1 . Amazon.com Inc. is checking out of China’s fiercely competitive domestic e-commerce market. The company told sellers on Thursday that it would no longer ______ its third - party online marketplace or provide seller services on its Chinese website, Amazon.cn. ________,domestic companies will no longer be able to sell products to Chinese consumers on its e-commerce platform.

The decision marks an end to a long ________ by America’s e-commerce giants in the Chinese market. The firms entered the Chinese market with great attention in the early 2000s, only to ________ in the face of competition from China’s faster - moving Internet giants.

Amazon has been in talks to ________ its e-commerce business for goods imported into China with a Chinese competitor, NetEase Inc.’s Kaola, in a stock - for - stock transaction（交易）, according to a person familiar with the matter. That would remove the Amazon name from ________ e-commerce in China. Neither company would confirm the progress or details of those ________, nor would they say if they are continuing.

In a written statement, Amazon said it remained ________ to China through its global stores, Kindle businesses and web services. Amazon China’s president would leave to take on another role within the company, the company said. The China consumer - business team will report ________ to the company’s global team.

When Amazon first entered China in 2004 with the _________ of Joyo.com, it was the largest online seller for books, music and video there. Most Chinese consumers were using cash - on - delivery as their to form of ________. Today, Amazon China chiefly caters to customers looking for imported international goods such as cosmetics and milk powder and is a(n) ________ player in the booming Chinese e-commerce market.

Amazon China commanded just 6% of gross market volume in the niche（细分的）cross - border e-commerce market in the fourth quarter of 2018, versus NetEase Kaola’s 25% ________ and the 32% held by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Tmall International

Chinese consumers are becoming more fascinated with ________ brands. In 2011, 85% of Chinese consumers said they would always buy a foreign brand over a domestic one. By 2016, 60% of respondents said they preferred domestic over foreign brands. Shaun Rein, China Market research’s founder, said American e-commerce giants ________ obstacles in China because they didn’t offered the products or user experience that consumers were looking for.

1.

A．assist

B．expand

C．operate

D．tailor

2.

A．As a result

B．By contrast

C．For example

D．In addition

3.

A．criticism

B．negotiation

C．struggle

D．resolution

4.

A．interact

B．withdraw

C．split

D．survive

5.

A．associate

B．combine

C．exchange

D．supply

6.

A．time - consuming

B．long - suffering

C．ever - lasting

D．consumer - facing

7.

A．talks

B．businesses

C．competitions

D．instructions

8.

A．related

B．accustomed

C．exposed

D．committed

9.

A．automatically

B．directly

C．regularly

D．secretly

10.

A．breakdown

B．improvement

C．purchase

D．participation

11.

A．refund

B．payment

C．sponsorship

D．trade

12.

A．complicated

B．critical

C．original

D．insignificant

13.

A．share

B．budget

C．volume

D．maximum

14.

A．foreign

B．luxurious

C．domestic

D．fashionable

15.

A．dealt with

B．forgot about

C．got through

D．came across

2 . The Last Robot-Proof Job in America?

You can get most food, such as warm cookies or vodka, to your doorstep in minutes. But try getting a red snapper (红鲷鱼). Until recently, if you could obtain it, it would likely have been pre-frozen and shipped in from overseas.

A new tech startup is aiming to ____________this situation. Based inside the Fulton Fish Market, a seafood wholesale market, the startup, called FultonFishMarket.com, allows customers across the whole country, both restaurants and individuals, to buy from the market. The fish is shipped ____________, rather than frozen, thanks to an Amazon advanced logistics system. Mike Spindler, the company’s C.E.O., said recently, “I can get a fish to Warren Buffett, that’s as fresh as if he’d walked down to the pier (码头) and bought it that morning.”

There is one thing, ____________, that the sophisticated logistics system cannot do: pick out a fish. If Warren Buffett orders a red snapper, the company needs to ____________ that his fish is actually red snapper, and not some other. According to the ocean-conservation organization, more than 20% of the seafood in restaurants and grocery stores in America is ___________. For this task, the company has employed Robert DiGregorio, a forty-seven-year veteran of the business, who possesses a blend of judgement and ___________ knowledge that, so far, computers have yet to replicate.

