Mr.Selfridge, the Wisconsin-born retailer (零售商) who left school at 14, rose to become a partner in Marshall Field’s, Chicago. Founded in 1852, it was one of the first and most ambitious US department stores. Mr.Selfridge had done well with Marshall Field’s. He liked to say, “The customer is always right,” which made the Chicago store popular. And he is believed to have invented the phrase “Only (so many) Shopping Days until Christmas”.
When he visited London on holiday in 1906 he was surprised to find most of the city’s department stores were no match of their American and Parisian competitors. This led Selfridge to leave the US and establish Selfridges, a department store named after him, at the west end of London’s Oxford Street. In Oxford Street, Selfridge’s design team shaped an ambitious classical palace building with a wall of plate glass windows.
Opened in 1909, Selfridges offered customers a hundred departments along with restaurants, a roof garden,reading and writing rooms, reception areas for foreign visitors, a first aid room and most importantly, a small army of knowledgeable floor-walking assistants who served as guides as well as being thoroughly instructed in the art of making a sale.
Mr.Selfridge did much to make the department store a destination rather than just a big and comprehensively stocked city shop. It became a place to meet and for ladies to lunch. Mr.Selfridge later introduced the department store as a key element of the 20th Century culture, and Chaplin acknowledged the growing trend for shopping in the department store in his film The Floorwalker.
1. What can be learned about Mr.Selfridge from Paragraph 1?| A．He was well-educated. | B．He was a modest man. |
| C．He was a gifted businessman. | D．He was dishonest. |
| A．The broad choice of goods. | B．The large number of departments. |
| C．The small group of guards. | D．The well-trained sales guides. |
| A．To encourage shoppers to spend more. | B．To introduce the history of Selfridges. |
| C．To compare different department stores. | D．To explain how to start a department store. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】A ship that sank off the coast of California decades ago was recently reconstructed in detail. The 3D digital model even included hundreds of sponges (海绵动物) that have gathered on the ship’s surface since it sank.
Named American Heritage, the supply ship sank in Santa Monica Bay on May 4, 1995, and for decades its exact location was unknown. Researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) spotted a strange shape in that area in 2008. But it wasn’t until May 2018 that MBARI scientists identified its exact location and mapped the site in detail, showing what appeared to be a shipwreck (失事船只).
Even then, the identity of the shipwreck was uncertain. Yet another MBARI team revisited the location to do further exploration. They sent remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and took photos of the damaged ship. Though it was covered with deep-sea sponges and other animals, the scientists were able to spot letters spelling out its name, confirming that the shipwreck was American Heritage.
As one of the MBARI scientists who found American Heritage, chief ROV pilot Knute Brekke had worked on the ship before. And he was on duty with the diving company American Pacific Marine — the owner of American Heritage — the night the ship began taking in water and eventually sank.
MBARI spokesperson Kim Fulton -Bennett said to Live Science about the discovery, “The model is not complete, as floating ropes and poor visibility kept the pilots from getting too close to the wreck. But the 3D reconstruction is detailed enough to show that American Heritage is now home to thousands of sponges. Shipwrecks often turn into the shelter for diverse communities of ocean life.”
1. What is the main idea of the text?| A．A valuable treasure was discovered. |
| B．Special sponges were found under sea. |
| C．3D model reconstructed a sunken ship. |
| D．A sunken ship was gotten out of water. |
① Something strange was found in the area.
② ROVs were sent under sea to take photos.
③ A ship sank in Santa Monica Bay.
④ The identity of the ship was confirmed.
⑤ Scientists tried to locate the shipwreck.
| A．②③⑤④① | B．③①⑤②④ |
| C．⑤③①④② | D．④③①②⑤ |
| A．He was familiar with the sunken ship. |
| B．He was in charge of a diving company. |
| C．He was responsible for the rescue work. |
| D．He was the first one to witness the accident. |
| A．Critical. | B．Doubtful. | C．Amazed. | D．Objective. |
【推荐2】Imagine waking up one day and finding that your beautiful local beach is no more—gone, its fine white sand swept away by an abnormal storm. You go about your daily business for 12 long years and then suddenly the beach is back, all its glory restored by another storm. This is what happened on the island of Achill, off the coast of Ireland, where people are celebrating the return of the beautiful Ashleam Bay beach that was taken from them in 2005.
That in itself is unusual enough, but the story gets even better! You see, another beach in Achill did a disappearing act once, but took much longer to return. The beach at Doonagh, located only six miles away from Ashleam Bay, was restored earlier in 2016 after waves created by spring storms had swept away all the sand in 1984, leaving just rock pools behind.
