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.

2 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What did the program say about the life in the future?

A．More time will be spent on people’s work.

B．More free time will be available to people.

C．More supermarkets will come into being.

2. What is the speakers’ attitude to the program’s opinion on shopping in the future?

A．Approving.

B．Doubtful.

C．Unclear.

3 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。1.

A．By using cash.	B．By entering a password.
C．By scanning the code.	D．By using a tap-and-go card.

2.

A．Because it touches the card reader.	B．Because it uses the password.
C．Because it has a built-in signal receiver.	D．Because it receives the flying data.

3.

A．The bank will cover its clients against the loss.

B．Every transaction is completed within half a second.

C．People must enter their ID card number for continual use.

D．Each payment is restricted to a certain amount of money.

4.

A．Look for his wallet.	B．Apply for a tap-and-go card.
C．Borrow cash from the woman.	D．Stick to buying things in cash.

4 . 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.

5 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当内容（一个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式

WeChat, one of the world’s most popular mobile apps and social networks, brought home iF Gold Award for its smart retail innovation, Scan & Go. It is     1     first ever Chinese product to win gold in the iF Service Design category.

Scan & Go enables shoppers at retail stores to turn    2     (they) mobile phones into a virtual checkout counter. When shopping, customers use their mobile phones     3     (scan) product barcodes, view product information, get discounts, complete self-checkout, and pay     4     (direct) within the app via WeChat Pay. There is no queuing up at the cash register. “This concept     5     (show) a customer-centric scan-and-go-solution for an optimized (充分利用的) shopping and retail context. All standards of the good user experience     6     (meet) in this service design, including touchless access, efficiency or ease-of-use in scanning of market products and the final payment and checkout. This is user-friendly design at its     7     (good),” says iF Gold Award in its Gold Statement to Scan & Go.

According to statistics, sales during peak hours in     8     (tradition) supermarkets account for 60% of total turnover, and     9     average customers spend three to five minutes on queuing and payment during peak hours. With Scan & Go, customers no longer have to queue, and the payment time     10     (shorten) to one minute.

6 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Zhang Ying, head of WeChat Pay, introduced that WeChat Pay is beginning to attempt the launch of “WeChat Palm(手掌) Payment”, during the 2023 Open Class PRO     1     (host) by WeChat last night.

According to the     2     (introduce), in the future, users can bind (绑定) their membership cards, transportation cards, etc. to their palms     3     (achieve) “one palm to rule them all”. They can consume, pass through and verify their identity without carrying a phone,     4     is extremely convenient. 

Now this feature     5     (attract) businesses to jointly develop the technology continuously. Although the official arrange time has not been announced, given WeChat’s speed, it is highly likely     6     we will be able to use palm payment this year. According to previous tests, users only need to register palm information on palm-scanning devices and link it to their     7    (privacy) WeChat account. They can complete payments directly by     8     (scan) their palms when consuming offline, solving the embarrassing situation of difficult-to-use face-scanning offline. 

Moreover, in terms of principle, palm pattern recognition should be     9     (easy) than facial recognition, and     10     degree of individual difference is relatively large, making it more secure.

7 . What paying method does Tim mostly suggest?

A．WeChat pay.

B．Bank cards.

C．Credit cards.

8 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What can we know about the computer?

A．It can only be used in a fixed place.

B．It can only be ordered over the phone.

C．It comes with a fourteen­day free trial.

2. What can buyers get if they pay by credit card?

A．A bigger discount.

B．A faster delivery.

C．A lower risk.

9 . 假定你是李津，你在某英文网上论坛看到大家在讨论人们使用非现金支付越来越普遍的现象，你打算在论坛里跟帖讨论，内容包括：
（1）非现金支付的好处；
（2）非现金支付的弊端；
（3）你的观点。
注意：
（1）字数100左右；
（2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
（3）开头与结尾已给出，不计入字数。

With fewer and fewer people using cash, Non-cash payments are becoming increasingly popular, especially in China.

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Posted by Li Jin

10 . 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.