下载掌阅APP，畅读海量书库
立即打开
Directions:
Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
From drive-in cinemas to drive-through restaurants, Americans love doing things without getting out of their cars. During the covid-19 pandemic they have started to do the shopping in a(an) 1 fashion, too. Roadside pickup, where buyers’ vehicles 2 to retail outlets and dedicated staff help 3 online orders into the trunk, helped supermarket chains achieve a 4 year. One in two American shoppers used roadside or in-store collection last year, according to a survey by ShipStation.
No big retailer in America can do without roadside pickup. Those that had it before the pandemic, like Target, Walmart and Kohl’s, have 5 their businesses. On March 2nd Target reported record digital sales, which 6 two thirds of revenue growth last year. These were 7 by such “drive-up” purchases, which surged more than six-fold in the final quarter of 2020. Shops that lacked roadside operations hurriedly created them from 8 . Even malls, which were struggling before the pandemic added to their 9 as self-isolating consumers moved together to online purchases, are giving it a try. Sarah Fossen, head of marketing at Rose dale Centre, a mall near Minneapolis, recalls starting a service 10 parking space set aside for roadside pickup at two entrances, only to 11 that there was sufficient demand to 12 such space at all five main entrances.
Successful 13 get a number of things right, says Tom Enright of Gartner, a research firm. Some of the imperatives are 14 (install clear signs, offer sufficient parking space). Others require retailers to make bigger changes. 15 they do not have to carry stuff to their car themselves, for example, roadside shoppers often buy 16 boxes of bottled water or big bags of pet food. A bit of technological intelligence comes in handy. 17 , some retailers are using location 18 in their apps to know when exactly customers might arrive, so as to 19 waiting times, says Jean Chick of Deloitte, a consultancy.
Retailers could improve the experience with pop-up tables in the parking lot 20 with popular items. As Mr Enright notes, “If roadside is going to replace an in-store experience, it has to bring a lot of those in-store experiences out into the parking lot.”
1. [A] sensitive [B] equivalent [C] similar [D] different
2. [A] pull up [B] pull out [C] pull down [D] pull back
3. [A] cancel [B] load [C] take [D] deliver
4. [A] lean [B] profitable [C] luxurious [D] penniless
5. [A] extended [B] expressed [C] expanded [D] extracted
6. [A] account for [B] set up [C] take over [D] put up
7. [A] balanced [B] powered [C] measured [D] impaired
8. [A] expectation [B] reality [C] scratch [D] situation
9. [A] sufferings [B] sadness [C] problems [D] miseries
10. [A] in [B] with [C] over [D] to
11. [A] discover [B] disclose [C] reverse [D] resume
12. [A] reduce [B] manage [C] add [D] control
13. [A] collaborations [B] efforts [C] interventions [D] combinations
14. [A] straightforward [B] significant [C] principal [D] prevalent
15. [A] Unless [B] Although [C] Since [D] If
16. [A] exquisite [B] expensive [C] bulky [D] square
17. [A] As to [B] In particular [C] In contrast [D] For instance
18. [A] tracking [B] depicting [C] monitoring [D] capturing
19. [A] increase [B] push [C] contract [D] minimize
20. [A] displayed [B] offered [C] stocked [D] equipped