1 . Nostalgia (怀旧) is a powerful emotion that can be employed to create a strong emotional connection between a brand and its audience. By tapping into the fond memories and positive associations that people have with a particular brand, marketers can create a sense of familiarity and comfort that resonates (共鸣) with their audience. This emotional connection can then be used to drive engagement and loyalty, ultimately leading to increased sales.
In the case of Barbie movie marketing, nostalgia has been used. By incorporating elements of the classic Barbie brand into the movies, such as the symbolic pink color, the classic Barbie logo, and the inclusion of classic Barbie characters, the movies serve as a way to transport fans back to their childhood and relive their favorite memories.
This emotional connection is further strengthened by the marketing campaigns, which create a sense of community and excitement around the brand. By using social media to build hype (夸张报道) and anticipation for each movie, the brand has managed to create a loyal and engaged fan base that has contributed to its success.
The success of Barbie movie marketing has not been limited to the brand’s existing fan base. In fact, the movies have managed to attract a new generation of fans who may not have been familiar with the classic Barbie brand. By creating movies that are both entertaining and empowering, the brand has managed to appeal to a wider audience, including young girls who may be looking for strong female role models.
The impact of Barbie movie marketing on a new generation can be seen in the way that the brand has developed over the years. Although Barbie was once denounced for promoting unrealistic beauty standards and conventional gender images, the brand has since made significant steps in promoting diversity and inclusivity (包容性). The recent Barbie movies feature diverse actors and storylines that promote self-empowerment and self-acceptance, reflecting the changing attitudes and values of society.
1. Nostalgia is often used in marketing mainly because ______.| A．it enables a new brand to expand its markets quickly |
| B．it has a strong influence on people’s choice of goods |
| C．it brings back the audience’s positive emotions about a brand |
| D．it helps make goods appealing to customers of all age groups |
| A．They highlight the color of pink. | B．They use a different logo. |
| C．They target children as audiences. | D．They are about community stories. |
| A．By simplifying the storylines. |
| B．By removing the classic characters. |
| C．By including more cultural elements. |
| D．By creating new female role models. |
| A．Acknowledged. | B．Criticized. | C．Observed. | D．Respected. |
2 . Americans love their automobiles. So long, it seems, as they don’t run on batteries. A survey published in July by the Pew Research Centre found that less than two-fifths of them would consider buying an electric vehicle (EV). Despite expanding charging networks and more EV models to choose from, that is a slightly lower share than the year before.
The biggest block to EV enthusiasm in America is price. The average EV there sells for $52,000, estimates Cox Automotive, a consultancy. That is not a world away from the $48,000 that Americans typically pay for a petrol vehicle. But total costs of ownership, which combine the sales price and running costs for five years, vary more widely. At $65,000, the typical EV is $9,000 more expensive to own than a petrol car (owing to factors like pricey home chargers, dearer insurance and, compared with Europe and China, inexpensive petrol).
All this leaves America’s car industry circling a roundabout. Consumers’ unwillingness to pay for expensive EVs is forcing carmakers to take action to shift stock (库存). Tesla has cut its prices several times in the past year. Carmakers are offering average discounts of almost 10% on their EVs, more than twice as generous as for petrol cars. But this is making it even harder for the companies to make money from battery power. Continued losses in turn may make car firms lose appetite to invest in a broader electric offering that would appeal to buyers.
American carmakers are still hoping they can escape this vicious (恶性的) circle. They are mostly postponing their American EV investments rather than pulling the plug on them. And from January the EV tax credits (免税) will also be available at the point of sale, making it less burdensome for buyers to take advantage of them. All this could eventually generate profits for car firms. Eventually may, though, come a bit later than hoped.
