单选题 Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D]. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Shoppers on Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season in America, are very aggressive. Some even start queuing outside stores before dawn to be the first to lay their hands on heavily discounted goods. Despite the frenzy (疯狂) at many stores, however, the recession appears to have accelerated the pace at which shoppers are abandoning bricks and mortar (实体店) in favour of online retailers—e-tailers. So this year Black Friday 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 offtine sort shrinks.
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 destructive discounting.
The most obvious response to the growth of e-tailing is for conventional retailers to redouble their own efforts online. The online arms of big retailers are performing well, on the whole.
Retailers are also trying to make shopping seem fun and exciting to act against 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 (新奇) and urgency.
Shoppers are increasingly looking for an "experience" when they go to stores, says Jack Anderson of Hornall Anderson, a branding and marketing firm, and are no longer interested in purely "transaction-based bricks and mortar stores". Apple, which encourages customers to try out its devices in its stores, is considered a pioneer of this strategy, and has attracted many imitators.
Stores are also trying to lure customers by offering services that are not available online. Best Buy, a consumer-electronics retailer, has started selling music lessons along with its musical instruments. The idea is to bring people back to its shops regularly, increasing the likelihood that they will develop the habit of shopping there.

单选题 The recession of stores appears to have accelerated because______.

A. stores refuse to give heavy discounts
B. more shoppers turn to internet shopping
C. buyers are tired of queuing outside stores
D. customers are not confident in the economy

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干中的The recession和appears to have accelerated将本题出处定位到首段第3句。该句提到，实体店销售虽然火爆，但其萧条之势却越发严重，因为消费者正在放弃实体商店，转而投入在线零售商——电子零售商的怀抱。由此可知，实体店萧条加速的原因是更多的购物者转向了网上购物，故答案为[B]。由该段第2句中的on heavily discounted goods可知，[A]中的信息与之相反，故排除；该段第2句用even强调出人们为抢到打折商品不惜大早排队的热情，故排除[C]；[D]的信息在文中未提及，故排除。 [设题分析] 原因处/转折处设题。文中用however表示转折，使前后信息形成鲜明的对比：the pace后的定语从句实则为“加速”的原因，即为本题考查的对象。

单选题 Why is online shopping appealing to customers?

A. Goods sold online tend to be of higher quality.
B. Online shoppers do not have to pay purchase tax.
C. Many online retailers offer free delivery of goods.
D. Prices are often the lowest for the same goods.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干中的appealing将本题出处定位到第2段前两句。该处提到，在经济萧条的背景下，电子商务尤其具有吸引力：消费者可以轻松快捷地货比三家。顾客有时在网上购物可以避开当地营业税，并且送货时通常免收邮费。[C]“很多网上零售商提供免费送货”是对shipping is often flee的同义转述，故答案为[C]。文中未提到商品质量问题，故排除[A]；由该段第2句可知，购物者有时(sometimes) 可以避开sales taxes，而不是总能避开，故排除[B]；该段首句指出，网上购物可以使人们compare prices…quickly and easily，而没说同样的商品其价格最低，[D] 是对该句信息的过度推断，故排除。 [设题分析] 原因处/并列处设题。文中用as引导原因状语从句，直接回答了Ecommetce holds particular appeal的一个原因，其他两个原因则在下句给出只要找出与原文相对应的选项即可。

单选题 What is said about brick-and-mortar stores in the third paragraph?

A. They start to set up their own online stores.
B. They hold a better situation than last year.
C. They make more profits from higher prices.
D. They are not faced with the problem of overstock.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 第3段的后两句谈论到了实体店的情况。末句提到，然而，令人高兴的是，今年传统的零售商能够扳回一局的可能性比去年大，因为去年库存过多，传统零售商被迫亏本打折。由Happily和in a better position可以看出，今年的形势要好于去年，[B]是对原文信息的同义转述，故为答案。第3段提到的实体店的办法是resort to destructive discounting而不是set up their own online stores，故排除[A]；[C]是针对该段第2句中的whose prices are often higher。 than those of e-tailers设的干扰项，文中只是说实体店的价格要比网上销售的高，没说能从中获得更大利润，故排除[C]；[D]与该段末句的overstocking forced them…信息矛盾，故排除。 [设题分析] 转折处设题。文中用 however进行转折对比，且放在了Happiy，的后面，强调了实体店今年形势的好转，答案是对原文信息的同义转述。

单选题 According to the passage, retailers launched pop-up stores to______.

A. offer shoppers new and exiting experiences
B. cut down the extra expense of running stores
C. attract customers with destructive discounting
D. let customers learn about their products online

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干中的pop-up stores将本题出处定位到第5段。该段提到，商家也在想方设法增加购物的乐趣和刺激感以应对经济低迷。最常见的策略是开设“弹出式”商店…给顾客以新鲜感和紧迫感。题干中的launched pop-up stores 对应文中的set up“pop-up”stores，故文中表目的的todo不定式即为本题的目的。[A] 是文中的foster a sense of novelty and urgency的同义转述，故为答案。[B]、[C]、[D] 均不是零售商开设“弹出式”商店的目的，故都排除。 [设题分析] 目的处设题。原文以to do不定式引出商家开设 “弹出式”商店的目的，注意选项对原文的同义转述。

单选题 What does Best Buy do to win customers back from online retailers?

A. It encourages consumers to try out its instruments.
B. It provides regular customers with shuttle services.
C. It enables customers to shop via their cell phones.
D. It sells music lessons together with its instruments.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干中的．Best Buy，和back将本题出处定位到末段后两句。该处提到，消费类电子零售商Best Buy已经把音乐教学课和乐器捆绑销售。这种做法的目的是让顾客时常回到商店……。题干中的to win customers back from online retailers对应末句中的to bring people back to its shops，故末句中的 The idea即为．Best Buy的做法。根据上文可知，The idea指代的就是前面提到的selling music lessons along with its musical instruments，[D]为原文信息复现，故为答案。[A]是针对第6段首句中的Shoppers are increasingly looking for an “experience'’设的干扰项，鼓励顾客体验商品不是Best Buy的做法，而是Apple的做法，故排除。[B]“对常客提供班车服务”和[D]“使顾客可以电话购物” 均未在文中提及，故排除。 [设题分析] 举例处设题。本题解题的关键是找隹题干与文中的对应关系，正确理解The idea的所指。