AEAS考生看这里：澳大利亚中小学阅读练习解析

　　看了这么久的AEAS阅读素材，是时候检测大家的实力了，今天开始小编给大家带来练习题，同学们要认真做啊。

　　Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage.

　　Macy’s reported its sales plunged 5.2% inNovember and December at stores open more than a year, a disappointing holidayseason performance that capped a difficult year for a department store chainfacing wide-ranging challenges. Its flagship stores in majorU.S. cities depend heavily on international tourist spending, which shrank atmany retailers due to a strong dollar. Meanwhile, Macy’s has simply struggled to lure consumers who are moreinterested in spending on travel or dining out than on newclothes or accessories.

　　Thecompany blamed much of the poor performance in November and December onunseasonably warm weather. “About 80% of our company’s year-over-year declines in comparablesales can be attributed to shortfalls (短缺)incold-weather goods，”said chief executive Terry Lundgren in a press release. This prompted thecompany to cut its forecasts for the full fourth quarter.

　　However,it’s clear that Macy’s believes its troubles run deeper than atemporary aberration (偏离)off thethermometer. The retail giant said the poor financial performance this year haspushed it to begin implementing $400 million in cost-cutting measures. Thecompany pledged to cut 600 back-office positions, though some 150 workers inthose roles would be reassigned to other jobs. It also pluns to offer“voluntary separation” packages to 165 senior executives. It will slashstaffing at its fleet of 770 stores, a move affecting some 3,000employees.

　　Theretailer also announced the locations of 36 stores it will close in early 2016.The company had previously announced the planned closures, but had not saidwhich locations would be affected. None of the chain’s stores in the Washington metropolitanarea are to be closed.

　　Macy’s has been moving aggressively to tryto remake itself for a new era of shopping. It has plans to open more locationsof Macy’s Backstage, a newly-developed off-priceconcept which might help it better compete with ambitious T.J. Maxx. It’s also pushing ahead in 2016 with an expansionof Bluemercury,the beauty chain it bought last year. At a time when young beauty shoppers areoften turning to Sephora or Ulta instead of department store beauty counters,Macy’s hopes Bluemercury will help strengthenits position in the category.

　　One relative bright spot for Macy’s during the holiday season was the onlinechannel, where rang up “double-digit” increases in sales and a 25% increase inthe number of orders it filled. That relative strength would be consistentwith what was seen in the wider retail industry during early part of theholiday season. While Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday all sawrecord spending online, in-store sales plunged over the holiday weekend.

　　1.What does the author say about the shrinking spending of international touristsin the U.S.?

　　A)It is attributable to the rising value of the U.S. dollar.

　　B)It is a direct result of the global economic recession.

　　C)It reflects a shift of their interest in consumer goods.

　　D)It poses a potential threat to the retail business in the U.S.

　　下拉即可知道答案

　　【答案】A

　　【解析】根据题干中的关键调shrinking, spending, international tourists 可定位至第一段的第二句，因此选A。

　　2.What does Macy’s believe about its problems?

　　A)They can be solved with better management.

　　B)They cannot be attributed to weather only.

　　C)They are not as serious in its online stores.

　　D) They call for increased investments.

　　下拉即可知道答案

　　【答案】B

　　2.【解析】本题定位于第二段的第一句，因此选B。

　　3.In order to cut costs, Macy’s decided to_______.

　　A)cut the salary of senior executives

　　B)relocate some of its chain stores

　　C)adjust its promotion strategies

　　D) reduce the size of its staff

　　下拉即可知道答案

　　【答案】D

　　【解析】根据题干中的关键词cut costs可定位于第三段的第二句至该段的最后一句，因此选D。

　　4.Why does Macy’s plan to expand Bluemercury in 2016?

　　A)To experiment on its new business concept.

　　B)To focus more on beauty products than clothing.

　　C)To promote sales of its products by lowering prices.

　　D) To be more competitive in sales of beauty products.

　　下拉即可知道答案

　　【答案】D

　　【解析】根据题干中的关键词expand，Bluemercury, in 2016可定位至第五段的第三、四句，因此选D。

　　5.What can we learn about Macy’s during the holiday season?

　　A)Sales dropped sharply in its physical stores.

　　B)Its retail sales exceeded those of T.J. Maxx.

　　C)It helped Bluemercury establish its position worldwide.

　　D)It filled its stores with abundant supply of merchandise.

　　下拉即可知道答案

　　【答案】D

　　【解析】根据题干中的关键词holiday season可定位至最后一段。因此选D。

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