Chris Jones recently finished a very unusual journey. Our reporter Mary Owen met him at his home in south prefix = st1 /Londonand he told her all about the trip. Reporter: What gave you the idea to travel around Indiaon an elephant, Chris? Chris: Well, it all started 2 years ago when I was planning a trip to India. I visited a photographic exhibition of elephants and I realized that the only way to travel is on an elephant. Reporter: What did you do next? Chris: I flew to New Delhiand started looking for an elephant. I needed an elephant trained to carry people. I didn't know anything about elephants, so I asked an expert for help. He taught me how to ride an elephant. He also helped me find an elephant. Reporter: Can you tell me about the journey? Chris: Well. I bought a female elephant called Tara for about $ 6000. We set off from New Delhia week later. We were heading to Sonepur in northernIndiawhere there is a big elephant market and I could sell Tara easily. And what a ride! Elephants can travel at about 6 miles an hour and Sonepur was more than 1,200 kim away. The journey took us 64 days! Reporter: Did you have any problems on your journey? Chris: Yes, a few. But nothing serious. On the third day, Tara hurt her foot. But that got better quickly. Also there was a log of heavy rain during the first week and we got very wet! Reporter: What happened when you reached Sonepur? Chris: My plan was to sell Tara. But by now I was very fond of her. I couldn't take her back to Britainand I didn't want to sell her at the market. By chance,I met some people who wanted an elephant for their national park. I knew that Tara would be safe with them, so I gave her to them. I was very sad to say goodbye. Chris got the idea to travel around Indiaon an elephant from _ . A) a visit to an Indian zoo B) an elephant expert fromIndia C) some photos of elephants D) an old friend who lived inIndia
C
Most people know that the United States is made up of fifty states. However, few people know a lot about all fifty of them. Sufjan Stevens is a young American musician. He wants to change this situation. Sufjan Stevens plans to make an album about each of the fifty American states. During college he played in several musical groups and recorded an album of his own music. However, he wanted to be a writer, not a musician. So after college he moved to New York City to study writing. In New York. Stevens had trouble writing stories. He discovered that he missed music. He also discovered that most of the stories he did write were about his home state of Michigan. So, Sufjan Stevens decided to make an album of songs about Michigan. Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State was released in 2003. The album was a big success. Many young people and music critics liked it. Before long, Stevens announced that he wanted to make an album for every state. He called it his "fifty states project". Stevens chose Illinois as his next state. He read many books about Illinois. He studied police documents and old newspapers. He talked to people who live in the state. The CD Illinois was released in 2005. Critics loved the album. It won many awards. Illinois became popular at colleges throughout the United States. People said the CD sounded different from anything else they had ever heard. Sufjan Stevens is keeping his next state a secret from reporters. People have said that he is writing about Oregon, Rhode Island, or Minnesota. However, no one but Stevens knows for sure. Which of the following can serve as the proper title for the passage? A) Fifty States Project B) The Fifty States in America C) Songs About American States D) Sufjan Stevens and Michigan
A
Q: A small man went to a cinema, bought a ticket and went in. But after two or three minutes he came out, bought a second ticket and went in again. After a few minutes, he came out again and bought a third ticket. Two or three minutes after that, he came out a third time and asked for another ticket. But the girl said to him, "Why are you buying all these tickets? Are you waiting for friends in the cinema all the time?" "No, I am not doing that," answered the small man. "But a big woman always stops me at the door and tears my ticket up." The girl smiled and sold him another ticket. The big woman _ . A) didn't let the small man in B) was the ticket collector C) didn't like a small man at all D) was the doorkeeper
A: B
(Question)
There is no doubt eCommerce is growing, and it will continue to grow. However, physical stores would not die as a result of the rise of eCommerce, at least not in the near future. The idea that eCommerce is taking over physical stores has already misguided many people. Physical stores are far from vanishing, and there are some solid reasons for it. The _ for online spending is optimistic with $150 billion expected to be spent in the coming three years, yet we are also expecting $300 billion in spending at physical stores in the same duration. Do you still think that physical-store shopping is too small to sustain the eCommerce blow? Even though consumers are staying away from physical stores that follow older concepts, yet we are seeing the rise of fresh concept stores all around the US. We are seeing innovative and attractive success stories of physical stores, ranging from clothes stores to restaurants to health spas. It would be easy to assume that this trend will continue. Indeed, many shopping malls are dying, yet there are still those shopping centers that are performing well. You can see this for yourself by visiting shopping malls near you. What I want to emphasize here is that not all shopping centers are made equal, just like not all eCommerce retailers are made equal. Both shopping malls and eCommerce sites can lose business if they fail to maintain productivity through improvements and innovations. When you visit shopping centers that are serious about their business, you would see their shops and parking lots packed. On the other hand, even e-tailers like Amazon have experimented with pop-up shopping concepts. It is important to bear in mind that consumers prefer face-to-face interactions instead of online interactions during shopping, meaning that physical stores are going to stay there. Still, eCommerce retailers are seeing all of their excitement disappear as they settle the sales tax problem associated with e-tailing. As of now, five states of America have already imposed sales tax on... What is the best title for this passage? A) Is Offline Spending Greater Than Online Spending? B) Online Stores V.S. Physical Stores--What's the Difference? C) Will Physical Stores replace eCommerce in the Near Future? D) Does eCommerce Success Mean Physical Stores Will Disappear?
(Answer)
D