“___________ the food-safety stuff, our business could be any market from the last three thousand years of human history,” Spindler told me. He is experienced in the ___________ business. When he arrived at the fish market in 2014, people were cautious. “They thought selling fish on the Internet was___________.” DiGregorio said, speaking for the fishmongers(鱼贩). “They didn’t see how it could possibly work.” Five years ago, DeGregorio didn’t know how to use a computer, but when the Web-site people arrived at the market, he sensed an opportunity. Together, they’ve created a human-machine fish-buying operation.

By 1 a.m. each night, the company collects __________ from around the country and sends them to DiGregorio. He heads into the market, carrying his tablet computer. The company’s algorithms（算法） ___________ data on their sources and can tell DiGregorio, for example, which stall to go to get the best tuna (金枪鱼). The computer is a “learning system,”, so if DiGregorio makes a choice it didn’t ___________, it asks, “Was the fish not available? Was it damaged?” All that information is fed back in for next time.

Then, what can a fishmonger see that a computer can’t? DeGregorio showed me his part of the ___________ process. “I’m assessing a few things,” he said. First, ___________. Fish should have “nice” slime(粘液). Then, smell. He sniffed the air above the box. “when fish goes bad, it smells like ammonia.” Besides, to get the best stuff, “Fishmongers have to have a relationship with you. To trust you.” He added.

Is he ever __________being replaced by the learning system of computers? DiGregorio shrugged. “By the time they invent a computer that can do what I can do,” he said, “I’ll be dead.”

1.

A．maintain

B．remedy

C．substitute

D．recognize

2.

A．free

B．overseas

C．separate

D．fresh

3.

A．therefore

B．otherwise

C．however

D．thus

4.

A．ensure

B．propose

C．concede

D．remind

5.

A．overpriced

B．misidentified

C．displaced

D．modified

6.

A．computer

B．cuisine

C．fish

D．marketing

7.

A．Rather than

B．Thanks to

C．Except for

D．Prior to

8.

A．fund-raising

B．online-grocery

C．fish-selling

D．non-profit

9.

A．significant

B．worthy

C．responsible

D．ridiculous

10.

A．sales

B．orders

C．alternatives

D．statistics

11.

A．analyze

B．supply

C．prioritize

D．feed

12.

A．require

B．process

C．predict

D．value

13.

A．calculation

B．decoding

C．correction

D．selection

14.

A．smash

B．touch

C．wipe

D．roll

15.

A．concerned about

B．eager for

C．delighted with

D．capable of

3 . If you look across the entire lifespan, what you see is an average increase in desirable personality traits（特点）.Psychologists call this the “maturity principle” and it’s comforting to know that, assuming your personality follows a typical course, then the older you get, the maturer you will become. However, it’s not such good news for young adolescents, because at this point, something known as the “disruption hypothesis” kicks in.

Consider a study of Dutch teenagers who completed personality tests each year for six or seven years from 2005. The boys showed a temporary dip in   conscientiousness—orderliness and self-discilpline in early adolescence, and the girls showed a temporary increase in neuroticism—emotional instability. This seems to back up some of the stereotypes we have of messy teen bedrooms and mood swings. Thankfully, this decline in personality is short-lived, with the Dutch data showing that the teenagers’ previous positive traits rebound（反弹）in later adolescence.

Both parents and their teenage children agree that changes occur, but surprisingly, the perceived change can depend on who is measuring, according to a 2017 study of over 2,700 German teenagers. They rated their own personalities twice, at age 11 and age 14, and their parents also rated their personalities at these times. Some differences emerged: for instance, while the teenagers rated themselves as declining in agreeability, their parents saw this decline as much shaper. Also, the teens saw themselves as increasingly extroverted（外向的）, but their parents saw them as increasingly introverted.

This mismatch can perhaps be explained by the big changes underway in the parent-child relationship brought on by teenagers’ growing desire for autonomy and privacy. The researchers point out that parents and teens might also be using different reference points—parents are measuring their teenagers’ traits against a typical adult, while the teenagers are comparing their own traits against those displayed by their peers.

