sunsets.
“Do I miss the freeways? Do I miss the traffic? Do I miss the stress? No,” says Ms. Giddens, “This is a phenomenon that’s fairly widespread. A lot of people are reevaluating their lives and figuring out what they want to do. If their base is being damaged, what’s the payoff?”
Simple living ranges from cutting down on weeknight activities to sharing housing, living closer to work, avoiding shopping malls, borrowing books from the library instead of buying them, and taking a cut in pay to work at a more pleasurable job.
Vicki Robin, a writer, lives on a budget equal to a fifth of what she used to make. “You become conscious about where your money is going and how valuable it is,” Ms. Robin says, “You tend not to use things up. You cook at home rather than eat out…”
Janet Luhrs, a lawyer, quit her job after giving birth and leaving her daughter with a nanny for two weeks. “It was not the way I wanted to raise my kids,” she says, “Simplicity is not just about saving money; it’s about me sitting down every night with my kids to a candlelit dinner with classical music.”
Mrs. Luhrs now edits a magazine, Simple Living, which publishes tips on how to buy recycled furniture and shoes, organize potluck dinners instead of expensive receptions, and generally how to consume less.
“It’s not about poverty,” Mrs. Luhrs explains, “It’s about conscious living and creating the life you want. The less stuff you buy, the less money goes out of the door, and the less money you have to earn.”
59. Kay and Charles Giddens sold their home to ______. A. pay off the debt B. start a private hotel C. cut down expenses D. buy living necessities 60. Simple living includes ______. A. building a home library B. living in the countryside C. enjoying a colorful night life D. sharing housing with others 61. It can be learned from the passage that now Janet Luhrs ______. A. spends more time with her kids B. has an interest in classical music C. works as a reporter of a magazine D. helps people buy recycled clothes 62. How does the author develop the passage? A. By using figures. B. By asking questions. C. By giving examples. D. By making comparisons.
C
Showrooming
One of the biggest challenges facing brick-and-mortar retailers(实体零售店) in recent years has been the “showrooming”. Driven by the desire to get the best prices, many shoppers are now visiting brick-and-mortar stores to personally check on products that interest them, only to leave and then buy the items online. The new trend is forcing retailers to find out new ways to keep consumers from leaving their store for cheaper prices online.
Recent research found that 40 percent of U.S. shoppers have showroomed previously, with big-box retailers suffering the most. Specifically, the study shows that Best Buy, Walmart and Target are the most likely brick-and-mortar stores to have shoppers test out a product in-store and then purchase it online later, while Amazon is benefiting most from the practice, with nearly 60 percent of shoppers using the online retail giant(巨人) most often to make their showrooming purchases.
Smartphones have pushed showrooming into the front. Shoppers no longer have to wait until they get home to see if they can find a cheaper price for the products they’re considering buying. With smartphones, consumers can now compare virtual prices, at both other brick-and-mortar stores and online ones while still inside a retail store. If they can find what they’re seeking for less online, the majority will be seeking the first exit. A recent study showed that 45 percent of customers shopping at brick-and-mortar stores walk out and buy their purchase online for a discount of as little as 2.5 percent.
This puts pressure on retailers to provide both an in-store experience worth staying for and an online presence that can attract shoppers who are showrooming in other businesses.
To cut down on showrooming, many retailers are adopting new methods to keep shoppers in their stores. Among the steps they’re taking are price-matching guarantees that allow shoppers to pay a discounted price if they find it cheaper online. This ensures that even a showrooming shopper can make the purchase in the store—regardless of whether they find the cheaper price online.
Another popular method to fight against showrooming is to give shoppers the ability to buy something online and pick it up at the store. This reduces shipping costs and gets customers in the store, where they may be encouraged to make an additional purchase.
It is also important for businesses to take into consideration what makes shoppers purchase something in-store rather than online, and meet those needs. Research has found that more than 8 in 10 Americans consider being able to take the goods home immediately and the ability to touch and feel them—the most important aspects when deciding to purchase in a store rather than online. 63. According to the passage, a showrooming shopper tends to ______. A. pay for everything online B. have better bargaining skills C. rush to buy things in a store D. purchase online for a lower price 64. What contributes to the growing popularity of showrooming? A. The wide use of smartphones. B. The competition between big stores.
C. The advertisement by online retail giants. D. The decline of the brick-and-mortar stores.
65. The underlined words “seeking the first exit” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______. A. searching for lower prices B. leaving as soon as possible C. locating the first exit quickly D. making a purchase on the spot 66. The last three paragraphs mainly talk about ways of ______. A. increasing sales at stores B. preventing purchase online C. satisfying customers’ needs D. advising shoppers to buy more
D Traveler
My fifteen-year-old son has just returned from abroad with rolls of exposed film and a hundred dollars in uncashed traveler’s checks, and is asleep at the moment. His blue duffel(粗呢) bag lies on the floor where he dropped it. Obviously, he postponed as much sleep as he could: when he walked in and we hugged, his electrical system suddenly switched off, and he headed directly for the bed, where I imagine he beat his old record of sixteen hours.
