Japan"s 24-hour convenience stores, already struggling with lagging sales and gr

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Japan"s 24-hour convenience stores, already struggling with lagging sales and growth, may soon face yet another threat - moves to limit business hours and close the stores late at night. The district of Saitama, which borders Tokyo, may follow in the footsteps of the western city of Kyoto and urge convenience stores to close during late night hours in an effort to limit carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）emissions, Japanese media reported.

Kyoto, a former capital, wants to persuade convenience and other 24-hour stores to close late at night so as to improve evening views of the city and cut down on energy use. The Nikkei business daily said closures could last from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. The move is strongly opposed by the industry, which fears a bad impact on an already troubled sector also grappling with the specter of a higher tobacco tax, which could hit overall sales.

"Even if we only operate the stores for 16 hours, we can"t stop the refrigerators," said Toshiro Yamaguchi, the president of Seven-Eleven Japan Co, which is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd, at a news conference in Saitama on Tuesday. He said such cuts in operating hours would reduce each store"s profit by 20 percent. "If this happens, our current business model will lose its foundation."

Analysts said that while it is difficult to estimate the potential impact of the move without a concrete plan, their overall impression was that it was likely to be negative. "This could cut profits and lead to less efficient operations and the increased loss of opportunities," said Masafumi Shoda, an analyst at Nomura Securities. "But it depends on the store -- urban stores do better than others. There are some in the countryside that are inefficient."

Some have suggested that if governments were sincere about reducing carbon emissions there were much more efficient methods, such as cutting back on the huge number of automatic vending machines（自动售货机）

68. Which of the followings was the first to try to limit convenience store hours?

A. Saitama B. Tokyo C. Kyoto D. Nomura Security

69. What"s the main goal of the proposal?

A. To give employees more free time.

B. To limit carbon dioxide emissions.

C. To sell more tobacco products.

D. To reduce each store’s profit.
70. How"s the convenience store sector doing in Japan?

A. It is not mentioned.

B. It"s doing great. Business is booming.

C. Not very well.

D. It’s about to close.

答案

小题1:C
小题2:B
小题3:C

解析

举一反三

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53．The part before the letter ________.
A．describes ancient Roman Emperor Charlemagne
B．introduces Vatican City, the independent state in Europe
C．tells about the famous Italian scientist and artist Michelangelo
D．gives an imaginary picture of the grandness of National Geographic Society
54．‘Dear Friend’ is used as a greeting because the writer ________.
A．and the reader know each other very well
B．and the reader have heard about each other
C．would like the reader to trust her
D．would like to get to know the reader
55．What the writer introduces to the reader is based on the volume’s ________.
A．quality of presentation           B．importance of sales
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56．The book will appeal to ________.
A．the recipient （接受者）         B．the recipient, his wife and children
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What causes traffic jams? Too many cars, right? No! Some Brits are now saying that traffic lights are to blame for much of the congestion（交通拥挤）. They suggest that traffic lights be removed at busy roads. They believe people are a better judge of when it’s safe to go, not a traffic light programmed by an absent regulator.
A report from the Institute of Economic Affairs, a UK think tank（智囊团）, argues that abolishing traffic signals would decrease congestion, reduce exhaust emissions（废气排放）and improve safety.
The report said that removing lights should also prevent other bad behavior caused by signals, such as speeding up to catch a green light. It would also avoid the wasted time when drivers have to sit at a red light even if no one is using the green.
The idea may sound strange, but it’s not new. Seven cities and regions in Europe are experimenting with no-lights roads.
Drachten in the Netherlands has got rid of 16 of its traffic light crossings and changed the other two to roundabouts under a “shared space” scheme. At crossings, cyclists dutifully raise their arm when they want to make a turn, and drivers follow a first-arrived, first-through approach and communicate by hand signs, nods and waving.
The result? Typical journey time has been cut in half, and accidents and congestion have mostly disappeared.
There have been small collisions but no problem, said Hans Monderman, creator of the scheme. “We want small accidents, in order to prevent serious ones. It works well because it’s dangerous. The driver has to be responsible for his or her own risk.
“The many rules take away the ability to be considerate,” Monderman added. “We’re losing our responsibility for socially responsible behavior.”
So far, Drachten’s locals have called the experiment a success. “I am used to it now,” said Helena Spaanstra, 24. “You drive more slowly and carefully, but somehow you seem to get around town quicker.”
Tony Ooostward, 70, was equally enthusiastic. “I am a walker and now you are the boss at the crossroads, everyone waits for you. But at the same time walkers wait until there are a number of people wanting to cross at the same time.”
Owen Paterson, UK’s Shadow Transport Minister, visited Drachten. He said Britain should learn from the model. “The idea is to create space where there is mild anxiety among everyone so they all behave cautiously. No one drives fast along a busy street thinking that they have right of way.”
60.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. Don’t Count On Traffic Lights              B. New Traffic Systems Needed
C. Turn Those Traffic Lights Off         D. Let People Have More Say In Traffic
61.According to the report from the Institute of Economic Affairs, abolishing traffic lights would NOT lead to ____.
A. more time being saved                   B. reduction of traffic jams
C. improvement of the environment    D. right of way being taken for granted
62.The underlined word “collision” in Paragraph 7 means closest to ____.
A. jam     B. accident     C. trouble     D. congestion
63.From the passage we can see that the experiment in Drachten worked well because ____.
A. walkers have become the boss of the crossroads
B. cyclists, walkers and drivers each have specially designed routes
C. everyone finds that they have to do their share in regulating traffic
D. drivers are more careful and wait for eyclists or walkers to pass first