This is in line with several further studies, which also reveal a pattern of a temporary reduction in advantageous traits in early adolescence. The general picture of the teenage years as a temporary personality “disruption” therefore seems accurate. In fact, we’re only just beginning to understand the complex mix of genetic and environmental factors that contribute to individual patterns of personality change.

Studies also offer some clues for how we might create more nurturing environments for teenagers to aid their personality development. This is an approach worth pushing further given that teenage personality traits are predictive of experiences in later life. For instance, one British study of over 4,000 teenagers showed that those who scores lower in conscientiousness were twice as likely to be unemployed later in life, in comparison with those who scored higher.

People focus so much on teaching teenagers facts and getting them to pass exams, but perhaps they ought to pay at least as much attention to helping nurture their personalities.

1. Which of the following can be an example of “disruption hypothesis”?

A．A kindergarten kid cries over a toy.

B．A boy in high school cleans his own room.

C．A teenage girl feels sad for unknown reason.

D．A college graduate feels stressed out by work.

2. According to the study of German teenagers ______.

A．parent give their teens too much automony and privacy

B．teens are more optimistic about their personality changes

C．teens and parents have the same personality rating standard

D．parents and teens can later agree on teens’ personality decline

3. We can infer from the last three paragraphs that ______.

A．teens should pay less attention to their scores in exams

B．developing teens’ personality has a long-term effect in their life

C．people’s success in later life depends on teenage personality traits

D．environmental factors outweigh genetic ones for personality change

4. What is the author’s attitude towards present teenager personality education?

A．Dissatisfied.

B．Approving.

C．Neutral.

D．Cautious.

4 . Migrant workers

In the past twenty years, there has been an increasing tendency for workers to move from one country to another. While some newly independent countries have ____ most jobs to local people, others have attracted and welcomed migrant workers. This is particularly the ____ in the Middle East, where increased oil incomes have enabled many countries to ____ outsiders to improve local facilities. Thus the Middle East has attracted oil-workers from the USA and Europe. It has brought in construction workers and technicians from many countries, including South Korea and Japan.

In view of the ____ living and working conditions in the Middle East, surprising it is not that the pay is high to attract suitable workers. Many engineers and technicians can earn at least twice as much money in the Middle East as they can in their own country, and this is a ____ attraction. An allied (联合的) benefit is the low ____ or a complete lack of it. This ____ the amount of pay received by visiting workers and is very popular with them.

Sometimes a disadvantage has a compensating (补偿的) advantage. ____, the difficult living conditions often lead to increased friendship when workers have to depend on each other for safety and comfort. ____, many migrant workers can save large sum of money partly because of the lack of entertainment facilities. The work is often complex and full of problems but this merely presents greater ____ to engineers who prefer to find solutions to problems rather than do ____ work in their home country.

One major problem which affects migrant workers in the Middle East is that their jobs are ____ ones. They are nearly always on contract, so it is not easy for them to plan ahead with great confidence. This is to be ____ since no country welcomes a large number of foreign workers as permanent residents. In any case, migrant workers accept this ____, along with others, because of the ____ financial benefits which they receive.

1.

A．presented

B．devoted

C．adapted

D．restricted

2.

A．style

B．evidence

C．case

D．hint

3.

A．call in

B．bring up

C．turn down

D．help out

4.

A．excellent

B．difficult

C．fair

D．stable

5.

A．casual

B．familiar

C．major

D．final

6.

A．consumption

B．pressure

C．competition

D．taxation

7.

A．occupies

B．increases

C．blocks

D．protects

8.

A．For example

B．In particular

C．By comparison

D．In other words

9.

A．Therefore

B．Likewise

C．Consequently

D．However

10.

A．agreement

B．outcome

C．prediction

D．challenge

11.

A．skillful

B．vivid

C．routine

D．potential

12.

A．temporary

B．ordinary

C．voluntary

D．revolutionary

13.

A．claimed

B．criticized

C．considered

D．expected

14.

A．sacrifice

B．reminder

C．disadvantage

D．appreciation

15.

A．limited

B．considerable

C．reasonable

D．potential

5 . The notion of building brand personality is promoted by Starbucks as a part of company culture to embed meaning in their products and thus attract more customers.

