单选题 SHOPPERS on Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season in America, which falls on November 27th this year, are notoriously aggressive. Some even start queuing outside stores before dawn to be the first to lay their hands on heavily discounted merchandise. Last year berserk bargain-hunters in the suburbs of New York City trampled a WalMart employee to death. Despite the frenzy at many stores, however, the recession appears to have accelerated the pace at which shoppers are abandoning bricks and mortar in favour of online retailers- e-tailers, in the jargon. So this year Black Friday (so named because it is supposed to put shops into profit for the year) also marks the start of many conventional retailers' attempts to regain the initiative.
E-commerce holds particular appeal in straitened times as it enables people to compare prices across retailers quickly and easily. Buyers can sometimes avoid local sales taxes online, and shipping is often free. No wonder, then, that online shopping continues to grow even as the offline sort shrinks. In 2008 retail sales grew by a feeble 1% in America and are expected to decline by more than 3% this year, according to the National Retail Federation, a trade body. In contrast, online sales grew by 13% in 2008 to over $141 billion and are predicted to grow by 11% in 2009, according to Forrester, a consultancy.
Online-only shopping sites such as Amazon and eBay, two e-commerce giants, have thrived in the downturn. Amazon's sales rose to around $ 5.5 billion in the third quarter of the year. up by almost 30% from a year before. Listings, chiefly from commercial vendors, have surged so rapidly on eBay that its website briefly crashed on November 21st. The range of items available online is also growing. Amazon has started selling groceries. Consumer-goods companies such as Procter & Gamble (P & G) are encouraging the sale of things like nappies (diapers) and laundry detergent online. At the opposite extreme, the internet is also being used to sell luxury goods. Fabergé, a defunct jewellery-maker known for its gem-encrusted eggs, relaunched in September. It will not open any shops but will instead operate only online.
The shift in spending to the internet is good news for companies like P & G that lack retail outlets of their own. But it is a big concern for brick-and-mortar retailers, whose prices are often higher than those of e-tailers, since they must bear the extra expense of running stores. Happily, however, conventional retailers are in a better position to fight back than last year, when overstocking forced them to resort to ruinous discounting. Inventories are about 15% lower this year. Some big retailers, such as Saks and Target, have recently reported rising revenues and margins.
The concept of " mulichannel" shopping, where people can buy the same items from the same retailer in several different ways online, via their mobile phones and in shops—is gaining ground, and retailers are trying to encourage users of one channel to try another. Growing onlinc traffic may actually increase sales in stores too. According to a spokesman for Macy's, a departmentstore chain, every dollar a consumer spends online with Macy's leads to $ 5.70 in spending at a Macy's store within ten days, because consumers learn about other products online and come into stores to look them over before buying them. Many online retailers offer tools that let people locate the nearest outlet that has a given item in stock.
Retailers are also trying to make shopping seem fun and exciting to counteract the economic gloom. One common tactic is to set up " pop-up" stores, which appear for a short time before vanishing again, to foster a sense of novelty and urgency. Following the lead of many bricks-and-mortar outfits, eBay recently launched a pop-up in New York where customers could inspect items before ordering them from kiosks.

