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(9)America's holiday shopping season starts on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It is the busiest shopping day of the year. Retailers make the most money this time of year, about 20 to 30 percent of annual revenue. About 136 million people will shop during the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. More and more will shop online. In an era of instant information, shoppers can use their mobile phones to find deals. (10)About 183.8 million people will shop on Cyber Monday, the first Monday after Thanksgiving. More than half of all holiday purchases will be made online. One-in-five Americans will use a tablet or smartphone. Online spending on Black Friday will rise 15 percent to hit $2.7 billion this year. Cyber Monday spending will increase 12 percent to $3 billion. For many, shopping online was “a more comfortable alternative” than crowded malls. The shift to online shopping has had a big impact on traditional shopping malls. Since 2010, more than 24 shopping malls have closed and an additional 60 are struggling. (11)However, Fortune says the weakest of the malls have closed. The sector is thriving again. The International Council of Shopping Centers said 94.2 percent of malls were full, or occupied, with shops by the end of 2014. That is the highest level in 27 years. (12)Economist Gus Faucher said lower unemployment and rising wages could give Americans more money to spend. The average American consumer will spend about $805 on gifts. That's about $630.5 billion between November and December—an increase from 3.7 percent from last year.

未听先知

预览四道题各选项,由第9题选项中的 Holiday shopping. Online stores等词可以初步推测,短文 内容与假期购物和网上购物有关;再结合各题选项中的 holiday shoppers、 survive、 thriving、 Better quality Higher employment and wages等词可以进一步推测,短文内容涉及假日购物季期间的消费者和购买力等方面 的信息。

详解详析

9. What is the speaker mainly talking about?

【详解】 短文开头便提到,美国的假期购物季开始于黑色星期五,也就是感恩节后的那一天,这一天是一年中最忙的采购日,零售商们在这几天内大约能够挣到他们年收入的20%到30%。接下来,短文分析了感恩节期间的购物人数、购买方式、消费金额等。因此,讲话者主要谈论的是假期购物这一主题,答案为B)。


10. How many people will shop on Cyber Monday?

【详解】 短文中明确指出,会有大约183.8 million的美国人将在感恩节后的第一个周一,也就是在Cyber Monday进行购物。因此答案为D)。


11. What does Fortune say about traditional shopping malls?

【详解】 短文中提到,传统购物中心的日子不好过,2010年以来,已经有超过24家购物中心倒闭,还有60家在挣扎中生存。但是《财富》杂志说,最弱小的传统购物中心已经被淘汰,这一商业形式将会再次迎来生机。因此答案为C)。


12. What is said to account for the increased number of shoppers?

【详解】 短文中提到,经济学家Gus Faucher说,低失业率以及上涨的工资使得美国人手里有更多的钱可以用来消费。换句话说就是,高就业率和高工资导致了消费者人数的上涨,因此答案为B)。