脫歐之后的買買買

脫歐之后的買買買

脫歐公投后，似乎只有買買買能夠驅散國內飄蕩的猶豫情緒。盡管Niesr數(shù)據顯示7月份英國經濟出現(xiàn)了收縮，但是銷售額卻有增無減。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

like-for-like sales 同比銷售額

relief 解除；安慰；浮雕[r?'li?f]

KPMG 畢馬威會計事務所

stimulus 激勵；刺激物['st?mj?l?s]

recession 衰退；不景氣[r?'se?(?)n]

閱讀馬上開始，建議您計算一下閱讀整篇文章所用的時間，對照下方的參考值就可以評估出您的英文閱讀水平。

如果您讀完全文用時為： 那么，您的閱讀速度相當于 每分鐘閱讀的英文單詞數(shù)

3分38秒 母語為英語者的朗讀速度 140

1分9秒 母語為英語的中學生的閱讀速度 250

1分15秒 母語為英語的大學生的閱讀速度 350

0分47秒 母語為英語的速讀高手 1000

Brexit vote fails to deter shoppers as summer sales edge up（474words）

By Emily Cadman

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Britain’s vote for Brexit has not stopped consumers from shopping. Like-for-like sales rose 1.1 per cent in July — broadly in line with the average for the year so far.

The British Retail Consortium/KPMG figures will be a relief for policymakers. Early survey evidence after the Brexit vote suggested consumer confidence had fallen sharply.

David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said the sunny month benefited food, drink and fashion sales.

“Warmer weather helped blow away some of the post-referendum blues, boosting the UK feelgood factor and giving consumers a sense that ‘life goes on’ following the initial shock of the Brexit vote,” he said. Both the Bank of England and the Treasury are watching the retail sector closely for any signs of households tightening their belts in response to Brexit-related uncertainty. Household consumption, which includes both retail spending and purchases of goods and services, accounts for about 60 per cent of gross domestic product.

The BoE hopes that last week’s stimulus package, which included a new funding scheme for banks to ensure they pass on the interest rate cut to consumers, will help the country narrowly avoid outright recession.

Even before the EU referendum, years of small pay rises and the rise of high street discounters such as Primark and Aldi meant that retailers have had to compete hard to persuade customers to spend.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said growth in July had been driven mainly by heavy discounting. “The big question for retailers is whether that success can be carried forward into full price sales,” she said.

Caution was also evident in data from Barclaycard showing that while everyday spending was resilient in July, Britons made fewer big purchases.

The credit card company reported that spending in pubs and restaurants rose, while annual spending growth fell to 2.6 per cent in July, from 3.6 per cent the previous month.

Paul Lockstone, managing director of Barclaycard, said its research found that while Britons were still spending on daily essentials and small treats, one in three said they were less likely to spend on big-ticket items.

So far the uncertainty generated by the vote to leave the EU seems to have had a bigger impact on firms than households. Almost all surveys of business sentiment have shown sharp falls. CBRE, the property adviser, said on Monday that UK commercial property values dropped 4.1 per cent in July, led by a 6.1 per cent fall in central London offices.

FTSE 100 commercial property groups British Land and Land Securities have both warned that demand is likely to be “subdued” until companies have more clarity on the terms of Britain’s exit from the EU.

City offices have taken a particular hit as financial institutions wait to find out whether they will keep the “passporting” rights that give them access to the single market.

請根據你所讀到的文章內容，完成以下自測題目：

1. What is the real-life situation of shopping compared with expectation?

A. opposite

B. identical

C. near to the expectation

D. not mentioned

2. What benefited food, drink and fashion sales from McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG?

A. different opinions

B. warmer weather

C. post-referendum blues

D. the public holidays

3. What is in the majority of gross domestic product(GDP) in UK?

A. government consumption

B. investment spending

C. household consumption

D. net foreign earnings

4. Which one is the mainly reason of the growth sales in July of BRC?

A. Increase in wages

B. heavy discounting

C. terrorist activities

D. uncertainty generated

[1] 答案 A. opposite

解釋：根據英國零售商協(xié)會/畢馬威的數(shù)據顯示，公投后的同比銷售額和預期中的會下降截然相反，在7月增長了1.1%

[2] 答案 B. warmer weather

解釋：McCorquodale，表示溫暖的天氣助長了以上領域產品的銷售表現(xiàn)。

[3] 答案 C. household consumption

解釋：文章提到民眾消費支出占國內生產總值的60%左右。

[4] 答案 B. heavy discounting

解釋：銷量的上漲主要由于大力度的夏季折扣。