单选题 What does the first paragraph suggest about shoppers?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[答案精解] 本题考查从第一段中可得出的购物者的情况。该段讲述了黑色星期五通常是美国假日消费季节的开端,这天的消费者特别的积极,今年的黑色星期五恰逢11月27日。往常的这一天,有些人甚至天没亮就在商店门外排队希望可以第一个抢到“大跳水”的商品。去年,纽约市郊沃尔玛超市的一名员工因为顾客疯抢打折商品而被踩踏致死。然而,商场销售虽然火爆,但商场萧条之势却越来越明显,因为消费者正在弃实体商场转而投入在线零售商——行话叫电子零售商——的怀抱。所以今年的黑色星期五(这样命名源于这一天本应该是该年商店盈利的日子)也标志着传统实体零售商收回失地的第一炮。据此,可确定D项为正确选项。A、B、C项与文中内容不符,可排除。
单选题 In paragraph two, the writer mentions that in 2009 the offline sales is predicted to
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[答案精解] 第二段讲述了在经济大环境恶化的背景下,电子商务具有独特的优势:消费者可以轻松快捷地货比三家。有时在网上购物可以避开当地营业税,而且通常免邮费。这就解释了网络销售何以在实体店销售萎缩的情况下仍然保持增长。2008实体商场零售额增长了可怜的1%,而且预计今年的销售量将下滑三个百分点,全美零售商联合会(贸易组织)如是说。而与之形成鲜明对比的是网络销售。根据顾问公司福斯特的报告。网络销售量于2008年增长了13%,达到1410亿美元,预计今年将增长11%。此题目的解题关键在于正确理解题干中的“offline sales”一词。它与此段中的“retail sales”所指的都指实体商场零售额。据此可以确定C为正确选项。
单选题 In the third Paragraph, the writer argues that online shops
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[答案精解] 本题考查第三段中对网络商店的描述。该段讲述了诸如亚马逊和eBay(两大网络销售巨头)等不设实体店铺的在线消费网站在经济危机之下茁壮成长。亚马逊今年三季度的销售额达到约55亿美金,与去年相比,增长了30%。eBay亦是如此。订单(以供应商的为主)数激增,导致eBay网站于11月21日一度瘫痪。网络销售的产品种类亦在扩大,亚马逊已经开始在网上销售杂货,宝洁等消费品公司也正在网上促销尿片、洗衣粉等小商品。与这些小商品完全相反的奢侈品也被搬到了网上销售。已经销声匿迹的珠宝制造商Fabergé于九月重新开业,该公司摒弃实体店只在网络销售产品。由此可以确定D为正确选项;A项提到的经济繁荣与文中的经济危机相悖;B项中的“never”与文中提到的eBay网站于11月21日暂时瘫痪这一事实矛盾;C项表述的内容与此段不符。
单选题 Some conventional retailers have reported rising profits this year because
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[答案精解] 该题目问及今年一些实体店利润增加的原因。第四段提到消费者转向网络消费对宝洁这种没有自己专营店的公司来说是利好消息,而对于实体零售商来说却是棘手问题。因为实体零售商存在经营成本,其零售价格通常高于网上价格。然而,好的一面是今年传统的零售商能够扳回一局的几率较去年高。去年库存过多,传统零售商被迫亏本打折,而今年的库存量下降了大约15%。诸如Saks和Target等的一些大型零售商已于最近传来营业额增加、利润率上升的好消息。综合四个选项,A项表述与此相符;C项所述内容虽有提及,但不是主要原因;B、D项内容未在文中提及。
单选题 In the fifth paragraph, the writer says that
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[答案精解] 第五段讲述了“多渠道”销售的概念是指顾客可以通过网络、手机、亲临实体店等不同方式从同一个零售商手中买到同样的产品,这种概念正在为人们所接受,零售商也在鼓励单一渠道的消费者尝试其他的购买途径。网上交易量增长也可能促进实体店的销量上升。梅西百货公司(百货连锁公司)的发言人表示:顾客在梅西网站每花一美元,十天之内该顾客会在梅西百货商店消费5.7美元,因为顾客在网站上看到其他商品的信息,他们会亲临商场仔细检查在网上看到的商品,然后再购买。很多网络商家还提供专门服务,帮助顾客找到离他们最近的、出售他们中意产品的专营店。据此可以确定B项是正确选择。A、C、D项所述内容与此段不符,均可排除。
单选题 "Pop-up" stores can help to fight against economic gloom because they
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[答案精解] 本题问到了“弹出式”商铺可以帮助击退经济低迷的原因。最后一段讲述了商家也在绞尽脑汁增加购物的乐趣和刺激感以应对经济颓势。最常见的策略是开设弹出式店铺,这种店铺仅短时间存在,之后便再次消失,给顾客以新鲜感和紧迫感(要赶紧购买,否则便消失不见了)。eBay也加入实体店引领的风潮,最近在纽约开设了一家弹出式商铺。顾客可以在这个商铺里仔细检查商品品质,然后在网上订购。综上所述,可确定B项为正确选项。