton Farms

B. How T-shirt Are Made in Shanghai

C. How T-shirt Are Sold in Tanzania

D What T-shirt Can Teach Us

The other day my aunt paid me a visit. She was overjoyed. “I got the highest mark in the mid-term examination!” She said. Don’t be surprised! My aunt is indeed a student, exactly, a college student at the age of 45.

“Compared with the late 70s,” she says, “now college students have many doors.” I was shocked when she first told me how she had had no choice in her major. Look at us today! So many doors are open to us! I believe there have never been such abundant opportunities for self-development as we have today. And my aunt told me that we should reach our goals by grasping all these opportunities.

The first door is the opportunity to study different subjects that interest us. My aunt was happy to study management, but she could also attend lectures on ancient Chinese poetry and on Shakespearean drama. As for myself, I am an English major, but I may also go to lectures on history.

The second door is the door to the outside world. Learning goes beyond classrooms and national boundaries. I have many fellow international classmates, and I am applying to an exchange program with a university abroad. As for my aunt, she is planning to get an MBA degree in the U.K.

The third door is the door to life-long learning. Many of my aunt’s contemporaries say she’s amazingly up-to-date for a middle-aged woman. She simply responds, “Age doesn’t matter. What matters is your attitude. I don’t think I’m too old to learn.” Yes, she is right. Since the government removed the age limit for college admissions, there are already some untraditional students, sitting with us in the same classrooms. Like them, my aunt is old but young in spirit with incredible energy and determination.

The doors open to us also pose challenges. For instance, we are faced with the challenge of a balanced learning, the challenge of preserving our fine tradition while learning from the West, and the challenge of learning continuously while carrying heavy responsibilities to our work and family. So, each door is a test of our courage, ability and judgment, but with the support of my teachers, parents, friends and my aunt, I believe I can meet the challenge head on.

1.Which of the following words can best replace the “door” in the passage?

A．challenge         B．knowledge         C．learning           D．opportunity

2.What made the writher’s aunt overjoyed?

A．Having a chance to visit the writer

B．Having lots of choices in subjects

C．Getting the highest score in her exam

D．Getting admission to a university

3.Which of the following statements will the writer’s aunt agree with?

A．No pains, no gains.

B．Failure is the mother of success.

C．One is never too old to learn.

D．Rome isn’t built in a day.

4.The following word can be used to describe the writer’s aunt EXCEPT __________.

A．fashionable        B．traditional         C．energetic         D．determined

5.Which chart shows the correct structure of the passage?