Mountain climbers around the world dream about going up Mount Qomolangma (珠穆朗玛峰). It

Is the highest mountain in the world. But many people who have climbed the mountain have left

Waste material that is harming the environment. A team of Americans is planning the largest

Clean-up effort ever on Mount Qomolangma. They will make the risky trip up the mountain next

Month. The team of eight Americans will be guided by more than twenty Sherpas of Nepal (尼泊

尔夏尔巴人). Their goal is to remove all the trash (废物，垃圾) they see. They will spend two

Months cleaning up the mountain by gathering oxygen bottles, fuel containers, batteries, drink

Cans, human waste and other kinds of trash. They are expected to remove at least three tons of

Trash in large bags. Team leader Robert Hoffman is making his fourth trip up the mountain. He

Says he hopes to bring Qomolangma to the condition it was in before the first successful climb

Fifty years ago. He says he hopes the effort will influence other people to clean up the environment

Closer home. Human waste on Qomolangma is a major concern. So the clean-up team will take

Along newly developed equipment to collect and treat human waste. Over the years, the waste

Articles have polluted the mountain. In the warm season when the ice melts, the polluted water

Flows to Nepali villages below. The problem has gotten worse in recent years because climbing

Qomolangma has become more popular.

What are those Americans concerned about when they are planning the trip up Mount

Qomolangma?

Chain stores have been developing rapidly in China during the past few years and taking hold of

Ever-increasing retail (零售) market share, an official survey indicates. The State Economic and

Trade Commission (SETC) survey shows that the annual sales volume of China's 20 biggest

Chains leapt last year by 43 percent and the number of their retail stores rose by 46.7 percent,

While sales for the whole retail market grew by 10.1 percent. Shanghai Lian Hua Supermarket

Company holds the top position with 14.06 billion yuan (US$1.7 billions) in sales in 1, 225 retail

Stores. The statistics indicate that the biggest stores are swallowing more market share, leaving

Little development space for medium and small stores, said analysts (分析家). Analysts also note

That almost all the giant chains have their headquarters in East China, but they are likely to explore

Western regions in the near future. With China's entrance into the World Trade Organization, its

Market is attracting overseas retailers, too. The country is committed to opening gradually its retail

Business, and as a result more chain stores from outside China will have a share of the pie.

Successful domestic retailers are preparing to battle for market share. Shops like Hua Lian and

Guo Mei, a giant home appliance distributor in Beijing, have announced ambitious plans for

Development.

According to the passage, Shanghai Lian Hua Supermarket Company is a ____.

It's usually cheaper to deliver a small shipment via (通过) air courier than it is to pay an air

Cargo (货物) bill. But by international law, any baggage on a commercial flight must be checked

With a passenger.

Most airline baggage drifts through customs with little or no delay. With air cargo, it can

Take days. Are you beginning to see why a large portion (比例) of small overseas shipments

Moved with couriers?

Courier companies simply provide willing travelers to accompany items overseas. Nothing

Is hidden from authorities, and there is nothing secretive about the arrangements. The courier is

"paid" with a greatly discounted airline ticket.

According to the Air Courier Association, it's not unusual for a courier leaving the United

States to pay $$99 USD for a ticket to Europe, $$150 USD to South America, or $200 USD to Asia.

These are 85 percent discounts over standard airline fares. Free tickets are possible when a

Company is in a pinch, but they are rare.

Your responsibilities as a courier are limited: show up at the airport on time, and meet a

Representative at the destination (终点) airport. Once through customs\immigration, your

Obligation (责任) is finished.

We can infer from the first paragraph that ________.