Many a online shopper stayed up until 2 am on Sunday, looking through the Internet to buy products being sold at half price before they could _ (be bought)by other shoppers. Tens of millions of the Internet users were crazy to take advantage of the halfprice promotion, started by the ecommerce giant Alibaba Group on Sunday, Nov. 11, which is known as Singles' Day in China, and is the Chinese answer to Cyber Monday in the United States. By 7 pm on Sunday, 14.1 billion yuan's worth of sales was made on tmall. com and taobao. com. That could make Singles' Day the biggest ecommerce sales day on record. The research company comScore said US online retailers saw $ 1.25 billion of sales during last year's Cyber Monday, the day after Thanksgiving weekend and the busiest day for online retailers as US shoppers start to prepare for Christmas. Singles' Day originated with university students, and was later adopted by ecommerce companies as a promotional opportunity. Ecommerce companies, including Jingdong Mall and Amazon China, also took part in the promotion." In the past, people only shopped online occasionally, but now, online shopping is a lifestyle accepted by many," said Zhang Yong, Tmall president. Alibaba began to hold Singles' Day promotions in 2009, and last year, its sales totaled 5.2 billion yuan."I don't know whether we would lose money, but I don't think we could earn much on this day by selling goods at half price," said Hao Hongfeng, chairman of Beijing Jiuxian ECommerce, a liquor retailer in Beijing who took part in the event. He said it is a good opportunity for online retailers to get their names known. Who first introduced Singles' Day to the public? A) Some college students. B) The online shoppers. C) Researchers in comScore. D) The online retailers.
A
Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is small. The population of it is nearly as large as that of Shanghai. We cannot believe it is such a big country with so small population! Enough laws have been made to fight against pollution. The cities in Australia have little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well. Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers. Exhibition In spring every year Perth has the wild flower exhibition. After visting Perth, we spent a day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of the hill. But what we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could--there were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path! Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos. After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep ,sheep, everwhere are sheep. Enough laws have been made to _ . A) increasw the pppulation B) grow more plants C) fight against pollution D) show wild flowers
C
Q: Consumers are being confused and misled by the hodge-podge of environmental claims made by household products, according to a "green labeling" study published by Consumers International Friday. Among the report's more unacceptalbe findings - a German fertilizer described itself as "earthworm friendly"; a brand of flour said it was "non-polluting" and a British toilet paper claimed to be "environmentally friendlier". The study was written and researched by Britain's National Consumer Council (NCC) for lobby group Consumers International. It was funded by the German and Dutch governments and the European Commission. "While many good and useful claims are being made, it is clear that there is a long way to go in ensuring shoppers are adequately informed about the environmental impacts they buy," said Consumers International director, Anna Fielder. The 10-country study surveyed product packaging in Britain, Western Europe, Scandinavia and the United States. It found that products sold in Germany and the United Kingdom made the most environmental claims on average. The report focused on claims made by specific products, such as detergent , insect sprays and some garden products. It did not test claims, but compared them to labeling guidelines set by the International Standards Organization (ISO) in September, 1999. Researchers documented claims of environmental friendliness made by about 2,000 products and found many too vague or too misleading to meet ISO standards. "Many products had specially designed labels to make them seem environmentally friendly, but in fact many of these symbols mean nothing," said report researcher Philip Page. "Laundry detergents made the most number of claims with 158. Household cleaners were second with 145 separate claims, while paints were third on our list with 73. The high numbers show how confusing it must be for consumers to sort the true from the misleading," he said. The ISO labeling standards ban vague or misleading claims on product packaging, because terms such as... As indicated in this passage, with so many good claims, the consumers _ . A) are becoming more cautious about the products they are going to buy B) are still not willing to pay more for products with green labeling C) are becoming more aware of the effects different products have on the environment D) still do not know the exact impact of different products on the environment
A: D
Q: Among the more colorful characters of Leadville's golden age were H. A. W. Tabor and his wife, Elizabeth McCourt, better known as "Baby Doe". Their history is fast becoming one of the legends of the Old West. Horace Austin Warner Tabor was a school teacher in Vermont. Then he moved west to the small Colorado mining camp known as California Gulch, which he later renamed Leadville when he became its leading citizen. "Great deposits of lead are sure to be found here." he said. As it turned out, it was silver, not lead, that was to make Leadville's fortune and wealth. Tabor knew little about mining himself, so he opened a general store, which sold everything from boots to salt, flour, and tobacco. It was his custom to " _ " prospective miners, in other words, to supply them with food and supplies, or "grub", while they looked for ore , in return for which he would get a share in the mine if one was discovered. He did this for a number of years, but no one that he aided ever found anything of value. Finally one day in the year 1878, so the story goes, two miners came in and asked for "grub". Tabor had decided to quit supplying it because he had lost too much money that way. These were persistent, however, and Tabor was too busy to argue with them. "Oh help yourself. One more time won't make any difference," He said and went on selling shoes and hats to other customers. The two miners took $17 worth of supplies, in return for which they gave Tabor a one-third interest in their findings. They picked a barren place on the mountain side and began to dig. After nine days they struck a rich vein of silver. Tabor bought the shares of the other two men, and so the mine belonged to him alone. This mine, known as the "Pittsburgh Mine," made $1,300,000 for Tabor in return for his $17 investment. Later Tabor bought the Matchless Mine on another barren hillside just outside the town for $117,000. This turned out to be even more fabulous than the Pittsburgh, yielding $35,000 worth of silver per day at one time. Leadville grew.... Leadville got its name for the following reasons EXCEPT that A) Tabor became its leading citizen. B) great deposits of lead is expected to be found there. C) it could bring good fortune to Tabor D) it was renamed
A: C