外刊阅读训练：快购时代的“连环退货买家”等2则-2023届高三英语二轮复习

外刊精读

快购时代的“连环退货买家”

导读：

在当今时代，时尚业竞争激烈，零售商们用各种方式让退货变得不再

困难。大多数情况下，消费者们只需要把服饰带回服装店就可以了。这虽

然让退换货物变得非常方便，却催生出了不少先大量购买商品，再退还回

去的买家。这看似无伤大雅，但公司的利润却因此受到影响。面临这一趋

势，很多公司却没有想出相应的对策。本集《外刊精读》讨论"连续退货

族”给卖家带来的影响，并介绍一些和购物有关的英语词汇。

一、语篇泛读

Vocabulary:shopping词汇：购物

We'vealldoneit.Webuysomethingwethinkwelikeandthenchange

ourmindsaboutit.Whetherpanicbuying,animpulsepurchaseorshopper's

remorse,we'refortunatemanycompaniesallowusto

easilyexchangeorrefunditems.Infactit'ssoeasythesedays

thatretailersareseeinganincreaseinanewtypeofshopper:theserial

returner.

Aserialreturnerissomeonewhobuysitems,ofteninbulk,onlyto

returnmostofthem.41-year-oldHesterGrainger,founderofMumalaClub,

estimatesspending£300to£400eachmonthonclothes,butreturning

"around80%",shetoldtheBBC.Thisisn'tunique.Barclaycard,which

processesnearlyhalfoftheUK'screditanddebitcardtransactions,says

thatinthelasttwoyears26%ofretailershaveseenanincreaseinin-store

andonlinereturns-withthenumberofitemsbeingsentbackupby22%.

It'saproblemforcompanies.Handlingthesereturnseatsintoprofits.

Freedeliveryforthecustomermeansthecompanyfootsthebill.Itemsmay

needtoberepackaged.Theyaredamaged-makingthemunfitforresale.

TonyMannix,CEOofClipper,alogisticsfirmthathandlesreturnedgoods

formajorretailers,saidabout5%ofthemendup"beingbinned."Sometimes

thefastfashioncyclehasmovedon.Bythetimetheitemcomesback,it

becomesacut-priceitemonareduced-to-clearrail-atfurtherlosstothe

company.

Somecompaniesaretakingactiontodeterthisbehavior.Accordingtoa

BBCarticle,fourintenretailersnowsaytheychargeforreturnsto

discouragethesendingofnon-faultyitems.OnlineretailgiantAmazonwas

reportedtohavestartedbarringcustomerswithtoomanyreturneditems.

ThisissomethingastudybyretailmanagementsystemBrightpearlfound

overhalfofUKfashionretailerswouldconsider.AndBarclaycardsaysathird

ofretailershavehikedtheirpricestocoverthesereturns.

ButVickyBrock,directorofdatainnovationatReBoundReturns,a

returnsmanagementsoftwaresystem,believesthisisn'tthebeststrategy.

SpeakinginaBBCarticle,shesaysdiscouragingreturnsshowsalackof

understandingbytheretailer.Usingdata,companiescanreducereturnsby

helpingcustomerschoosebetter.SomecompaniessuchasUniqloandAsos

alreadyprovideasuggestedsizebasedonthecustomer'sprevious

purchasesandinformationonheightandweight.Ultimately,shesays,

returnsarenowasmuchapartoftheshoppingexperienceasbuyingthings,

andshopsneedtotakethisintoconsideration.

二、词汇表

panicbuying（因害怕商品短缺的）恐慌性购物

impulsepurchase冲动消费

shopper'sremorse买了后悔的心态

exchange换（货）

refund退款

retailer零售商

serialreturner连环退货的消费者

inbulk大量、成批

transaction交易

footthebill掏腰包

repackage重新包装

logisticsfirm物流公司

fastfashion（紧跟流行趋势、价格低廉的）快速时尚

cut-price降价出售的

reduced-to-clear清仓减价

rail挂衣杆、架

charge收费

returns退货

hike（价格）大幅增加

suggestedsize推荐尺寸

三、测试与练习

阅读课文并回答问题。

1.Trueorfalse?Serialreturnersareontherise.

2.ApproximatelywhatproportionofherclothespurchasesdoesHester

Graingerreturn?

3.Whatactionsarecompaniestakingtostopserialreturning?

4.Whatdoesdiscouragingreturnsrevealaboutaretailer,accordingto

VickyBrock?

5.Whichwordusedinthearticlemeans'thrownaway,?

请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填

入句子的空格处。

1.Idon'tknowwhyIboughtthischocolate.I'mnotevenhungry!Itwas

an.

panicbuyimpulsepurchase

refundfastfashion

2.Theyweresocheap!Iboughttheminasectionoflast

season'sclothes.

shopper'sremorse

suggestedsize

exchange

reduced-to-clear

3.Withthehurricaneapproaching,peoplehavestartedwater

andfood.

panicbuyingimpulsepurchasing

serialreturninginbulking

4.Itwasabaddate.SheleftwithoutmeearlyandIhadtofor

themeal!

feetthebill

footthebill

eyethebill

legthebill

5.Abadpotatoharvesthasledtoretailersthepriceofcrispsas

suppliesgrowscarce.

panicbuying

impulsepurchasing

hiking

cuttingtheprice

【参考答案】

阅读课文并回答问题。

1.Trueorfalse?Serialreturnersareontherise.

True.Inthelasttwoyears26%ofretailershaveseenanincreasein

in-storeandonlinereturns-withthenumberofitemsbeingsentbackup

by22%.

2.ApproximatelywhatproportionofherclothespurchasesdoesHester

Graingerreturn?

Hesterreturnsaround80%ofherclothespurchases.

3.Whatactionsarecompaniestakingtostopserialreturning?

