Why Black Friday Shoppers Still Crowd Stores
To many of us, the ideas of rushing out to a superstore the day after Thanksgiving is appealing. Why would anyone race to crowded stores when they could stay in with family, or watch college football? We can’t say we know the answer for sure. But we do feel amazed at those who pour into stores looking for Black Friday bargains. Seemingly, nothing can stop them. Not the weather. Not the crowds. And not the fact that hurrying to a store in the age of instant e-commerce seems so…last century.
To be sure, holiday shopping habits do appear to be shifting. The National Retail (零售) Federation has stopped breaking up its holiday sales numbers by whether they come from e-tail purchases or from physical stores. It’s a pretty good sign that retailers don’t want to bring further attention to the declining fortunes of brick-and-mortar stores.
But there is no denying that people still love going to stores. Actual shopping in actual places remains an important part of the holiday ceremony for millions of Americans. To many, it’s the difference between playing a sport and playing a video game. As commercial as stores may be, they are still places where actual human beings interact. In a store, the “courageous” shopper performs the approving act of finding a present. That item might be heavily promoted by the store, but it doesn’t drop into one’s cart. It is picked up and examined before a decision is made. Maybe it gets put back on the shelf when the shopper changes his or her mind. Maybe there is a conversation with a sales clerk. The process is not that different than it would have been decades ago.
Online, the shopper has barely logged in before being faced with disturbing algorithmic (大数据的) suggestions based on earlier purchases. This hardly qualifies as shopping. This hardly qualifies as thinking.
Perhaps we are reading too much into the Black Friday phenomenon. But we suspect one reason Black Friday remains is that it involves an act of resistance against the Internet age. That would hardly be unreasonable. There aren’t many studies showing that time spent in stores is bad for one’s health, while there are quite a few drawing a link between time spent online and depression. Perhaps the people crowding into stores aren’t the crazy ones after all.
1.What can we infer from the first two paragraphs?
A. Physical stores are not so popular as before.
B. People spend more on Black Friday bargains.
C. Americans have an unhealthy shopping habit.
D. Goods in stores are cheaper than those online.
2.The author thinks people love to go holiday shopping mainly because ________.
A. they feel tired of shopping online
B. they think it is good for their health
C. they hope to pass down the holiday tradition
D. they can have real communication with others
3.What does the author think of the Black Friday phenomenon?
A. Puzzling.
B. Unusual.
C. Out-of-date.
D. Understandable.
4.What is mainly discussed in the passage?
A. The psychology of shopping.
B. The development of retailing.
C. The influences of e-commerce.
D. The features of holiday economy.
Every year, 1.5 million kids around the world die as a result of not getting vaccines (疫苗). This is partly because transporting and storing medicines can be a huge challenge in some countries.
Anurudh Ganesan, 17, knows this firsthand. When he was a baby in India, his grandparents carried him 10 miles to a health clinic in a remote village to receive a vaccine. But by the time they arrived, the vaccines were no longer usable because they had been overheated.
Vaccines, Anurudh later learned, must be kept cool to stay effective. But refrigerating them requires electricity or ice – precious resources that many developing countries lack.
Although Anurudh eventually received the vaccine he needed, his experience as a baby and the sad reality that so many other children aren’t as lucky motivated him to take action. The high school student invented Vaxxwagon, a portable vaccine-carrying device that generates its own power to keep lifesaving medicines cool as they’re delivered to remote areas around the world.
Anurudh first got his idea for Vaxxwagon in 2014. He read several textbooks to learn everything he could about refrigeration, and then he did research online to learn more about vaccines. Rather than relying on electricity or ice, Anurudh figured out a way to use wheels to power a refrigeration system for about eight hours. The entire rechargeable cooling system can be pulled to areas in need of vaccines by a bicycle, a car, or an animal. Eventually, Anurudh took his design to professors at Johns Hopkins University for advice. Not only did they confirm Vaxxwagon could work, but they offered him funding to help build it.
Anurudh was rewarded with the 2015 Google Science Fair LEGO Education Builder Award for his invention. Anurudh says his final goal is to start selling Vaxxwagon to relief organizations, so it can be used to help people around the world.
Anurudh, who plans to pursue engineering degree in college, says, “Don’t give up on your ideas. But always try to help others with your projects. That’s the point of engineering – to help people.”
1.Why do many children die every year?
A. They lack qualified medical teams.
B. They cannot afford usable medicines.
C. They don’t have an electricity system.
D. They have no access to effective vaccines.
2.What is special about Vaxxwagon?
A. It can serve as a fridge.
B. It can produce safe vaccines.
C. It can detect deadly diseases.
D. It can be a means of transport.
3.Which of the following words can best describe Anurudh?
A. Caring and creative.
B. Modest and sympathetic.
C. Loyal and determined.
D. Honest and hard-working.
4.What can we learn from the story?
A. Practice makes perfect.
B. One good turn deserves another.
C. Motivation is the mother of success.
D. All things are difficult before they are easy.
Pastime is a bi-monthly magazine for curious young minds. Many of the topics we write about won’t be covered in the classroom. All the articles are written in a lively style, and each one is paired with drawings by some of the country’s most talented artists.
