【摘要】2013英语四六级在即，精品学习网小编在此为大家编辑了“英语2013六级阅读练习：免邮费对网购的影响力”，供大家参考，希望对四六级考生有所帮助。祝大家取得理想的成绩!
本篇阅读材料“假期消费：免邮费对网上购物者有多大影响力?”选自《时代》(原文标题：Holiday Spending: Just How Important Is Free Shipping to Online Shoppers? )，如果大家觉得比较简单，就当作泛读材料了解了解，认识几个新单词或新表达方式也不错。如果大家觉得这些材料理解上有难度，不妨当做挑战自己的拔高训练，希望大家都有进步^^
Increasingly, online shoppers won’t complete their orders unless free shipping is part of the deal. Nearly two-thirds of online purchases last week were shipped for free.
In November of last year, a New York Times story noted that 41% of online purchases came with free shipping—an impressive figure at the time, considering that free shipping was once a novelty, a rare unexpected bonus.
Since then, retailers such as L.L. Bean and Nordstrom have begun offering free shipping on all orders, no promotional code or minimum purchase required, while stores such as Best Buy and Walmart are shipping most or all items for free during the holiday season.
promotional adj. 推销的，推销广告或宣传的
Even before Halloween was here in 2011, it was clear that free shipping would be a huge trend for the winter shopping season. In a National Retail Federation survey published over a month ago, more than 9 out of 10 retailers said they’d offer free shipping at some point during the holiday season. E-merchants are well aware that free shipping is in their best interests—because without it, consumers are less likely to buy, and with it, consumers are not only more likely to buy, but to buy in bigger ways. According to NRF data:
More shoppers this year are also interested in shopping online as a direct result of free shipping offers – 36.3 percent will spend more online this year if shipping comes free.
Now, after an epic $52 billion shopping spree over Black Friday weekend, some of the effects of free shipping can be seen.
epic n. 1. [C,U] 史诗，叙事诗 2. [C] 壮举，惊人之举 adj. 1. 史诗的，叙事诗的 2. 漫长而艰难的 3. 壮丽的，给人深刻印象的
spree n. 狂欢;无节制的狂热行为;欢闹 vi. 狂欢;狂饮
Market research firm ComScore has announced that during Cyber Week (week ending December 2), online purchases totaled $6 billion; a highest-ever $1.25 billion was spent online on Cyber Monday alone. This is particularly remarkable because the online spend-a-thon took place right on the heels of a dramatic rise in spending in physical stores over Black Friday weekend.
What role did free shipping play in enticing shoppers to spend (and spend and spend) last week? Well, over the last two weeks, over 63% of all online purchases were accompanied by free shipping—that’s up roughly 10 percentage points over the same period one year ago. In the ComScore survey, 78% of consumers said that free shipping was either “very important” or “somewhat important” when it comes to decision time to make an online purchase.
entice v. 怂恿;诱使