Starbucks literally changed the definition of “a good cup of coffee”. For Starbucks, the brand had three elements: coffee, ________ and stores. Strict control over the quality and processing of the beans ________ that the coffee would be of the highest possible quality. Outstanding store personnel were employed and trained in coffee knowledge and ________ service. Store design, atmosphere and aroma (浓香) all ________ the “Starbucks Experience”.

Almost all Starbucks stores were corporately owned and controlled. Starbucks prided itself on the “Starbucks Experience”, ________ coffee to provide a unique experience for its customers.

_____ those traditional coffee houses providing you with the grab-and-go service, Starbucks provides you with more than coffee. You get great people, first-rate music, a comfortable and upbeat meeting place, and ________ advice on brewing excellent coffee at home. At home you’re part of a family. At work you’re part of a company. And somewhere in between is a place where you can sit back and be yourself. That’s what a Starbucks store has been ________ to creating for its customers — a kind of “third place” where they can ________, reflect, read, chat or listen.

The green Starbucks logo is a mermaid that looks like the end of the double image of the sea. It was designed by Terry Heckler, who got the ________ from the wooden statue of the sea. Mermaid logo also ________ original and modern meanings: her face is very simple, but with modern abstract forms of packaging; the middle is black and white, the only color on the outside surrounded by a circle.

Starbucks makes the typical American culture gradually broken down into elements of ______: the visual warmth, hearing the way, smelling the aroma of coffee and so on. Just think, through the huge glass windows, watching the crowded streets, ________ sipping a coffee flavor, which is in line with the “Yapi”, the feeling of experience in the ________ life.

But the ________ of Starbucks is not about the coffee, although it’s great coffee. Coffee is only a carrier. Coffee consumption, to a great extent, is an emotional and cultural level of consumption.

1.

A．people

B．managers

C．customers

D．clients

2.

A．assured

B．promised

C．ensured

D．predicted

3.

A．emergency

B．environment

C．employment

D．customer

4.

A．consisted of

B．benefited from

C．contributed to

D．headed for

5.

A．going beyond

B．coming across

C．making up

D．depending on

6.

A．With regard to

B．In addition to

C．Compared with

D．In terms of

7.

A．general

B．reasonable

C．legal

D．fascinating

8.

A．committed

B．alerted

C．subjected

D．required

9.

A．negotiate

B．perform

C．conceal

D．escape

10.

A．imagination

B．inspiration

C．patent

D．philosophy

11.

A．creates

B．cultivates

C．credits

D．conveys

12.

A．brand

B．logo

C．possession

D．experience

13.

A．greedily

B．gently

C．persistently

D．indifferently

14.

A．busy

B．easy

C．miserable

D．energetic

15.

A．product

B．vision

C．essence

D．importance

6 . Eating fast food makes people impatient even when they are not short of time, a new study claims.

Students in the study became _______ even when shown the logo of burger chain McDonald’s so quickly on screen that they could not _______ it.

Researchers say that daily exposure to fast food brands could have a subliminal (潜意识的) effect on _______   making people hurry regardless of whether they are pushed for time. They conclude: “Our experiments suggest that the _______ goal of saving time embedded in fast food may have the unexpected consequence of causing hurriedness and impatience.”

Thinking about fast food increases _______ for time-saving products. “More _______, we found that the mere exposure to fast food symbols reduced people’s willingness to save and led them to prefer immediate _______ over greater future return, finally harming their economic interest.”

Student volunteers were quickly shown six logos from fast-food chains — McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Subway, Wendy’s and Taco Bell. They could not consciously see what they were but the subliminal effect was _______. Their reading speed was measured before and after seeing the logos and it was significantly faster afterwards. Participants also preferred time-saving products like three-in-one skincare treatments rather than _______ versions after seeing the logos. When asked weather they would accept a small sum of money immediately or a larger amount in a week’s time, they again chose __________ reward after being exposed to the brands.

Researcher Chen-Bo Zhong, assistant professor of organizational behaviour at Canada’s Toronto University, said: “Fast food represents a culture of time efficiency and immediate __________ The problem is that the goal of saving time gets activated upon exposure to fast food __________ whether time is a relevant factor in the context. “__________, walking faster is time-efficient when one is trying to make a meeting, but it’s a sign of impatience when one is taking a walk in the park.”

