脱欧之后的买买买
脱欧公投后，似乎只有买买买能够驱散国内飘荡的犹豫情绪。尽管Niesr数据显示7月份英国经济出现了收缩，但是销售额却有增无减。
测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：
like-for-like sales 同比销售额
relief 解除；安慰；浮雕[rɪ'liːf]
KPMG 毕马威会计事务所
stimulus 激励；刺激物['stɪmjʊləs]
recession 衰退；不景气[rɪ'seʃ(ə)n]
阅读马上开始，建议您计算一下阅读整篇文章所用的时间，对照下方的参考值就可以评估出您的英文阅读水平。
如果您读完全文用时为： 那么，您的阅读速度相当于 每分钟阅读的英文单词数
3分38秒 母语为英语者的朗读速度 140
1分9秒 母语为英语的中学生的阅读速度 250
1分15秒 母语为英语的大学生的阅读速度 350
0分47秒 母语为英语的速读高手 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.
请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：
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
解释：根据英国零售商协会/毕马威的数据显示，公投后的同比销售额和预期中的会下降截然相反，在7月增长了1.1%
[2] 答案 B. warmer weather
解释：McCorquodale，表示温暖的天气助长了以上领域产品的销售表现。
[3] 答案 C. household consumption
解释：文章提到民众消费支出占国内生产总值的60%左右。
[4] 答案 B. heavy discounting
解释：销量的上涨主要由于大力度的夏季折扣。