There is local legend that stretches back hundreds of years that says this beach at Ashlcam Bay returns for a short every seven years then disappears again. But this time around it took a bit longer than that. It was last seen in 2005 and it stayed for a few months at that time before it was washed away again.
As you can imagine, everyone on the island of Achill is thrilled to have their sandy beach back, and even though no one knows how long it’s going to be around for, they are making the most of the time they’ve got before it disappears again.
Some may be quick to believe climate changes cause the phenomenon, but that’s not the reason these two beaches in Achill keep disappearing, Dr Kevin Lynch, a geographer at NUT Galway, says that these occurrences are the result of hydrodynamics (流体力学) and sediment(沉积物) supply, rather than climate changes.
Regardless of what’s causing them, disappearing and reappearing beaches are just part of what makes nature so fascinating.
1. What is people’s reaction to the return of the Ashleam Bay beach?| A．Full of fear. |
| B．Quite delighted. |
| C．Very disappointed. |
| D．Extremely con fused. |
| A．It is not located in Ireland. |
| B．It disappeared 12 years ago. |
| C．It once disappeared for more than 30 years. |
| D．It is just made up of rocks and pools. |
| A．In 1982. |
| B．In 2012. |
| C．In 2016. |
| D．In 2018. |
| A．Some abnormal storms lead to ocean’s enlargement, |
| B．It is hard to uncover the mystery of beach’s disappearing. |
| C．Climate changes can result in beaches disappearing completely. |
| D．Hydrodynamics and sediment supply cause two beaches to disappear. |
Searching for Guinevere
Stories of kings and queens have appealed to readers for centuries, and arguably, the tales of King Arthur and Guinevere are among the most appealing. Arthur ruled the kingdom of Camelot, and Guinevere was his queen.
Guinevere is identified by Geoffrey a noblewoman of Roman descent （血统） who met King Arthur in the court of Duke Cador of Cornwall.
As many Arthurian scholars know, the distinction between history and literature was unclear in the Middle Ages.
| A．Geoffrey’s historical treatment of the legend is often mentioned as evidence that Guinevere existed, as the book deals with the lives of a number of historical rulers. |
| B．Consequently, the true identity of Guinevere may never be known with certainty. |
| C．So why were they so much welcomed by writers? |
| D．In Le Morte d’Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory describes a prosperous England under King Arthur and Guinevere. |
| E．Three centuries later, however, THomas Malory painted a very different portrait of Guinevere in Le Morte d’Arthur. |
| F．But were they real people or fictional characters? |
【推荐1】I often wonder how people can get so angry, so deep in their own belief that they become deaf to anything that may differ from their beliefs. I've often been told that I'm too open-minded, listening to others' viewpoints so openly that they become my own. Maybe that comes from my practice of actively listening to others. It means that I do really hear them instead of responding only out of politeness. Maybe it's because I was brought up by parents who didn't necessarily speak to me about respecting others but modeled it for me through their own actions. They treated everyone equally, from what I remember, never looking down upon others because they were different from us.
As I raise my daughters, I try my best to show them love and understanding in all situations. When they misbehave, talk back, or break the rules, I'll lovingly analyze the reasons behind their behaviour. I'll be tolerant (宽容的) towards their differing opinions and become open and curious about their ideas. And I'll be mindful of how I treat and speak to others, showing equal respect to everyone.
My expectation is that if I show my daughters unconditional love and acceptance, they'll learn to show the same love to others. I hope that they will not see difference as a threat, but as a way to add richness to their very existence. It's beautiful to live in a world filled with so many differences.
So, as I write this, welcoming my second daughter to my family, I'm fully aware that change begins with how I act and what decisions I make. Every generation carries its own set of problems. All we have control over is how we respond to those problems. This is what I will teach my girls: how to control their own emotional world; how to hold onto love as well as their beliefs and values; how to remember that hate and anger are never the answer and that tolerance and love will always take them further in life.
1. What makes the author different from other people?| A．Her deep understanding of belief. | B．Her negative views on social politeness. |
| C．Her reaction to different opinions. | D．Her confusing attitude towards her parents. |
| A．Encourage them to have different opinions. |
| B．Set them an example of love and acceptance. |
| C．Punish them heavily for their bad behaviors. |
| D．Teach them some useful conversation skills. |
| A．Love me, love my dog. | B．Don't put the cart before the horse. |
| C．Nothing seek, nothing find. | D．Music with different tones sounds beautiful. |
| A．The Importance of Love and Tolerance | B．The Art of Social Communication |
| C．The Ways to Effectively Listen to others | D．The Positive Attitude towards Hate and Anger |
【推荐2】Archeology （考古学）isn't the dusty science it was a generation ago. New technologies that once seemed out of sci-fi are now locating buried traces of buildings and revealing the ruins of cities.
