Passage Three
Zhang Qiaoli uses her spare bedroom for storing her stock of ladies’ fashion-wear and photo shoots. She is one of more than five million small online stores operating across China, some from small apartments or even college dormitories. She buys dresses and accessories wholesale, at prices under $5, using the website Taobao, she sells them on as the Kitty Lover range for about$10.
Taobao is owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and brainchild of founder Jack Ma. It is a free-to-use online marketplace with some 800 million product lines – from food to clothes to technology.、
Across China, online companies large and small are learning how to be effective e-commerce players – or fail like US goliath eBay, which was trounced by upstart Taobao back in 2006. In 2010, China’s online shopping industry had a turnover of $80bn, and grew 87% year- on- year. China’s 420 million internet users spend around a billion hours each day online – and last year, 185 million made at least one online purchase. According to Boston Group, the volume is expected to increase fourfold by 2015.
E-commerce is changing the way Chinese consumers think about shopping online, it is more social than a hard sell. It’s a new engaging experience to savor.
In Chinese retail, trust is a rare commodity. There are plenty of fakes online, and buyers are often cursed by scams or shoddy goods. Still, consumer faith in e-commerce stores is remarkably robust. That’s because, apart from its convenience, online shopping has shifted the balance of power from sellers to buyers. Online shopping in China is more than clicking on the “buy” button. The experience includes exchanging tips with other shoppers, discussing trends, and rating both products and service.
61. According to the article, how does Zhang Qiaoli make money? ( )
A. She makes profits by selling dresses and accessories at retail stores.
B. She buys goods at higher prices and manages to sell large number of them.
C. She sells dresses and accessories on Taobao.
D. She purchases goods at wholesale and sell them online at higher prices.
【答案】D。定位首段 She buys dresses and accessories wholesale, at prices under $5, using the website Taobao, she sells them on as the Kitty Lover range for about $10.可知，Zhang Qiaoli以低价从淘宝批发进购商品，再从其他渠道以高价格进行销售。故正确选项为 D。
62. The word “trounced” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to: ( )
A. damage
B. lose
C. defeat
D. step
【答案】C。US goliath eBay, which was trounced by upstart Taobao back in 2006.由句意可知，淘宝这个新生产物对于美国的 eBay 产生了很大冲击。A 选项：损毁;B 选项：丢失;C 选项击败;D 选项：台阶、步。故正确选项为 C。
63. According to paragraph 4, how many people is expected to make at least one online
purchase on 2015? ( )
A. 185 million
B. 370 million
C. 555million
D. 740 million
【答案】D。定位原文第四段 last year, 185 million made at least one online purchase. According to Boston Group, the volume is expected to increase fourfold by 2015.去年的网上一次购物人数达 1.85 亿，2015 年是这个人数的 4 倍，因此，可知 2015 年的人数为 7.4 亿，即740 million。故正确选项为 D。
64. Why is consumer faith in e-commerce still faith despite the prevalent fake goods online?( )
A. Because there are still many qualified goods and trustworthy online stores.
B. Because consumers are gaining more power thanks to online shopping.
C. Because there are a lot more options online.
D. Because regulations about online shopping will be improved soon.
【答案】B。定位尾段： That’s because, apart from its convenience, online shopping has shifted the balance of power from sellers to buyers. Online shopping in China is more than clicking on the “buy” button. The experience includes exchanging tips with other shoppers,
discussing trends, and rating both products and service.可知消费者仍然相信 e-commerce 的原因是因为购物者不仅是购物，还可以对商品进评价和与商家进行意见的交流。因此，B 选项顾客有更多的选择权，更为合适。故正确选项为 B。
65. What is the author’s attitude towards e-commerce? ( )
A. Fully supportive
B. Unbiased
C. Slightly critical
D. Paradoxical
【答案】B。作者在文章中非常理性的对电子商务产品做出了评价，有褒有贬，因此是持有中立态度的。故正确选项为 B。
