1. 移动支付的好处；
2. 可能导致的问题。
注意：1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear David,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
2 . Generally speaking, convenience and safety affect how we choose to pay for things. Environmental concerns do, too.
Each time you pull out a credit, use a phone’s wallet app or hand over cash, you take part in a system. Some parts of that system make things, like coins, bills or cards. Other parts move money between buyers, sellers, banks and others. Used cash, cards and equipment will be eventually disposed of (处理), as well. Each part of this system uses materials and energy. And all parts produce waste.
Now researchers are looking more closely at how “green” these payment systems are. They’re finding buyers can help cut some of the environmental costs, no matter how they pay.
To understand the full “cost” to society of money or any other system, researchers can perform what’s called a life-cycle assessment. It looks at all the environmental impacts of a product or process. It starts with mining, growing or making the raw materials. It includes what happens while something is in use. And it considers the final disposal or reuse of things.
Even though raw materials are the first step, in fact there are raw materials added in at every single step along the journey. For money, raw materials go into each step of something that is “made”. Fuels are the raw materials for energy to make products and transport them. More energy goes into using products. Recycling or disposal also requires energy, plus water, soil or other materials.
People don’t realize most of those steps, so they can’t judge if one form of payment is dirtier or more costly. And that’s a problem, researchers say. It’s also what has got some of them to show more about the costs of how we pay for our lifestyles.
A life-cycle assessment doesn’t tell you what to do. However, it gives you an informed basis for making a decision.
1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The ways of paying. | B．The process of payment. |
| C．The waste produced by payment. | D．The introduction of payment systems. |
| A．The real value of money. | B．The history of the currency. |
| C．The effect on the environment. | D．The importance of raw material. |
| A．Steps. | B．Products. | C．Materials. | D．Fuels. |
| A．The Payment Patterns are Changing | B．How We Choose to Pay Affects the Environment |
| C．New Payment Patterns Have Come into Being | D．How We Make Payment Systems “Green” |
3 . American Express Gold: Best “non-travel” travel card
Why it’s great in one sentence: The American Express Gold card earns tons of valuable Amex travel points on practically all the food-related purchases you’re making even when you are not traveling, and the credits available on the card nearly offset (抵消) its annual fee.
This card is right for: People who can use all of the card’s various credits and who spend significant money at restaurants, on food delivery services or at U.S. supermarkets while they are not on the road.
Highlights:
First, with the Amex Gold, you’ll earn 4 points for every dollar you spend on restaurants worldwide, and on up to $25,000 in annual purchases at U.S. supermarkets (1 point per dollar afterwards). Most food delivery services count as “restaurants” on this card, so that means the vast majority of your food purchases will earn 4 points, regardless of how you’re eating.
You’ll also earn 3 points per dollar when you book airfare directly with an airline, so if you’re looking to jump on any sales for flights later in the year, you can pay for them with the Amex Gold and earn extra points on those as well.
The points earned on this card are American Express Membership Rewards points, which are extremely useful. You can redeem (兑取现金) them directly for flights via Amex Travel at 1 cent each, but if you put in some extra effort and research, you can potentially get much more value from them by transferring them to any of Amex’s 21 airline and hotel partners, which include Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Marriott and many more.
1. What can we know about the American Express Gold card?| A．It requires no annual fee. | B．It has a link with food purchases. |
| C．It is targeted at delivery services. | D．It.is right for restaurant managers. |
| A．100,000. | B．100,800. | C．103,200. | D．400,000. |
| A．Change them into money to buy food. |
| B．Transfer guests from airlines to hotels. |
| C．Purchase services in suggested airlines. |
| D．Make some extra effort and do research. |
4 . No messy coins—and more importantly—no embarrassment. This is how young Chinese “go Dutch” these days—scan a QR code and pay their share via smart phones in one easy click.
