Group-buying in China Modeled after US hot website Groupon.com, group buying websites are now popular in China. These websites use the power of group buying to get competitive discounts for a daily deal on some best stuff to do, see, eat and buy in the cities across China. Discounts are available within just one click. Zhao lei, a software engineer in Beijing, loves the one-hour lunch break at noon, as it is the best time for him to check "today's special" at his favorite group buying websites . Sometimes he searches for great deals at directory sites devoted to the new shopping space. Zhao spends around 800 yuan ($117.65) on group buying every month, mostly to buy food coupons for eating at some nice restaurants and occasionally to find something fun to do. ''I love group buying. In addition to the competitive discounts it offers, it helps me get something fun, exciting and new, and such surprises give me a reason to try something new," he said. When he finds a really good bargain, he will send the link to friends or colleagues through MSN,QQ, or e-mail, or share the information at some social networking websites. In doing so, he often gets a certain cut off the price. At some sites, buyers are invited to leave notes about what they want to buy and the website will consider it if similar applications reach a certain number. That is how Zuo got her digital camera after waiting for two months. "It is cool. I want to buy a new digital camera for my trip to Switzerland this winter, but I never expected such cheap prices!"Zuo said. Zhao Lei succeeded in getting a certain cut off the price by _ . A) bargaining face to face B) discussing with the sellers C) providing the link to others D) inviting others to talk about the price
C
Soccer star David Beckham will be there with his pop star wife Victoria. Elton John is attending with partner David Furnish. The guest list for the April 29 union of Prince William and Kate Middleton is still being kept secret, but details have begun to leak out, with some coming forward to say they are attending and the Mail on Sunday newspaper claiming to have the official invitation roster . The palace dismissed the newspaper's list as speculation Sunday. It won't be clear until the day how the royal couple has balanced the protocol demands that they invite statesmen, diplomats, religious leaders, politicians and the like with invitations to the people they really want to see, particularly the crowd they made friends with when they met and fell in love at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Kate Reardon, editor of high-society magazine Tatler, said many _ Britons acted as if they didn't really care about receiving an invitation while secretly checking the mail every day to see if the invitation had arrived. "Everyone's been hoping," she said. William and Middleton have showed their modern side by inviting a number of close friends, including some former sweethearts, the newspaper said. The wedding is not technically a state event, which somewhat limits the protocol requirements applied to the guest list. But royal obligations still order that a large number of the 1,900 or so seats go to guests from the world of politics, not actual friends of the couple. The couple have also invited many guests from the charities they work with, and Middleton has used her influence to invite the butcher, shopkeeper and pub owner from her home village of Bucklebury. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were not invited and many other international leaders are also expected to be watching on TV, not from a seat at Westminster Abbey. It is not clear if treasured Brits from the world of stage and screen and pop music will be on the list. It can be inferred from the passage that _ . A) their wedding will be held at Westminster Abbey on April 29th. B) Kate Reardon was invited to the wedding. C) journalists will not be allowed to attend the wedding. D) their former sweethearts are sure to attend their wedding.
A
(Q).
My friend got married. His mother carried two bags of cotton from the countryside by bus and train to his city. After arriving at the city, there was still a long way to his house without any bus passing by the house. His mother walked to his home breathlessly for 40 minutes without taking a taxi in order to save money. My friend felt bitter as well as funny at his mother's deeds. He pointed to the cashmere and silk quilts and said, "So long as you have money, you can buy anything in the supermarket. There is no need for you to carry so much cotton here in such a long way." But his mother insisted and said, "The cotton of this year is light and warmth-keeping. Have a try and you will know!" Maybe every parent is the same, caring for their children with stubborn love without caring about whether they know or like it. This early spring, I went to visit my grandmother. We had dry beans stew , eggplant salad bar, sauce radish for our dinner, all of which were dried by my grandmother last autumn and tasted wonderful. I loved the dishes to my heart's content and could not help praising them again and again. After a few days, my grandmother, who seldom visited us, came to my home and unpacked her bag, smilingly taking out bags of dried eggplants, dried beans and dried vegetable. She told me that I left so hastily last time that she forgot to give me some of these foods, so she took this chance to bring me what I liked. I was speechless at that time. Due to my casual complimentary her food, my grandmother, a nearly 70-year-old lady, by taking three buses from the west of the city to the east, came to my home with the food I liked. But she was bus-sick in life and even seldom went strolling in the street. My pretty girlfriend had a failed marriage in the past. After divorce, her parents shed the deepest protection and care to her by helping her attend to the child and offering financial aids. Her parents' love made her pull herself together and forgot the man who had hurt her before. Nonetheless, her father, an... What does the author want to tell us? A) The love from our parents is real and deep though sometimes it doesn't appear so. B) The love from our parents is awkward sometimes, which is rather annoying. C) Children should appreciate parents' love because their life is so hard. D) The world is changing so the love of parents should change too.
(A).
A