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The lack of diversity of EVs. |
| B．The uncertain prospect of EVs. |
| C．The barrier to the purchase of EVs. |
| D．The urgency of price reduction on EVs. |
| A．Issuing EV tax credits policy. |
| B．Offering better discounts on EVs. |
| C．Cutting down the cost of production. |
| D．Investing in a wider electric offering. |
| A．Dissatisfied. | B．Dismissive. | C．Cautious. | D．Casual. |
| A．Is America’s EV Revolution Suspending? |
| B．Do Electric Vehicles Outweigh Petrol Cars? |
| C．EV Revolution Is Promoting Energy Transition |
| D．EV Is Gradually Dominating America’s Car Industry |
Adisorn Sangkrajang
“I’m thrilled about my first trip to China, and the visa exemption (豁免) is
“China is a country with a rich culture,
In late January, China and Thailand signed
4 . previous recessions (经济衰退), billionaires were hit along with the rest of us; it took almost three years for Forbes’s 400 richest people to recover from losses caused in 2008’s Great Recession. But in the coronavirus recession of 2020, most billionaires have gotten richer than ever before.
Billionaires increased their new billions just as millions of other Americans ran into terrible financial problems. More than 20 million people lost their jobs at the start of the pandemic. Food banks across the country are preparing for another great increase in demand. Why are American billionaires doing so well while so many other Americans suffer? People may find part of the reasons from the following fact. Stocks (股票) are overwhelmingly owned by the wealthy, and the stock market has recovered from its early-pandemic depths much more quickly than other parts of the economy.
......
What does the author mainly tell us in the passage?| A．Food banks are not enough in the United States. |
| B．The richest kept getting richer even in the pandemic. |
| C．The stock market recovered before the pandemic started. |
| D．400 richest people recovered from losses in the pandemic. |
5 . The AIDA model is the foundation of modern marketing and advertising practice. It outlines the four basic steps used to persuade potentials to make a purchase. The first three steps lie in creating attention (A), decorating interest (I), and building desire (D) for the product, before the fourth step — the “call to action” (A) — tells them exactly how and where to buy. AIDA can channel the customer’s feelings through each stage toward reaching a sale.
......
“Call-to-action” is where all of the initial hard work pays off and leads to the action from a potential customer. For example, they might pick up the phone to discuss the idea of a trial of the services or, alternatively, they may just buy that product or service that has been promoted to them all along.
And AIDA is used to great effect in the movie industry. Movie studios begin their marketing campaigns months in advance. The campaigns develop by offering attractive flashes of the movie without giving too much away. Desire is inspired by the release of the full preview which is fully designed to show the exciting moments of the movie, from special effects to humorous lines of dialogue on the opening weekend. Advertisements in newspapers and on television focus on the movie’s release, inviting the consumer to go and buy a ticket.
1. What is the purpose of practising AIDA?| A．To create jobs. | B．To increase sales. |
| C．To research markets. | D．To introduce products. |
| A．To design an AIDA model. | B．To display how AIDA works. |
| C．To show how to make a movie. | D．To advertise the movie industry. |
6 . BRICS (金砖国家) grouping major emerging (新兴的) economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is to more than double its members with the admission of six more countries This historic expansion, which was announce data press conference during the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, involves Argentina, Egyptl, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and their membership will take effect from Jan 1.2024.
Observers said that the expansion bears witness to BRICS’ charm and vitality, helps improve the voices of the Global South, and mirrors the resolve of the group and the wider developing world to safeguard global equity (公平) and justice and promote peace and development.
Seventeen years since its establishment, BRICS has witnessed fruitful cooperation results in economic, political and cultural areas, and continues to prosper in a spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation. The BRICS countries have written a wonderful story of the joint development of countries with different systems, cultures and regions, which has become a flagship of South-South cooperation.
Experts believe the expansion will represent a historic and new starting point for BRICS cooperation.
Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs, posted his celebrations to Iran’s accession to BRICS, calling it a “historic move”.
