A
On Friday, Chin's e-commerce king Alibaba (BABA) held its annual Singles' Day shopping event, posting record sales of $17.8 billion worth of gross merchandise volume (GMV) and soaring past last year's results of $14.3 billion. This figure was easily beaten in Chinese Yuan at 3:30 pm.
Back in the 1990s, Singles' Day was first celebrated by young, single Chinese people as a pushback against Valentine's Day. Now, it has become one of the country’s biggest shopping events. Alibaba began the "holiday'' in 2009, promoting discounts at certain retailers on its various digital platforms; the company uses Singles’ Day as a way to boost its revenues in the typically slow sales period before the Lunar New Year season.
This year, Alibaba said that deals are offered by athletic giants Nike Inc. NKE and Adidas ADDYY, iPhone maker Apple Inc. AAPL industrial automation company Siemens AG ADR SIEGY and fast fashion retailer Uniqlo. Many international brands have jumped on the holiday over recent years. According to survey, 14.000 brands took part in 2016 Singles' Day, making up roughly 30% of total GMV just half-way into the shopping event. Big Chinese brands like appliance manufacturers Haier and Midea and smartphone maker Meizu also reported strong profits in the event.
Popular celebrities made appearances at the four-hour "countdown event" in Shenzhen this year, including actress Scarlett Johansson, David Beckham and his wife, fashion designer Victoria Beckham, Kobe Bryant, and live music from OneRepublic. Even Alibaba CEO Jack Ma showed up and performed a magic trick on stage.
For some perspective on how big of a sale Singles' Day is, 2015's Black Friday, the annual day-afer-Thanksgiving sale here in the US, only reached $4.5 billion in GMV; Cyber Monday, the annual Monday-after-Thanksgiving e-commerce sale event, only saw a record $3 billion last year, or pocket change compared to what Singles' Day brings in.
1. What is GMV of Alibaba at 3:30 pm on November 11?
A. $17.8 billion. B. $16.8 billion. C. $14.3 billion. D. $13.4 billion.
2. What is the purpose of Alibaba beginning the “holiday"?
A. To make it as a pushback against Valentine's Day.
B. To celebrate the coming Lunar New Year season.
C. To build up more retailers on its digital platforms.
D. To increase its sales during the very difficult times.
3. What is the characteristic of the Singles' Day shopping event?
A. Only single Chinese people like shopping here.
B. All the big Chinese brands showed interest in it.
C. Many famous international brands took part in it.
D. The company only chose the brands from the USA.
4. Who tried to be a magician during the four-hour “countdown event"?
A. Jack Ma. B. Scarlett Johansson. C. Victoria Beckham. D. Kobe Bryant.
5. What's the main idea of the last paragraph?
A. The success of Alibaba. B. The scale of Black Friday.
C. The advantage of e-commerce. D. The danger of Cyber Monday.
【答案】1. C 2. D 3. C 4. A 5. A
【解析】
【分析】这是一篇新闻报道。上周五，中国电商巨头阿里巴巴(BABA)举行了一年一度的“双十一”购物节，创下了178亿美元的交易额纪录，超过了去年143亿美元的业绩。文章主要介绍了“双十一”购物节的由来以及发展情况。
【1题详解】
细节理解题。根据第一段“On Friday, Chin's e-commerce king Alibaba (BABA) held its annual Singles' Day shopping event, posting record sales of $17.8 billion worth of gross merchandise volume (GMV) and soaring past last year's results of $14.3 billion. This figure was easily beaten in Chinese Yuan at 3:30 pm.(上周五，中国电商巨头阿里巴巴举行了一年一度的“双十一”购物节，创下了178亿美元的交易额纪录，超过了去年143亿美元的业绩。下午3点30分，这个数字在人民币上被轻松击败)”可知，11月11日下午3:30阿里巴巴的交易额记录是143亿美元。故选C。
【2题详解】
细节理解题。根据第二段中“Alibaba began the "holiday'' in 2009, promoting discounts at certain retailers on its various digital platforms; the company uses Singles’ Day as a way to boost its revenues in the typically slow sales period before the Lunar New Year season.(阿里巴巴在2009年开始了这个“节日”，在其各种数字平台上向某些零售商促销折扣；该公司利用光棍节作为在春节前通常销售低迷期提高收入的一种方式)”可知，阿里巴巴开始“节日”的目的是在困难时期增加销售。故选D。
【3题详解】
细节理解题。根据第三段中“This year, Alibaba said that deals are offered by athletic giants Nike Inc. NKE and Adidas ADDYY, iPhone maker Apple Inc. AAPL industrial automation company Siemens AG ADR SIEGY and fast fashion retailer Uniqlo. Many international brands have jumped on the holiday over recent years.(今年，阿里巴巴表示，体育巨头耐克公司提供了这些交易。NKE和阿迪达斯ADDYY、iPhone制造商苹果公司。工业自动化公司西门子公司和快时尚零售商优衣库。近年来，许多国际品牌都参加了这个节日)”可知，双十一购物节的特色是许多国际知名品牌都参加了。故选C。
【4题详解】
细节理解题。根据倒数第二段“Popular celebrities made appearances at the four-hour "countdown event" in Shenzhen this year, including actress Scarlett Johansson, David Beckham and his wife, fashion designer Victoria Beckham, Kobe Bryant, and live music from OneRepublic. Even Alibaba CEO Jack Ma showed up and performed a magic trick on stage.(今年，包括女演员斯嘉丽·约翰逊、大卫·贝克汉姆夫妇、时装设计师维多利亚·贝克汉姆、科比·布莱恩特和OneRepublic现场音乐在内的许多名人都出席了在深圳举行的长达四个小时的“倒计时活动”。就连阿里巴巴的CEO马云也在舞台上表演了魔术)”可知，在四小时的“倒计时活动”中，马云想成为魔术师。故选A。
【5题详解】
主旨大意题。根据最后一段“For some perspective on how big of a sale Singles' Day is, 2015's Black Friday, the annual day-afer-Thanksgiving sale here in the US, only reached $4.5 billion in GMV; Cyber Monday, the annual Monday-after-Thanksgiving e-commerce sale event, only saw a record $3 billion last year, or pocket change compared to what Singles' Day brings in.( 2015年的“黑色星期五”，即美国每年感恩节后一天的促销活动，其商品交易总额仅为45亿美元；“网络星期一”是感恩节后的一年一度的电子商务销售活动，去年的销售额仅为创纪录的30亿美元，与光棍节的销售额相比微不足道)”可知，最后一段的主旨是阿里巴巴的成功。故选A。