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“ONLY A COKE WILL DO”
“We don’t necessarily believe that new advertising, which might make consumers feel better about the Coke brand or better about the ads themselves, will actually result in consumers consuming more of the product,” Morgan Stanley’s Bill Pecoriello wrote in a research note the day after the investor meeting. But Coke is optimistic it can regain its old magic, and is banking on a new slogan: “Welcome to the Coke side of life.”
BREAKTHROUGH HIT?
With PepsiCo about to surpass Coke as the beverage king on Wall Street – Pepsi’s market capitalization has soared in recent years to $97.9 billion, putting it less than a billion dollars behind its rival(对手) – the heat is on Coke. It’s set to launch a new marketing campaign in March, 2006. And having taken a quick look at Coke’s investor presentation on Dec. 7 in New York, my sense is that Coke may be moving in the right direction.
Given the continued shift by consumers away from soda – Coke’s stronghold – and into alternative beverages like juice, tea and water, Coke badly needs a breakthrough hit. And given that shift away from soda, some analysts wonder whether even the catchiest new ads will be enough to put the fizz back into Coke.
SAME OLD, UPDATED.
The new flavors of PowerAde sports drink will probably enable Coke to continue stealing market share from PepsiCo’s Gatorade brand. And Coke is getting a little more creative with packaging, including new, aluminum bottles of Coke that will be sold in nightclubs, and an 8.4-ounce “100 calorie” version of its flagship Coke that will appeal to women who want fewer calories and will like the fact that the small can will fit in their purse. I doubt whether other new products will be successful, including a new coffee-flavored soda called Coke-Cola Blak that I tried. Think carbonated coffee. But I’m not sure if the product, which Coke is pitching as an afternoon pick-me-up for the 35-and-over set, is going to pull people away from their afternoon Frappucino fix. And my opinion is that Vault, an orange-flavored energy drink, will have just as much trouble unseating Mountain Dew among teens as did Coke’s last attempt, a product called Surge.
If there is one concern I have about the fresh offerings Coke plans to launch this year, it appears that many of them are simply new brands, not new products.
68.According to the passage, we can know that ____.
A. Coke mainly depends on new products recently
B. nowadays Coke is comparatively less popular
C. PepsiCo has taken the place of Coke
D. Coke has few new brands
69.The underlined word “soared” means ____.
A. achieved B. dropped C. increased D. failed
70.When the middle-aged people feel tired, what would they prefer to drink in order to continue their work?
A. Vault. B. Surge. C. Coke-Cola Blak D. Frappucino.
71.What is the best title of the passage?
A. Troubles in Coke Company
B. Varieties of New Products
C. The Importance of New Advertisements
D. The Relationship Between Coke and Pepsi