♦ History focuses on archaeological (考古的) sites around the world where archaeologists work to unearth important finds.
♦ World includes stories about daily life, folk tales, and history and traditions of the people and places.
♦ Sport includes nutrition tips, information about up-and-coming young athletes, and sports events.
♦ Art stimulates a child’s cultural life, from film to theatre through to writing and music.
On top of all that, Pastime is packed with items to stimulate a youngster’s imagination, including pages of puzzles and a step-by-step guide to creating their own impressive-looking drawings.
In every issue, we review the latest books top authors write for youngsters. There are also short works of fiction written especially for Pastime by some of our best writers.
We know that children at this age are dealing with many emotions and sometimes difficult feelings, so we have a personal advice page to reply to questions dealing with personal and moral problems.
Unlike many of today’s throwaway comics, Pastime is written and designed to be kept and treasured. We know children love going online — but we also know how much they enjoy holding a printed magazine in their hands, and the excitement they get when each new issue drops through the letterbox personally addressed to them.
Subscription
Pastime is published six times a year. An annual subscription costs just £20 and makes a great gift for any child aged eight to twelve.
To order by phone: Dial 1-800-821-0156 and use Offer Code WEBSAVE86 for print-only subscriptions.
You can cancel at any time for magazines that haven’t shipped yet.
1.If a reader is interested in festivals, he can read ______.
A. History
B. World
C. Sport
D. Art
2.What does the magazine provide?
A. Photos of talented artists.
B. Stories created by children.
C. Suggestions on readers’ problems.
D. Book reviews written by students.
3.For subscription, one needs to know that the magazine ______.
A. offers electronic copies
B. costs £20 for each copy
C. is for kindergarten children
D. is published every two months
The universe has a way of sending help from even the most unlikely of places.
When Tony received a wrong-number message on his mobile phone, he could have just _______ it. Instead, he gathered five of his six children and _______ a picture to send to Syd, the girl on the other end of line, just to give her a little _______ However, he had no idea that replying to this random message would _______ his family’s life.
The message was from Syd, who was dress shopping when she decided to get a second _______. So she took a picture of herself in the new dress that she had chosen and sent the message to who she thought was her friend.
Tony sent her a message _______ right away, but he also wanted to let her know that her pretty picture hadn’t ended up in the _______ hands, so he included a picture of his kids giving a big thumbs-up. “I figured that the children’s _______ would be far better than some middle-aged man!”
Syd’s friend Mandi was deeply touched by the _______ that she posted it online, where it quickly went viral. Not only is it just a sweet ________ of kindness on Tony’s part, but look at those cute kids of his!
Once the story ________ the web, people discovered that one of Tony’s children was ________ from the picture. The youngest child, Kaizler, wasn’t home at that time ________ his mom had taken him to his chemotherapy (化疗) appointment.
Once Mandi read about Kaizler’s cancer diagnosis, she shared his GoFundMe page, which snowballed into a widespread ________ of giving. Thousands of people have donated to the little boy’s page.
Kaizler’s mom says she can’t express how ________ her family is for the financial help, and no one can believe this rush of good fortune ________ from a simple wrong-number message!
“It is so refreshing to be ________ that there are good people in the world who still care about others and are quick to be ________ and kind to others,” she stated, “I would also like to thank EVERYONE from bottom of my heart ________ all the kind words, all the donations, all the love and support. We honestly would never have been able to ________ it this far in our journey without every single of you!!!”
1.A. copied B. returned C. ignored D. recognized
2.A. borrowed B. invented C. found D. took
3.A. space B. peace C. encouragement D. description
4.A. change B. ruin C. control D. plan
5.A. picture B. opinion C. place D. chance
6.A. off B. over C. up D. back
7.A. different B. wrong C. ordinary D. free
8.A. company B. response C. explanation D. permission
9.A. exchange B. participation C. preference D. strategy
10.A. act B. talk C. state D. smile
11.A. caught B. ran C. hit D. searched
12.A. hiding B. escaping C. dropping D. missing
13.A. unless B. although C. because D. once
14.A. anxiety B. prediction C. roll D. wave
15.A. grateful B. concerned C. famous D. eager
16.A. fell B. came C. left D. heard
17.A. reminded B. arranged C. greeted D. persuaded
18.A. outspoken B. generous C. faithful D. energetic
19.A. of B. with C. about D. for
20.A. urge B. pass C. make D. build
Although he is only eleven years old, James helps the aged. Every day, he goes to Redhill 1. train to help three old people with housework and shopping. In this way, he has made their lives much easier. It is through James’ hard work that a Neighbourhood Care Program has been started. So far, James and his friends 2. (form) a group of young volunteers to seek out the people 3. need help. They do this without funding and without recognition. Their main aim is 4. (make) a difference through personal sacrifice.
Winter break was fast approaching. All Scott wanted to do was to go snowboarding. 1. (fortunately), Scott’s parents had different plans. They had booked a weeklong trip to Hawaii. Scott hated warm weather and asked 2. he could just stay at his best friend’s house so that he could snowboard every day. His parents didn’t want to hear anything of it. He kept 3. (debate) with them about the topic, but they would not change their minds. Family time was important to them, and it was a tradition that they spent winter break together.