“We’re finding that the mere exposure to fast food is __________ a general sense of hurriedness and impatience. When I sit in a fast food restaurant, I find myself gobbling (狼吞虎咽) my Big Mac down at this incredible speed even though there is no __________ at all.”

1.

A．hungry

B．stressful

C．anxious

D．timid

2.

A．recognize

B．investigate

C．diagnose

D．recall

3.

A．motivation

B．appearance

C．emotion

D．behaviour

4.

A．common

B．unconscious

C．primary

D．temporary

5.

A．preferences

B．implications

C．ingredients

D．intentions

6.

A．naturally

B．strikingly

C．fortunately

D．personally

7.

A．gain

B．proof

C．respond

D．attention

8.

A．concealed

B．imposed

C．edited

D．marked

9.

A．separate

B．special

C．expensive

D．original

10.

A．potential

B．constant

C．intense

D．instant

11.

A．cultivation

B．resistance

C．satisfaction

D．awareness

12.

A．in terms of

B．on account of

C．regardless of

D．with respect to

13.

A．In other words

B．On the contrary

C．For example

D．In addition

14.

A．promoting

B．assuming

C．insulting

D．assessing

15.

A．chance

B．sense

C．rush

D．harm

7 . Artists have long claimed alcohol and other drugs as inspiration for their creativity. But is there really a(n) _______ between intoxication（醉酒）and inspiration? A recent study published in Consciousness and Cognition explored the effects of moderate drunkenness on people’s creativity. The authors suggest that alcohol’s well-known effect in _______ executive function may be helpful for these types of creation problems.” Sometimes a reduced ability to _______ one’s attention can have positive implications for select cognitive tasks.” they write.

The findings raise the question of whether drugs that _______ attention and focus, in particular, stimulants（兴奋剂）, would have the opposite effect on creative thinking. _______, very little research has been done on the issue, and what results exist so far have been mixed. The outcomes may well vary according to individual _______ to the drugs. _______, some research has found that while stimulants can _______ test performance for those who are less intelligent, for the smartest folks, the drugs can have the opposite effect.

If less executive function is linked to more creativity, this may also explain why artists, writers and musicians appear to be more _______ to have an addiction. Perhaps creative people are more likely than others to be ________ to drugs in the first place, as a possible source of inspiration. And then, if reduced executive function is ________ in part for their initial talent, this, too, could make them more easily influenced by ________ once they start using. Having less executive control before you even take drugs means you’ll have less ability to stop once you start.

Whatever the real relationship between drunkenness, addiction and art, the authors ________ that their study findings don’t give people ________ to get drunk to “inspire the muse（冥想）” Co-author Jennifer Wiley, associate professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest.” We tested what happens when people are slightly drunk-not when people drank to ________. There could be no argument from these findings that drinking excessively would have the same effects.”

A glass of wine or two, however, may occasionally help.

1.

A．attraction

B．reservation

C．connection

D．decoration

2.

A．strengthening

B．damaging

C．maintaining

D．assessing

3.

A．block

B．reduce

C．disturb

D．control

4.

A．remain

B．drop

C．shift

D．increase

5.

A．However

B．Moreover

C．Instead

D．Therefore

6.

A．additions

B．responses

C．oppositions

D．contrasts

7.

A．For example

B．On the contrary

C．As a result

D．On the other hand

8.

A．conceal

B．executive

C．improve

D．delete

9.

A．vital

B．likely

C．ideal

D．difficult

10.

A．attracted

B．contributed

C．responded

D．withdrawn

11.

A．responsible

B．illegal

C．natural

D．impossible

12.

A．confusion

B．ambition

C．addiction

D．exhaustion

13.

A．lower

B．monitor

C．function

D．caution

14.

A．sacrifice

B．privacy

C．appreciation

D．license

15.

A．priorities

B．extremes

C．bottom

D．Affection

8 . Having a clear picture in mind of what their future will look like can motivate students to keep going despite the challenges of college life. This ______ seems to be particularly effective for female students from relatively low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds says, Mesmin Destin of Northwestern University in the US. College is a time of great opportunity for some, but can be ______ for others. It is often the first time that many students are away from the regular and familiar support of their family and friends. Weak students from lower SES backgrounds often encounter greater financial and psychological challenges than others, and this can lead to ______ and even withdrawal from difficult situations, such as when interacting with their lecturers or taking tests and exams.