Someretailerschargeforreturns,somebarcustomerswithtoomany

returnsandsomeretailershavehikedtheirprices.

4.Whatdoesdiscouragingreturnsrevealaboutaretailer,accordingto

VickyBrock?

Shesaysdiscouragingreturnsshowsalackofunderstandingbythe

retailer.

5.Whichwordusedinthearticlemeans'thrownaway'?

Binned."TonyMannix,CEOofClipper,alogisticsfirmthathandles

returnedgoodsformajorretailers,saidabout5%ofthemendup"being

请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填

入句子的空格处。

1.Idon'tknowwhyIboughtthischocolate.I'mnotevenhungry!Itwas

animpulsepurchase.

2.Theyweresocheap!Iboughttheminareduced-to-clearsectionof

lastseason'sclothes.

3.Withthehurricaneapproaching,peoplehavestartedpanic

buyingwaterandfood.

4.Itwasabaddate.SheleftwithoutmeearlyandIhadtofootthe

billforthemeal!

5.Abadpotatoharvesthasledtoretailershikingthepriceofcrispsas

suppliesgrowscarce.

让现代科技温暖你的冬日

导读：

在科技并不发达的过去，人们可能会为如何在严寒天气里更好地保暖

而倍感困扰。现如今，每值严冬时节，虽然温度骤降、天气恶劣，但随着

各类智能保暖产品的问世，冬天也能变得舒适宜人。人们凭借科学技术发

明了各式各样的防寒方法。比如，用智能电子设备调节屋内和衣物的温度；

使用无线科技制造会自动发热的服饰。听《外刊精读》音频，让你的冬天

从此不再寒冷！

一、语篇泛读

Vocabulary:winterandheating词汇：冬日和供暖

Inmymemory,wintersalwaysusedtobereallyunpleasant.Youhad

tobundleupjusttokeepwarmwhenyouwentoutside.Youwereoftencold,

wetandnevermorethanasoddenmisstepawayfromapatchofblackice.If

youdidn'thaveanastyslide,you'darrivehometoanice-coldhouse.And

thatwouldmeanturningontheheatingandwaiting.It'samiracleyoudidn't

getchilledtothebone.

Fortunately,thingsdon'thavetobesochallenginganymore.

Technology,engineeringanddesignhaveadvancedgivingusnewsolutions

tooldproblems.Itmeansdealingwithwinterneedn'tbelikeskatingonthin

ice.

Withasmartthermostat,ourhomescanbetoastywhenweneedthem

tobe.Manymodelsfeaturesmartphoneappsthatallowyou

toregulatetemperatureremotely,sowecanwarmupthehousebeforewe

arrivehome.Accordingtotechradar.com,thelargestUK-basedconsumer

technologynewsandreviewswebsite,Tado'smodelfeaturesvoicecontrol,

whiletheNest'learns'yourhabitsandautomaticallyheatsthehomefor

you.

Clotheshavebeengivenanupgrade,too.Electronicthermaljackets,

hoodiesandparkasheatupwhenyouturnthemon.Whatbetterwayto

keepsnuginthedeadofwinter?Atthetouchofabutton,orthroughanapp

onourphones,theclothinggeneratesheatfromelementsplacedinside.

Manymodelsofferthreelevelsofheatingwhichstaywarmforover12

hours.

Finally,thereistheheadgear-Beaniesandearmuffsthatfeature

speakersincludedinthefabricusingBluetoothtechnologysowecanlisten

toourfavoritemusicor,insomecases,haveaphonecallusingthein-built

microphone.Allwhilekeepingtheheadwarmandavoidingachill.

Formany,thethoughtofwinterusedtobeenoughtomaketheirblood

runcold.Butusingtechnology,lifeneedn'tfreezeup.Withtheright

solutions,there'snoreasonwhywintercan'tbereally,reallycool.

二、词汇表

bundleup穿暖和，多穿衣服

sodden湿漉漉的

blackice（路面上的）薄冰

slide滑倒

chilledtothebone寒冷刺骨的

skatingonthinice如履薄冰

thermostat温度自动调节器

toasty暖烘烘的，暖意绵绵的

regulate调节、控制

thermal（衣物）有保暖功能的

snug暖和舒适的

inthedeadofwinter隆冬时节

element电热元件

beanie（无檐的）毛线便帽

earmuff耳套

chill受凉

makesomeone'sbloodruncold使人不寒而栗

freezeup冻滞不前,失去生机

cool很棒的（又指〃凉爽的〃，这里是双关语）

三、测试与练习

阅读课文并回答问题。

1.TrueorFalse?Technologycondonothingtomakewinterlessharsh.

2.Howdoeselectronicthermalclothingwork?

3.WherearethespeakersinaBluetoothbeanie?

4.Withasmartthermostatandaphone,whatareweabletodo?

5.Whichwordusedinthearticlemeans'fromadistance'?

请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填

入句子的空格处。

1.Youneedtowearmorethanthat!It'ssnowingandyou'llbe.

bloodruncold

freezeup

chilledtothebone

deadofwinter

2.John,I'mtiredoftellingyouoff.Youare,Sitdownandstudy

please.

skatingonthinice

blackice

sodden

toasty

3.Ihadforgottenmyumbrella.BythetimeIgothome,mycoatwas

andIwasexhausted.

slidethermal

toastysodden

4.Ourheatingisn'tworking.Ithinktheintheboilermightbe

broken.

thermalelement

icemachine

5.Oncewe'dlitafire,thelittlewoodencabinbecamequite.It

waslovely.

soddenthermal

chillsnug

【参考答案】

阅读课文并回答问题。

1.TrueorFalse?Technologycandonothingtomakewinterlessharsh.

False.Technology,engineeringanddesignhaveadvanced,givingusnew

s