1 . It’s not so long ago that contactless card payments were exciting and new, but the technology is already old-hat. The new, better way to pay for things in shops? By using your phone to make a contactless payment.

Because traditionally, when you have paid with a card tap (轻敲) or using a chip and pin machine, ultimately the shop you are buying from will be noting down all of your card details.     1     And this could be a problem — it means that if the shop is hacked (侵入) or plays fast and loose with its data, you could find your card number exposed to the world.

However, when you tap to pay with your device, it generates a unique ID number for that deal and sends that instead. So you can pay for your goods and the shop can get your money.     2     That is to say, phone payments are smarter.

    3     If a pickpocket steals your card they can immediately use up the money. But if they get your phone, when the phone goes to pay it will typically perform a biometric check-it will ask for a finger-print or use the camera to look at your face, to check that you are who you say you are.

    4     Because of this added security, the limit (限额) is typically higher than for contactless cards. In the UK, it’s around £ 100 for most retailers-though some shops including most supermarkets let you spend much more with just a tap of the phone.

Want to give it a try? To actually set things up, go to your Wallet app and follow the instructions.     5     Then it will automatically recognise the numbers and connect with your bank. Usually you receive a text message with a special code on it. And then, well, you’re done. When you pay, hold your phone over the payment machine, and pay for your goods!

A．It helps to build the client list.

B．The setup process varies with banks.

C．No one needs to share any sensitive data.

D．It’s also more effective against the threat of thefts.

E．And phone payments are increasingly convenient too.

F．Typically this starts by scanning your card with your phone.

G．Therefore, it knows which bank account to take the money from.

3 . 听下面一段较长对话, 回答以下小题。
1. What does the woman suggest the man do?

A．Go to the Electric Company Office.

B．Pay electric bill first.

C．Open a checking account.

2. How do most people pay the electric bill?

A．In cash.

B．By check.

C．By phone.

7 . AI, 5G, cloud computing and other digital technologies are not only changing our lives but shaping the economy as well.

China’s six major commercial banks are stepping up digital wallet efforts to provide new drive for the e-CNY (数字人民币) trials in the country, as reported by Shanghai Securities News on March 23.

“The functions and properties of the-CNY are exactly the same as those of the paper currency, except that the form is digital,” said Mu Changchun, head of the People’s Bank of China’s Digital Currency Research Institute.

Many people are puzzled by e-CNY and electronic payments. “Digital currency has the characteristics of both paper money and electronic payment,” said Wu Qianhong, a professor at the School Electronic and Information Engineering, Beihang University. “In theory, digital currency can replace paper money, Alipay and WeChat payments.”

Compared with Alipay and WeChat payments, e-CNY features anonymity (匿名性) and security. E-commerce platforms that accept payments via e-CNY will not have access to user’s personal information. E-CNY users can open an anonymous digital wallet by registering a mobile phone number, and telecom operators cannot disclose (泄露) customer information to the central bank or any third-party institutions. Mu noted that e-CNY user’s privacy protection is at the highest level among all the existing payment tools.

Similar to Alipay and WeChat payments, using e-CNY requires an account. After obtaining the other party’s account number, users can enter the amount of digital money to transfer (转钱) and then enter the payment password to complete the transaction (交易). However, the process behind these transfers are different. For electronic payments, the transfer has to go through a third party, and the receivers will get the transferred money only when they withdraw money from banks. But e-CNY transfers only need a payer and a receiver to complete a transaction. Therefore, it guarantees risk-free payments, according to Wu.

In simple terms, e-CNY can be considered “money”, while electronic payments are like “wallets”.

1. What can we know about e-CNY?

A．It is issued by six major commercial banks.

B．It combines paper money and electronic payment.

C．It is designed to replace Alipay and WeChat payments.

D．It has exactly the same function as other payment tools.

2. How does e-CNY protect user’s privacy?

A．By limiting access to personal information.

B．By storing personal data in the central bank.

C．By opening a unique digital wallet for each user.

D．By linking telecom operators to a mobile phone number.

3. What can be concluded from Paragraph 6?

A．E-NCY transfers require to go through a third party.

B．E-NCY is more convenient than other electronic payments.

C．E-NCY can be transferred without the receiver’s information.

D．E-NCY and electronic payments ensure security in the same way.

4. What’s the main purpose of the text?

A．To promote the use of e-NCY.

B．To inform readers of digital RMB.

C．To compare different types of payments.

D．To describe the impact of digital technologies.

8 . You may have recently heard of NFT technology, which permits digital works of art to be collected and sold for millions of dollars.

But why would people pay so much money for something they cannot even touch? And what is driving the current rise in NFTs?     1    

What is an NFT?

NFT stands for non-fungible token(非同质化代币).     2     It is based on a technology called blockchain (区块链), which is also used with digital currency systems known as cryptocurrency.

What kinds of things are NFTs?

    3     They are usually bought with electronic money. The form of digital currency mainly used with NFTs is called ether. NFTs have been used to sell sports videos, pieces of land in worlds that only exist on computers and even the first-ever tweet by Twitter's founder.

What do critics say about NFTs?

Critics note that traditional art, like a painting, can be placed on a wall and looked at.     4     They point out that even though an artist can “own” a digital piece, others can easily save a copy of the same work as a file on their computer.

What are some prices for NFTs?

In February, a 10-second video showing an image of former U. S. President Donald Trump sold on an NFT marketplace for over $6 million. The first-ever published tweet from Twitter founder Jack Dorsey recently sold for nearly $3 million.

    5    

It is too early to say if NFTs are good investments. But so far, many people have items that are worth more than what they paid for them. This is no guarantee, however, that such buyers will be able to sell their digital objects for a profit.

A．But digital art is different.

B．Why do people like NFTs?

C．Are NFTs good investments?

D．It is something that only exists in the digital world.

E．NFTs can exist in the form of images, video, music and text.

F．Here are some basics to help you understand the technology.

G．An NFT can be attached to other things existing in the digital form.