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第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项A、B、C和D中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
“Help! Help! Help!” a resident screamed over the phone, “I am being eaten alive by mosquitoes!”
Recent rainfalls have produced an early hit of blood-seeking mosquitoes．Once flooded, eggs laid during the drought along water banks hatch（孵化）quickly, flying off to seek hosts such as people, birds, and other animals．
The flood mosquitoes are big and aggressive．They chase you down, drill into your skin and take your blood, causing pain and itchiness．“I have lost a pint of blood to those suckers,” a Spring Hill resident claimed．“Mosquitoes are killing my kids,” a Ridge Manor woman shouted．
Residents are urged to protect themselves when going out, especially during the hours of dusk and dawn．Long-sleeve shirts, long pants, socks and hats will help keep mosquitoes at bay．
Mosquito Control has already received hundreds of service requests this month．When calling in, residents need to provide their name, address, phone number and nature of the problem．Technicians will respond by investigating the problem and making proper treatment and notification to resident．
Mosquitoes grow in almost any kind or amount of water．Controlling mosquito larvae（幼虫） is vital to mosquito control．Confined in their water habitat, larvae are treated and eliminated before they mature and “take to wing．” Field technicians check their areas searching for mosquitoes breeding in lakes, ponds, drainage ditches and they treat the water with a host of larvicides（***幼虫剂）．
It is important to understand that mosquito control is much more than sending a spray truck （airplane or helicopter in other counties） to kill adult mosquitoes．Night-time spraying is actually the last defense after all the above procedures have been done, but there are still mosquitoes present in the area．
56．The author writes the first paragraph in order to _________．
A．make the public take action at once
B．attract readers to read the following contents
C．show that the people bothered by mosquitoes are helpless
D．criticize the government has done nothing
57．When do the eggs hatch according to the passage?
A．When the flood hits．     B．During the drought．
C．After the flood leaves． D．When spring comes．
58．When are mosquitoes most dangerous?
A．At dawn and dusk．       B．At noon．
C．In the late morning．      D．At midnight．
59．When calling Mosquito Control, people should provide the following EXCEPT _________．
A．their name and address    B．phone number
C．nature of the problem      D．marriage and possessions

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The Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based ethics institute, surveyed 29,760 students at 100 high schools nationwide, both public and private. The survey found that 35% of boys and 26% of girls admitted stealing from a store within the past year and 64% have cheated on a test, which suggests that today" s young people are less honest than previous generations.
However, Josephson addressed that today"s youth are no less honest than their predecessors. "The question is not whether things are worse, but whether they are bad enough to attract concern. This is not a time to complain but to take thoughtful, positive actions. "
Roberta Gerold, superintendent of the Middle Country School District and a leader of the campaign, said parents and school officials need to be more diligent – for example, emphasizing to students the distinctions between original and borrowed work. "Adults are not taking this very seriously," he said. "The schools are not doing even the most moderate thing."
Nijmie Dzurinko, executive director of the Philadelphia Student Union, said the findings were not at all reflective of the inner-city students she works with as an advocate for better curriculum and school funding. "A lot of people like to blame society"s problems on young people, without recognizing that young people aren"t making the decisions about what"s happening in society. "
Riddile, who for four decades was a high school teacher, agreed that more pressure could lead to more cheating, yet he said, "I would take these students over other generations. I found them to be more responsive, more rewarding to work with. We have to create situations where it"s easy for kids to do the right things. We need to create classrooms where learning takes on more importance than having the right answer. "
60. According to the first paragraph, we know that __________.
A. the Josephson Institute is a Los Angeles-based public school
B. students in ethics institute are honest
C. cheating on tests is very common in America
D. more public school students admitted stealing
61. What does the underlined phrase "borrowed work" refer to?
A. Ideas taken from other person"s works.      B. Words borrowed from another language.
C. Homework assigned by the teachers.              D. Work done by your classmates.
62. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Riddile takes the young students over other generations.
B. Roberta Gerold found them to be more responsive.
C. Nijmie Dzurinko said the findings were reflective of the inner-city students.
D. Josephson addressed that today"s youth are less honest than their predecessors.
63. According to the passage, we can infer that it"s _________ that should be to blame for the problem.
A. the students          B. previous generations         C. public schools        D. parents and schools

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