B．They could receive better customer service.

C．They could match pairs of shoes by themselves.

D．There was a wide variety of shoes to choose from.

答案　C

解析　细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中的"The attraction was a combination of getting a good deal on a quality pair of shoes and the thrill of the hunt."可知，顾客认为在公交车上找物美价廉的鞋子很有趣。故选C。

21．What can we learn about the author's father from the passage?

A．He had a good nose for business.

B．He was clever at transforming a store.

C．He was patient with customers.

D．He had a strong preference for bargains.

答案　A

解析　推理判断题。通读全文尤其根据最后一段"To this day，I still run into people who talk about the fun they had searching for pairs in Dad's Shoe Bus."可知，作者的父亲很有商业头脑。故选A。

　　话题：现代技术　难度星级：☆☆☆

　　Emoji might not be your first choice of communication in a disaster，but researchers feel they could make a difference during emergencies，where every second counts. Now，the Emoji­quake campaign is lobbying for an earthquake emoji to be added to the Unicode set-the standard group of icons available on digital devices worldwide. The campaign aims to find an earthquake­appropriate design to be submitted to Unicode.

　　"Approximately up to one third of the world's population are exposed to earthquakes，"explains University of Southampton seismologist(地震学家) Dr Stephen Hicks，a founder of the campaign."So we really want to be able to communicate to all of those regions，all of those different languages，and an emoji is an amazing way of doing that."

　　Unlike many other weather and climate related events，where longer warning times or visible signs are available，earthquakes move incredibly quickly and are difficult to measure while they are still occurring. Populations in areas like Japan and Mexico are dependent on earthquake early warning technology，which issues an alert on digital devices and broadcast media. "You may have seconds to get under a table or to protect yourself，"explains Dr Hicks. "That can be life­saving in many cases. Naturally you don't want too much wording in the warning message."

Pictographs(象形文字) and other visuals like emoji have a track record of being faster and