BRICS’ expansion in a well-studied manner “would increase its strength and effectiveness and improve its regional and international role, in a way that contributes.to achieving greater and faster development rates,” said Abdel-Sattar Eshrah, secretary-general of the Cairo-based Egyptian-Chinese Business Council. “It would create many opportunities for joint cooperation among BRICS members in various fields,” the Egyptian business leader said, adding that BRICS’ expansion is to increase the abilities of its members to address economic, financial and political crises and challenges.
Filipe Porto, a researcher at the Federal University of ABC and a member of the Brazilian Foreign Policy Observatory, said although the five founding member states have very different national conditions, the spirit of win-win cooperation has kept the BRICS mechanism (机制) dynamic and drawn interest from more countries.
The rise of emerging economies, represented by BRICS nations, is fundamentally changing the global landscape. With the historic expansion, the BRICS inechanism will have a greater voice in driving global governance reforms toward a more just an id equitable direction, filling the world with greater certainty and stability, said experts.
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “resolve” in paragraph 2?| A．Limitation. | B．Freedom. | C．Determination. | D．Appointment. |
| A．The benefits BRICKS has brought. |
| B．The management of BRICKS. |
| C．The regulations of BRICKS. |
| D．The founding of BRICKS. |
| A．Exhibiting strong leadership skills, |
| B．Creating win-win opportunities, |
| C．Driving global governance reforms. |
| D．Making the world have greater stability. |
| A．Why BRICS is recovering |
| B．History of BRICKS’ development |
| C．BRICS grouping major emerging economies |
| D．BRICS shines brighter after historic expansion |
7 . You wouldn’t steal a car. You would never rob a bank or pick someone’s pocket. But you may be another kind of thief.
If you have ever bought a disc for 15 yuan or less, then you have helped to rob artists or musicians of their intellectual properly rights (知识产权).
Last Thursday was World Intellectual Property Day. Activities to tell people about intellectual property rights were held around the country.
Intellectual property includes inventions, literary (文学的) and artistic works, names, and pictures. They are of little value if they are not read, seen and used.
While the cost of copying discs is very small, authors, singers and actors have to spend a lot of money and time making a new product. That’s why they have the right to make money from their work.
So buying pirated (盗版的) music of Jay Chou and Jolin Tsai is like stealing from them, paying them no respect for their hard work.
If Jay Chou cannot make money from his work, he may not make anything else. But those who make pirated goods are becoming rich without doing any hard work.
The authors should ask for a fair price for their work. Earlier this year there was much talk about how much KTV clubs should pay the music companies for using their songs.
The copyright fee also should be fair to the users. That’s good for the music’s popularity and society as well.
1. What is the author’s attitude towards protecting intellectual property rights?| A．He is for it. | B．He is against it. |
| C．He doesn’t care about it. | D．The article doesn’t tell us. |
| A．Inventions. | B．Literary and artistic works. |
| C．Names and pictures. | D．Pirated music. |
| A．Authors should ask for a high price for their work. |
| B．The copyright fee should be fair to users. |
| C．Authors, singers and actors have no right to make money from their work. |
| D．Buying pirated music by Jay Chou is very good. |
| A．Rob a Bank | B．Copyright Fees |
| C．Say No to pirated Music | D．World Intellectual Property Day |
8 . IOC president Thomas Bach was urged by several members Sunday to change Olympic rules on term limits and seek four more years as president through 2029.
Bach’s presidency is due to end in 2025—a 12-year maximum agreed in anti-corruption (反腐) reforms passed after the Salt Lake City scandal (丑闻) broke in the 1990s. However, citing the recent years of global crises, several of the 99 International Olympic Committee members opened their annual meeting Sunday suggesting they needed more of Bach’s leadership. The Olympic movement needed “to go through this period of hardship with a president who has proved his courage,” said the Algerian leader of African Olympic bodies, Mustapha Berraf.
Though Bach has never publicly sought a term limit-lasting third time, the option has been spoken of in international sports circles since he was re-elected in 2021 at a meeting. The IOC gives its president a first term of eight years. Bach neither encouraged nor dismissed the proposal though he noted the presidential term limit is included in the IOC’s book of rules and principles. “I’m very loyal to the Olympic Charter,” the German lawyer said.
