Question

    In China, Double Eleven Shopping Day is approaching. And there is a similar case in the United States—Black Friday. It has been regarded as the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Although it’s not an official holiday, millions of employers give their employees the day off, and many people use that day to get a jump-start on their holiday shopping. A similar day in Canada and Great Britain is called “Boxing Day”.

Black Friday has become somewhat of a marketing sensation in recent years. Since 2005, it has been the busiest shopping day of the year. To lure shoppers, retailers (零售商) routinely open their doors as early as 4 a.m. and offer special sales and promotions to the shoppers that arrive early. Some of the special deals offered by stores are only available in limited quantities. That is why some shoppers intent on getting the best deals often camp out in front of stores overnight so that they’ll be the first in line when the doors open.

But why is it called Black Friday? Historians believe the name started in Philadelphia in the mid-1960s. Bus drivers and police used “Black Friday” to describe the heavy traffic that would block city streets the day after Thanksgiving as shoppers headed to the stores.

Businesses, however, didn’t like the negative tone associated with the “Black Friday” name. In the early 1980s, a more positive explanation of the name began to circulate. According to this alternative explanation, Black Friday is the day when retailers finally begin to turn a profit for the year. In accounting terms (会计行业), operating at a loss is called being “in the red” because accountants traditionally used red ink to show negative amounts. Positive amounts were usually shown in black ink. Thus, being “in the black” is a good thing because it means stores are operating at a profit.

Recently, for those who are too busy to shop on Black Friday or who just don’t want to fight the crowds, the Monday following Black Friday has become known as Cyber Monday (网络星期一) for the many online deals.

1.On Black Friday, the Americans       .

A.don’t have to go to work as usual

B.look exactly like the Canadians

C.are usually busy doing shopping

D.stay at home and relax themselves

2.The underlined word “lure” (in Paragraph 2) probably means       .

A.protect

B.attract

C.persuade

D.remind

3.How do the retailers understand Black Friday?

A.It is totally different from Boxing Day.

B.They usually lose some money on the day.

C.It never keeps them very busy.

D.It probably brings them more money.

4.The author writes this passage in order to       .

A.state the development of Cyber Monday

B.tell the difference between red and black

C.introduce Black Friday to the readers

D.explain the meaning of Boxing Day

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.C

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。主要介绍了美国购物节—黑色星期五。这个节日不是法定节日，但是人们会在那一天忙于购物，商店在那一天也会给消费者提供各种促销，类似于中国的双十一。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段Although it’s not an official holiday, millions of employers give their employees the day off, and many people use that day to get a jump-start on their holiday shopping.可知，在黑色星期五那天，美国人忙于购物，故选C。

2.词义猜测题。句子后半句retailers (零售商) routinely open their doors as early as 4 a.m. and offer special sales and promotions to the shoppers that arrive early. 零售商在凌晨4点开门，为提前来的消费者提供特殊的销售和促销。零售商这么做的目的是为了吸引顾客。To lure shoppers在句中做目的状语，所以此处lure的意思是“吸引，诱惑”，选项中有“吸引，诱惑”这个意思的是选项B，故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据第四段﹍Black Friday is the day when retailers finally begin to turn a profit for the year. 可知黑色星期五是零售商一年中盈利的日子。故选D。

4.目的意图题。文章主要介绍了美国购物节—黑色星期五。这个节日不是法定节日，但是人们会在那一天忙于购物，商店在那一天也会给消费者提供各种促销，类似于中国的双十一。作者写这篇文章的主要目的是向读者介绍黑色星期五，故选C。