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.

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.

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

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

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

4.Wheat's the writer's attitude towards Christmas online shopping?

A．Concerned.        B．Doubtful.          C．Approving.        D．Objective.

 

Internet access and power outlets available in most cafes in the．developed world might reduce your productivity．

A typical tale from store managers is of customers who buy a single cup of coffee or tea and occupy a four-seat table for eight or more hours．A store full of these people turns the shop into a silence broken only by the tapping of keyboard keys．In others, however, customers use the network briefly, and the turnover is high．

Cafe owners have talked about their discomfort for years．Some cafes founders started turning off Wi-Fi （无线网络） on the weekends．The experiment led to success, they said．People who otherwise avoided the cafe came in, and the place became crowded on Saturdays and Sundays．In the years since, hundreds of articles have appeared about similar cases in which a coffee shop turns off the signal, and sometimes blocks electrical outlets．

Nick Bilton, the New York Times" Bits blog editor, was banned from reading an electronic book a few days ago．The Actual Cafe in Oakland opened last year with lapton-free weekends．The owner, Sal Bednarz, wrote in an email, "I think it's fascinating that we've allowed technology to enter so much of our lives that it can feel like an affront （冒犯） when someone asks us to step away

from it for a short while．"

Dan Drozdenko, the owner of the Downbeat Cafe in Los Angeles, says, “People come here because we don't offer it．They know they can get their work done and concentrated．"

For tasks that don't require constant monitoring of live date—such as stock management or minding server operations—productivity seems to soar when the constant bright shiny ball of the Internet is nowhere to be seen．

People often leave the house or office to free themselves of conditions that reduce productivity, only to walk into a venue that lets them surf, and otherwise avoid focus．Could the offer of single-tasking and quiet thinking be a selling point when drinking coffee or tea? A moment's relief from the Blackbgerry buzz, the iphone alert, the Android annoyance? Only if one remembers to turn off one's 3G connection, too．

72．What's the disadvantage for a cafe owner if the customers use the Internet long?

       A．It makes the turnover slow and affects the business．

       B．It makes the cafe silent and is bad for its atmosphere．

       C．The owner is disturbed by the tapping of keyboard keys．

       D．It costs a lot to offer Internet access to customers．

73．What happened after Wi-Fi was turned off in the cafe on the weekends?

       A．It added much inconvenience to people

       B．Customers stayed in the cafe longer than before．

       C．The environment in the cafe was improved．

       D．There were more customers in the cafe．

74．What can be inferred from the words of Dan Drozdenko?

       A．If people don't get their work done, they shouldn't go to a coffee shop．

       B．If people go to a coffee shop, they would concentrate more on their work．

       C．If people do their work while surfing the Internet in a coffee shop, they can't concentrate．

       D．If people can't surf the Internet in a coffee shop, they would be unwilling to come,

75．The underlined word "soar" in Paragraph 6 is the closest in meaning to "__"．

       A．exist                                         B．maintain                

       C．rise                                           D．change．

The best way to experience the Web，email，photos，video and other features.

All of the built­in programs on iPad were designed from the ground up to take advantage of the large multi­touch screen and advanced capabilities of iPad. And they work in any orientation. So you can do things with these programs that you can't do on any other device.

Safari

iPad is the best way to experience the Web. View whole pages in portrait or landscape on the large multi­touch screen. And let your fingers do the surfing. All iPad models come with built­in Wi­Fi，and safari can make iPad connected to the Web via high­speed Wi­Fi. And when you're away from a Wi­Fi network，you should choose iPad with Wi­Fi＋3G，which will make you surf the Internet anywhere，and sign up for access to 3G data service.

Email

There's nothing like the mail program on iPad. With a split­screen view，and expensive onscreen keyboard，it lets you see and touch your email in ways you never could before.

Photos

A vivid LED­backlit IPS display (显示器)makes viewing photos on iPad extraordinary. Open albums with a tap. Flip through your pictures one by one. Or play a slideshow and share your photos.

Multitasking

You can do just about anything on your iPad. With multitasking，you can do even more. Be more productive as your work，have more fun as you play，or do a little of both.

Find My iPad

You keep all sorts of valuable data on your iPad. If you happen to misplace it，find My iPad helps you locate it on a map，remotely set a passcode lock，display a message，and more. A magical and revolutionary product at an unbelievable price. Starting at $499，get your own iPad at the nearest Apple retail store，at a reseller(with 0.05% product tax)，at the Apple online store or in a shopping centre.

64. According to the passage，which description about iPad is TRUE？

  A. Every iPad can make you surf the Internet anywhere.

  B. If you want to write email，you need an extra keyboard.

  C. iPad can make you run more than one program.

  D. Each iPad will cost you only$499.

65. You can get an iPad at the following stores at the same price except ________.

  A. the Apple retail store     B. a reseller    C. a shopping mall    D. the Apple online store

66. If you happen to put your iPad in a wrong place，what can you do？

  A. Nothing could be done.            B. Report it to the 3G service company to lock the iPad.

  C. Report it to the police.             D. Find it via one of its features.