3 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Buy Now, Pay Later Spending

Buy now, pay later(BNPL) spending is expected to rise to record levels this holiday season. With so many young “buy now, pay later” shoppers already in debt from this short-term financing tool not requiring interest, questions emerge: Why do these shoppers use such a tool? And what risks does it pose to their budgets in the months     1     (come)?

The many Generation Z and millennials (typically around 40 years and younger) tend to use this short-term financing,     2     allows them to buy items and pay for them over time. Offered mostly by financial technologies, BNPL allows these customers to pay back their purchases     3     interest and with the first payment usually made at checkout. The most common “buy now, pay later” plan is     4     customers make four equal payments and pay off the debt in six weeks. It’s been a lifeline for some people, such as a university student     5     weekly income is not big enough. “BNPL provides consumers with flexible payment options so they     6     manage spending,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. That is of great importance for many consumers, especially     7     with a tendency to purchase higher-cost items.

However, since BNPL     8     (appear), warnings from experts have come into our view. They have been indicating that it’s financially unhealthy to form such a spending habit. According to New York Federal Reserve economists, BNPL may encourage debt to increase over time,     9     (influence) a consumer’s ability to meet non-BNPL commitments, or users to over extend themselves. Users should also note that     10     interest is not charged on the loan, they’ll be hit with late fees for missed payments, which can add up quickly, says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

4 . As COVID-19 continues to influence consumer behavior, the use of non-plastic payment methods is rising. But does this spell the end of the plastic credit card era?

Since the first Diners Club credit card was unveiled in 1950, much has changed. Recent technological developments and in-store consumer preferences could suggest times are changing. For some years now, various founders of financial institutions, as well as industry experts, have foreseen plastic credit cards or any other means of physical payment methods including cash will not be around much longer. They based their predictions on the light-speed growth of digital payment.

At the beginning of the global pandemic (大流行病), governments took measures to protect their citizens, leading to lockdowns of varying degrees. The fear of contracting the virus through high-traffic ATMs and the refusal of merchants to accept cash can only be seen as a great addition to an already declared war on cash. Meanwhile, the urgency to spend a minimum time period in stores in order to avoid interactions led consumers towards digital solutions.

Furthermore, options like QR codes (二维码), NFC, and PINs have been around for a while but a true market breakthrough seems to only have happened since the beginning of the pandemic. According to Worldpay, without these telecommunication innovations, the shift in people’s payment behavior is out of the question. 86% of contactless adapters built into smart devices have seen themselves proceed with contactless payment. This trend will help to wipe out cash and plastic credit cards.

From a different perspective, countries like France, Italy, and Germany had almost 150 million smartphone users in 2019 alone. And it’s been reported that 80% of the transactions (交易) will be done via Internet-backed devices by 2025. And this figure will keep rising as more and more cheap smartphones are pouring into the global market. It is expected that e-wallets are going to be the most preferred payment method by then.

So, will there be a comeback for our beloved plastic spending power? I would put away my cash and plastic cards, switch on my phone instead of inserting cards, and present QR codes at a self-checkout instead of queuing behind a mass of people. I believe that many people think the same way.

1. What are the predictions in the financial circle about?

A．The Diners Club credit card will make a comeback.

B．Consumers’ preferences will be varied around the world.

C．The era of traditional payment will come to an end soon.

D．New technologies will cause the decline of physical stores.

2. What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A．The worldwide efforts to fight against the pandemic.

B．The economic slowdown caused by the pandemic.

C．The impact of the health crisis on ways of payment.

D．The public’s tendency to shop online during lockdowns.

3. What set the stage for the trend in payment methods according to Worldpay?

A．The fast update rate of smart devices.

B．The existing digital payment technologies.

C．Many physical stores’ excellent online service.

D．The acceptance of digital payment among customers.

4. What can be inferred from Paragraph 5?

A．E-wallets will achieve increasing global popularity.

B．Smartphones will become cheaper and cheaper in the future.

C．Developed countries have high rates of Internet popularization.

D．The number of global smartphone users will rise by 80% by 2025.

5. What’s the author’s attitude towards the comeback of plastic credit cards?

A．Negative.

B．Favorable.

C．Unclear.

D．Hopeful.

5 . 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。

China has transformed into a cashless society thanks to the e-payment apps and more than 1 billion smartphone owners. Although there are no     1    (office)data,about 80 percent of the Chinese people no longer carry“enough”cash with     2     (they). The last time I saw someone paying in cash was a month ago when a senior citizen     3     (pay) for his purchase in a supermarket. Both the checkout staff     4     customers waiting behind the elderly person looked impatient.

To ensure that those who want to pay     5    cash are not laughed at—most of     6    are aged people not familiar with mobile apps — the central authorities have issued a regulation saying shops should not refuse cash payment, and those who do so will be punished.

So popular has e-payment become that even beggars outside some scenic     7     (spot), according to a media report, refuse     8     (accept) cash.Instead, they carry a board with QR code and ask the kind-hearted souls to scan. I thought it was not true until I came across a     9     (visual)impaired(受损的)beggar outside a Beijing hospital     10     (carry)a board with a QR code along with a cardboard box for cash bills and coins.