Destin and his colleagues wanted to understand if students' ______ to academic challenges improve when they look forward to the future. This idea is built around the theory of identity-based motivation. It holds that people can take positive action during times of unfavorable conditions when they______ a successful future for themselves.

"The theory of identity-based motivation proposes that stimulating a focus on a successful future identity may be especially ______ in motivating students who are weak during challenging academic situations to develop a sense of action readiness," explains Destin. "This involves feeling ready and able to take appropriate action when ______ difficulty.

In two almost identical laboratory experiments -- one involving 93 female students, the other 185 students (including 101 women) -- participants were first asked either to write about their past or their future ______. After their deep thoughts, the participants were filmed during an imitated interview with a so-called lecturer, and then had to ______ a difficult academic test. The research team noted whether participants' body language was bold and confident, and measured the amount of effort participants' ______ the academic test.

The results were in agreement with the theory of identity-based motivation. Destin and his team found that having a successful future identity can prevent especially female students from lower SES backgrounds from ______ during challenging academic situations. Specifically, lower SES women who wrote about their future identities displayed greater action ______ compared to those who considered their past. They showed more confident body language. It helped them to make more effort to tackle the test, and had an indirect effect on their ______.

"Stimulating imagined successful future identities appears to provide a ______ pathway to enable weak students to effectively navigate everyday stressors," says Destin. "The findings ______ suggest that certain students may benefit from strategies that remind them to image their successful futures before any difficult and important task that they might otherwise be likely to avoid."

1.

A．instruction

B．strategy

C．challenge

D．psychology

2.

A．disgraceful

B．shameful

C．harmful

D．stressful

3.

A．hesitation

B．intention

C．depression

D．decision

4.

A．willingness

B．options

C．responses

D．applications

5.

A．destroy

B．imagine

C．abandon

D．substitute

6.

A．powerful

B．upright

C．unique

D．ambitious

7.

A．avoiding

B．overcoming

C．surrendering

D．encountering

8.

A．experience

B．suffering

C．success

D．failure

9.

A．design

B．complete

C．comment

D．revise

10.

A．put away

B．put on

C．put out

D．put into

11.

A．withdrawing

B．transforming

C．advancing

D．engaging

12.

A．quantity

B．dullness

C．readiness

D．inability

13.

A．fascination

B．ignorance

C．dilemma

D．performance

14.

A．tolerable

B．potential

C．straight

D．academic

15.

A．therefore

B．however

C．otherwise

D．meanwhile

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1 个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

I remember reading a statement by a psychiatrist who said that if you ever feel depressed, the best thing to do     1     to do   something   for   someone   else.   Why?   Because   it   gets   you   focused   outward,   not    2    . It’s   hard to be depressed    3     serving someone else. Ironically, a by-product of helping others is feeling wonderful yourself.

I remember sitting in an airport one day, waiting for my    4     (fly). I was excited because I had been   upgraded   to a     5     ticket. And in first class, the seats are     6     (big), the food is edible, and the flight attendants are actually nice. In fact, I had the best seat on the entire plane. Seat 1A. Before boarding, I noticed a young lady who had several carry-on bags and was holding a crying     7    . Having just finished    8     a book on doing random acts of     9     (kind), I heard my conscience ( 良心)     10     to me, “You scumbag. Let her have your ticket.” I fought these promptings for a while but eventually caved in.

10 . 为了丰富同学们的课外活动，校学生会决定成立一个自行车俱乐部（cycling club）。假如你是学生会主席，请根据以下提示，用英语准备一份书面通知。
1. 俱乐部的主要活动内容：每周一次的基础训练，有教师辅导，安排在课外体育活动时间；
2. 参加俱乐部的好处（内容自拟，至少两点）；
3. 注意事项：器材自备，活动免费；
4. 如何加入俱乐部：9 月 20 号前到 5 号大楼 6 层 602 房间报名。
注意：
1. 通知应包括以上所有信息，可适当发挥；
2. 词数 100 左右。
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