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Starbucks wants customers in China to get their coffee anytime, anywhere. The Seattle coffee chain is teaming up with Chinese technology giant Alibaba to launch delivery services in September, the companies announced Thursday.
The Alibaba (BABA) partnership “will shape modern retail, and represents a significant milestone in our efforts to meet the expectations of Chinese consumers,”Starbucks (SBUX) president and CEO Kevin Johnson said in a statement.
Starbucks coffees and products will be available for order on Alibaba’s food delivery platform Ele.me, and the coffee company will open “delivery kitchens” in Alibaba’s Hema grocery stores to help prepare and deliver Starbucks drinks. Everything can be paid for using Alibaba’s payment platform, Alipay.
The delivery services will initially launch only in Beijing and Shanghai, but Starbucks aims to roll them out to 2,000 stores across 30 Chinese cities by the end of this year.
China has been a sweet spot for Starbucks for years. But in June, the company reported a sudden slowdown in China growth, just weeks after it had announced plans for rapid expansion in the country. Morgan Stanley recently lower the grade of Starbucks, predicting a continued sales slump in China and the United States.
Starbucks is also facing pressure in China from a domestic competitor. Luckin Coffee opened its first store in China less than a year ago, and has quickly grown to having more than 500 outlets across major cities. Many of its customers pre-order coffees online, pick them up in store, and pay for them using Tencent’s (TCTZF) WeChat Pay. Luckin has also aggressively promoted its delivery services, and offers discounts to new customers. Luckin customers have to download the app to order coffee even when they show up to buy it in person.

1.What is the purpose of Starbucks by cooperating with Alibaba?

A It wants to begin a technology company.

B It wants to try to beat the technology giant Alibaba.

C It wants to provide plenty of free coffee.

D It wants to make Chinese buy coffee more easily.

解析：选D。推理判断题。根据第一段第一句Starbucks wants customers in China to get their coffee anytime, anywhere.可推知星巴克与阿里巴巴合作的目的是想让中国人更加容易买到星巴克的咖啡，故选D。

2.What will Starbucks build to meet its expectations?

A The delivery platform.

B The delivery kitchen.

C The payment platform.

D Alipay.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第三段第一句后半句and the coffee company will open “delivery kitchens” in Alibaba’s Hema grocery stores to help prepare and deliver Starbucks drinks可知星巴克要新建自己的配送厨房来满足自己的期望，故选B。

3.What does the underlined word “slump” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A Increase.

B Expansion.

C Drop.

D Growth.

解析：选C。词义猜测题。根据第五段第二句中的But in June, the company reported a sudden slowdown in China growth可知星巴克六月份在中国的营业额出现了“下跌”状况，而又由该段最后一句中的continued（继续）一词可推知slump应是“下跌”的意思，故选C。

4.What is the advantage of Luckin?

A Customers don’t have to go to the shop in person.

B Customers can order the coffee before they arrive.

C Customers only in Beijing and Shanghai can drink it.

D Customers have to download the app to order coffee.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据最后一段第三句的Many of its customers pre-order coffees online, pick them up in store可知瑞幸咖啡可以让顾客先预定咖啡，故选B。