【推荐2】Eating fast food makes people impatient even when they are not short of time, a new study claims.

Students in the study became _______ even when shown the logo of burger chain McDonald’s so quickly on screen that they could not _______ it.

Researchers say that daily exposure to fast food brands could have a subliminal (潜意识的) effect on _______   making people hurry regardless of whether they are pushed for time. They conclude: “Our experiments suggest that the _______ goal of saving time embedded in fast food may have the unexpected consequence of causing hurriedness and impatience.”

Thinking about fast food increases _______ for time-saving products. “More _______, we found that the mere exposure to fast food symbols reduced people’s willingness to save and led them to prefer immediate _______ over greater future return, finally harming their economic interest.”

Student volunteers were quickly shown six logos from fast-food chains — McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Subway, Wendy’s and Taco Bell. They could not consciously see what they were but the subliminal effect was _______. Their reading speed was measured before and after seeing the logos and it was significantly faster afterwards. Participants also preferred time-saving products like three-in-one skincare treatments rather than _______ versions after seeing the logos. When asked weather they would accept a small sum of money immediately or a larger amount in a week’s time, they again chose __________ reward after being exposed to the brands.

Researcher Chen-Bo Zhong, assistant professor of organizational behaviour at Canada’s Toronto University, said: “Fast food represents a culture of time efficiency and immediate __________ The problem is that the goal of saving time gets activated upon exposure to fast food __________ whether time is a relevant factor in the context. “__________, walking faster is time-efficient when one is trying to make a meeting, but it’s a sign of impatience when one is taking a walk in the park.”

“We’re finding that the mere exposure to fast food is __________ a general sense of hurriedness and impatience. When I sit in a fast food restaurant, I find myself gobbling (狼吞虎咽) my Big Mac down at this incredible speed even though there is no __________ at all.”

【推荐3】Largely because of its scale, a major strategy such as the BRI inevitably finds itself having to navigate numerous obstacles._______the Chinese saying goes, "A tall tree attracts the wind.’’Many commentators see the project as an effort to gain advantage and global leverage _______geopolitical rivals, such as the U.S., India, and Germany. The same concerns that______in the past few years about investment in China - limits on access to lucrative(赚钱的)markets, forced partnerships with Chinese companies, pressure to yield technological knowledge and intellectual property, and restrictions on information flow - have also been raised about the Belt and Road Initiative.

_______,we believe some commentary has been too quick to narrowly label the BRI as a purely geopolitical play by China intended_______its influence across East Asia and Central Asia.   There are also signs_______China's state-owned enterprises are changing their behavior. The association of the BRI with "Xi Jinping thought" suggests that Chinese companies are being encouraged_______quality growth and profit ability, not just growth at any cost. Furthermore, the BRI's_______with global funding entities such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank demonstrates its commercial focus.

The crucial question of funding_______only in part. The Chinese government has allocated huge sums to BRI projects. Major funding sources such as the Silk Road Fund and policy and commercial banks have committed to________$186 billion, as of 2016. At a BRI summit in China in May 2017, Xi announced the expansion of the Silk Road Fund by $14.8 billion in addition to its starting capital of $40 billion. Policy banks are also________BRI multicurrency special lending schemes________about $56 billion.

Yet even this will not be enough to________everything. China is________seeking partnerships with foreign companies because,________domestic financial constraints, it cannot afford to fund all these BRI projects on its own. More than 600 million Chinese people still live________“middle income" status, and the indebtedness of Chinese corporations and provinces looms(隐约可见)as a significant issue.

We believe this has profound - and positive - implications for the BRI: China not only needs ________, at a policy level, wants the BRI to show commercial returns as soon as is________possible.

This means that there is significant potential alignment(一致) between the objectives of China and ________of foreign companies and investors as they look to get________.