For more than a decade, Sarah Parcak and her team have been on the front line of this revolution. They use satellite images to find and explore ancient sites around the globe. Now they're about to take on a new challenge as they focus Global Xplorer citizen-science project on India.
In 2017, Parcak launched an online platform, called Global Xplorer, to crowd source （群众外包）the initial assessment of satellite images for signs of cultures from long ago. Anyone in the world with a computer and Internet access could help discover and protect remains of Peru's rich cultural heritage. The results have been surprising. About 80,000 participants from a hundred countries have identified 19,000 sites that were not in Peru's database. The platform for Peru is still running.
If all goes well, the work in India could last for years. "India has had relatively little archaeological work done," Parcak says. Also, the full extent of India's archaeological work has never been mapped completely. Parcak expects her project to make up that. “Wherever we end up going, the crowd's going to be able to see extraordinary things," Parcak says.
Thirty six India's cultural heritage relics are already listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Parcak thinks there could be tens of thousands of as yet unknown sites mapped as part of this project. The discoveries promise to be amazing across the land that has seen a parade of cultures come and go.
In the future, she hopes other countries will contact her to launch their own satellite surveys. The possibilities are huge. Parcak estimates that there are at least 12 million potential archaeological sites yet to be discovered. That means the sky is the limit for her project now that it has gotten off the ground successfully.
1. What's the purpose of Parcak's project?| A．To interview citizens via the Internet. |
| B．To dig out more remains of ancient cities. |
| C．To build databases for unknown cultural heritage. |
| D．To identify unknown ancient sites through joint efforts. |
| A．They are Internet-equipped volunteers. |
| B．They are well-trained voluntary scholars. |
| C．They are mostly fans of archeology in Peru. |
| D．They are all archaeologists all over the world. |
| A．India lacks thorough archaeological work. |
| B．Indians call for the protection of their rich cultures. |
| C．There's no amazing archaeological discovery in India. |
| D．India needs more relics listed as World Heritage Sites. |
| A．Parcak's project will become successful. |
| B．Few countries will start satellite surveys. |
| C．There will be amazing discoveries in India. |
| D．More archaeological sites will be identified. |
【推荐3】Once a circle missed a wedge. The circle wanted to be whole, so it went around looking for its missing piece. But because it was incomplete and therefore could roll only very slowly, it admired the flowers along the way. It chatted with worms. It enjoyed the sunshine. It found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on searching. Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. It was so happy. Now it could be whole, with nothing missing. It incorporated the missing piece into itself and began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to notice the flowers or talk to the worms. When it realized how different the world seemed when it rolled so quickly, it stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled slowly away.
The lesson of the story, I suggested, was that in some strange sense we are more whole when we are missing something. The man who has everything is in some ways a poor man. He will never know what it feels like to yearn, to hope, to nourish his soul with the dream of something better. He will never know the experience of having someone who loves him and gives him something he has always wanted or never had.
There is a wholeness about the person who has come to terms with his limitations, who has been brave enough to let go of his unrealistic dreams and not feel like a failure for doing so. There is a wholeness about the man or woman who has learned that he or she is strong enough to go through a tragedy and survive, who can lose someone and still feel like a complete person.
Life is not a trap set for us by God so that he can condemn us for failing. Life is not a spelling bee, where no matter how many words you’ve gotten right, you’re disqualified if you make one mistake. Life is more like a baseball season, where even the best team loses one-third of its games and even the worst team has its days of brilliance. Our goal is to win more games than we lose.
When we accept that imperfection is part of being human, and when we can continue rolling through life and appreciate it, we will have achieved a wholeness that others can only aspire to. That, I believe, is what God asks of us not “Be perfect”, not “Don’t even make a mistake”, but “Be whole.”
1. According to the story, in which case can the circle admire flowers along the way, talk to worms or enjoy the sunshine?| A．When the circle is incomplete, missing a piece. |
| B．When the circle is complete with the found piece. |
| C．When the circle can roll fast on a smooth path. |
| D．When there is no obstacle to its way. |
| A．fix and perfect | B．have a desire for | C．make up for | D．accept without complaints |
| A．Don’t live such a busy life as to miss important things in life. |
| B．Never ever stop pursuing a perfect life, which is worthy of all the efforts. |
| C．You are more whole when you are missing something; just appreciate the imperfection. |
| D．Distinguish dreams from true life, and work hard for your goal. |
| A．Life Is to Be Whole | B．Dream a Dream | C．Perfect Impossible | D．Miserable Truth |