It was his first trip overseas, so weeks before it, I pressed travel books on him, and a tape cassette of useful French phrases; drew up a list of people to visit; advised him on clothing and
other things. At the luggage store where we went to buy him a suitcase, he headed for the duffels, saying that suitcases were more for old people.
During the trip, he called home three times: from London, Paris, and a village named Ullapool. Near Ullapool, he climbed a mountain in a rainstorm that almost blew him off. In the village, a man spoke to him in Gaelic, and, too polite to interrupt, my son listened to him for ten or fifteen minutes, trying to nod in the right places. The French he learned from the cassette didn’t hold water in Paris. The French he talked to shrugged and walked on.
When my son called, I sat down at the kitchen table and leaned forward and hung on every word. His voice came through clearly, though two of the calls were like ship-to-shore communication. When I interrupted him with a “Great!” or a “Really?”, I knocked a little hole in his communication. So I just sat and listened. I have never listened to a telephone so attentively and with so much pleasure. It was wonderful to hear news from him that was so new to me. In my book, he was the first man to land on the moon, and I knew that I had no advice to give him and that what I had already given was probably not much help.
The unused checks are certainly evidence of that. Youth travels light. No suitcase, not much luggage and a slim expense account, and yet he went to the scene, and came back safely. I sit here amazed. The night when your child returns with dust on his shoes from a country you’ve never seen is a night you would gladly turn into a week. 67. During the trip, the author’s son ______. A. ran out of money B. had inadequate sleep C. forgot to call his mother D. failed to take good pictures
68. According to the passage, which of the following could best describe the author’s son? A. Polite and careless. B. Creative and stubborn. C. Considerate and independent. D. Self-centered and adventurous. 69. What does the underlined word “that” in the last paragraph refer to? A. It is important to listen to your child’s story. B. It’s easy to interrupt the chat with your child.
C. The author is proud of her son landing on the moon. D. The son no longer needs much help from his mother. 70. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Good parents should protect their children from potential dangers. B. The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. C. It’s a win-win choice to give a child space to experience and explore. D. Communication between parents and children is extremely important.
第二节（共5小题；每小题2分，共10分）
根据短文内容，从短文后的七个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Trampolining
What’s more fun than standing still? Jumping up and down on a springy piece of fabric (织物)! This activity is known as trampolining and it’s sweeping the nation.
The idea of trampolining is ancient. Eskimos have been throwing each other in the air for thousands of years. Firemen began using a life net to catch people jumping from buildings in 1887. 71 A gymnast named George Nissan and his coach Larry Griswold made the first modern trampoline in 1936. They got the idea by watching swing artists bouncing off of a tight net at the circus. They named their equipment after the Spanish word trampolín, which means diving board. 72 In 1942 they began making trampolines to sell to the public. 73 Experts find that more than 100,000 people hurt themselves while using one each year. Clubs and gyms use large safety nets or other equipment to make it safer. Most trampoline injuries happen at home. Since trampolines are more affordable than ever, injuries are even more common. These injuries happen for many reasons. People may bounce too high and land off of the trampoline or onto the springs. 74 Perhaps the worst injuries happen when untrained people try to do flips (快速翻转). Landing on your neck or head can cause injuries or even kill you. But don’t let all that bad news keep you down. There are many things that you can do to practice safe trampolining. Trampolines have been around for a while now. They have brought a lot of joy to many people. They can be a good source of exercise and activity. 75 But they can also be deadly. It is important to follow some professional guidance. Be sure that you are practicing safety while having a good time. Happy bouncing! A. They can help people improve their balance and moves. B. Trampolines may be fun, but they can also be dangerous. C. The men wanted to share their idea with the whole world.
D. Injuries also happen when many people are jumping at the same time.
E. You can surround your trampoline with a net so that people don’t fall off of it. F. They found a winner when they performed a piece of spring across a steel frame.
G. And in the early 1900s, circus performers began bouncing off of netting to amuse audiences.
第四部分：书面表达 (共两节，35分)
第一节（15分）
作为交换项目的一部分，学校将于本周五下午两点组织美国交换生到红星小学进行志愿者活动。假设你是校学生会主席，请向他们口头通知此事，内容包括：
1. 集合时间、地点；
2. 活动内容（介绍美国文化、教英文歌等）； 3. 活动意义。 注意： 1. 词数不少于50；
2. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
May I have your attention, please?
That’s all. Thank you.
（请务必将作文写在答题卡指定区域内）
第二节（20分）
假设你是红星中学高三学生李华。请根据以下四幅图的先后顺序，介绍你和家人在去年9月3日观看国庆阅兵活动的过程，并以“An Unforgettable Day”为题，给校刊“英语角”写一篇英文稿。
注意： 1. 词数不少于60；
2. 短文的开头已给出，不计入总词数。
提示词：阳台 balcony
朋友圈 WeChat Moments
An Unforgettable Day
On September 3, a military parade was held to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the victory of World War II.
（请务必将情景作文写在答题卡指定区域内）