Extending Bach’s term would need a proposal submitted ahead of an annual meeting, known as the Session. The next is scheduled in July in Paris on the eve of the 2024-Summer Games.
A diplomatically expressed counter to extending Bach’s presidential term was suggested by gymnastics federation president Morinari Watanabe, who has been considered as a possible IOC leadership candidate. “Sports organizations must follow rules and have high integrity under good governance,” Watanabe suggested. “Sports demonstrate discipline and the spirit of fairness to society.”
Consideration on other candidates to succeed Bach has also included two of the IOC’s four vice presidents, Nicole Hoevertsz of Aruba and Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. of Spain, plus Zimbabwe sports minister Kirsty Coventry, who is widely seen as a favored successor of Bach.
1. From the first three paragraphs we know ________.| A．A 12-year maximum IOC presidency was made due to a scandal. |
| B．Most of the members are in favor of changing Olympic rules on term limit. |
| C．Supporters want Bach to continue his presidency for the present hardship. |
| D．Bach is contacting the African Olympic bodies for his third-round presidency. |
| A．Watanabe. | B．Hoevertsz. | C．Samaranch Jr. | D．Coventry. |
| A．Confession. | B．Confusion. | C．Opposition. | D．Recognition. |
| A．Bach is seeking for his third time presidency. |
| B．Several members urged the continuation of Bach’s presidency. |
| C．Different attitudes to Bach’s presidency for a third round are considered. |
| D．Several successors of Bach will be discussed in the coming Session in July, 2024. |
The International Workers’ Day, sometimes
People
A recent report
10 . The world’s most famous tire (轮胎) graveyard (坟地) of 42 million tires in the sands of Kuwait is finally being cleaned up and recycled. This news in itself would be a major relief to locals who have to suffer from the clouds of black smoke arising during fires. But the government isn’t stopping there. They are aiming to create a green city of 25,000 homes in line with a post-oil Persian Gulf, with a focus on sustainability and tourism.
The first step is to clear the ground. The Salmiya area, nicknamed “Rubber (橡胶) Mountain”, is formed from hundreds of small mountains of spent tires — a reaction from the one million cars which were added to Kuwait’s roads over the decade.
EPSCO Global General Trading recycling company has opened a recycling plant for the tires, where they’ve been collected, sorted, cut up, and pressed into other materials like rubbery coloured flooring tiles (铺地砖). The plant opened in January of 2021, and can recycle up to 3 million tires a year. The recycled material is then exported out to nearby gulf neighbours and Asia. In the place of the tires will be South Saad Al-Abdullah City, a green city characterizing a new era in the Middle-Eastern country.
Spent tires are a major environmental problem worldwide due to the room they take up and the chemicals they can release.
“We have moved from a difficult stage that was characterized by great environmental risk,” says Oil Minister Mohammed al-Fares. “Today the area is becoming clean and all tires are being removed to begin the launch of the project of Saad Al-Abdullah city.”
Expected to cost €3.3 billion and require 30 years to complete, the city hopes to feature green technology, probably like the kind one can see in other cities on the Persian Gulf, both existing and not. Saudi Arabia is planning to build a zero-emissions, car-less future city that’s centered around access to big data rather than water or crops.
1. Why is the Salmiya area called “Rubber Mountain”?| A．It is rich in rubber. | B．It has too many waste tires. |
| C．It used to be a mountain. | D．It has been a tradition. |
| A．A recycling company. | B．The purpose for removing tires. |
| C．How to build a green city. | D．What is done with the spent tires. |
| A．To make a prediction. | B．To explain an idea. | C．To present a fact. | D．To analyze a cause. |
| A．The Transformation of a Huge Landfill | B．Spent Tires, a Big Threat to the Environment |
| C．The Salmiya Area’s Measures to Kick Pollution | D．Kuwait Tire Mountain to Be into a Green City |