It was the first time most of the 13 people at my dinner table last weekend had used the function on social networking tool WeChat. “It has made going Dutch less embarrassing and so much more fun,” said Zhou Ye, a Beijing-based journalist. “Young people think splitting bills this way is fun, and older ones may find it fashionable to do so.” Most importantly, it saves people the embarrassment of figuring out who owes what.
Splitting the bill is a relatively new idea to most Chinese. It's being popular among the young people, but for many older folks, who fear “losing face,” it feels embarrassing. At dinner parties, families and friends often fight over who will cover the expense.
Used by 600 million Chinese, WeChat is similar to WhatsApp but has many more features. One of them, WeChat Wallet, allows people to pay for almost any service by smart phones. The bill splitting function was launched last year. Owned by Chinese Internet giant Tencent, the payment platform competes with Alibaba’s Alipay, which is widely used and also has a bill splitting function.
The smart phone apps that rely on these payment platforms have transformed the lives of many urban Chinese. Massages, haircuts, house cleaning, laundry services and personal trainers can be ordered in your own home. Zhao Mengsha, 28, an editor in a magazine, enjoys a manicure (美甲) once every month, and pays half of the price charged in salons. “It's just really convenient,” she said. “I wouldn’t have thought about getting a massage at work without the apps.” Like millions of others, Zhao uses Alipay and WeChat to pay for the services. “You can make do without a wallet but can't live without your smart phone when you go out these days,” Zhao said.
1. What does the underlined phrases “go Dutch” in the first paragraph refer to?| A．pay a visit to Dutch. | B．become a person like the Dutch. |
| C．share expenses equally. | D．visit a website called Dutch. |
| A．Because they think splitting bills funny. |
| B．Because they want to know who is rich. |
| C．Because they figure out who owes what |
| D．Because they want to pay the bill. |
| A．Neither of them will win in the competition. |
| B．Both of them are acceptable. |
| C．Smart phones with them cost a lot of money. |
| D．The payment platform should be improved. |
| A．the wallets are not necessary any more |
| B．she bought all that she needs through the Internet |
| C．she doesn’t know how to work with phones |
| D．the smart phone apps change people’s life |
City Varieties
The Headrow, Leeds. Tel. 430808
Oct 10—11 only A Night at the Varieties. All the fun of an old music hall with Barry Cryer,Duggle Brown, 6 dancers, Mystina, Jon Barker, Anne Dural and the Tony Harrison Trio; Laugh again at the old jokes and listen to your favorite songs.
Performances: 8 pm nightly.
Admission: ₤5; under 16 or over 60: ₤4.
York Theatre Royal
St Leonard's Place, York. Tel. 223568
Sept. 23--Oct 17 Groping for Words - a comedy by Sue Townsend. Best known for her Adrian Mole Diaries, Townsend now writes about an evening class, which two men and a woman attend. A gentle comedy.
Admission: First night, Mon: ₤2; Tues—Fri: ₤3.25 - 5.50; Sat: ₤3.50 - 5.75.
Halifax Playhouse
King's Cross Street, Halifax. Tel. 365998
Oct 10—17 On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson. This is a magical comedy about real people. A beautifully produced, well-acted play for everyone. Don't miss it.
Performances: 7:30 pm.
Admission: ₤2. Mon: 2 seats for the price of one
Grand Theatre
Oxford Street, Leeds. Tel. 502116
Restaurant and Caf
Oct —17 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13. Sue Townsend’s musical play, based on her best-selling book.
Performances: Evenings 7:45. October 10—17,at 2:30 pm. No Monday performances.
Admission: Tues—Thurs: ₤2—5; Fri & Sat: ₤2—6.
1. Which theatre offers the cheapest seat?
| A．City Varieties | B．Halifax Playhouse |
| C．Grand Theatre | D．York Theatre Royal |
| A．430808 | B．223568 | C．365998 | D．502116 |
| A．a musician | B．an actress |
| C．a writer | D．a director |
