1 . There will eventually come a day when the New York Times ceases to publish stories on newsprint. Exactly when that day will be is a matter of debate. “Sometime in the future,” the paper’s publisher said back in 2010.
Nostalgia (怀旧) for ink on paper, there are plenty of reasons to abandon print. The infrastructure (基础设施) required to make a physical newspaper — printing presses, delivery trucks — isn’t just expensive; it’s excessive at a time when online-only competitors don’t have the same set of financial restrictions. Readers are migrating away from print anyway. And though print ad sales still overshadow their online and mobile counterparts, revenue (收入) from print is still declining.
Cost may be high and circulation lower, but rushing to eliminate its print edition would be a mistake, says BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti.
Peretti says the Times shouldn’t waste time getting out of the print business, but only if they go about doing it the right way. “Figuring out a way to accelerate that transition would make sense for them,” he said, ‘‘but if you discontinue it, you’re going to have your most loyal customers really upset with you.”
Sometimes that’s worth making a change anyway. Peretti gives the example of Netflix discontinuing its DVD-mailing service to focus on streaming (流媒体). “It was seen as a mistake,” he said. The move turned out to be foresighted. “If I were in charge at the Times, I wouldn’t pick a year to end print,” Peretti said “I would raise prices and make it into more of a legacy product.”
The most loyal customers would still get the product they favour, the idea goes, and they’d feel like that they were helping maintain the quality of something they believe in. “So if you’re overpaying for print, you could feel like that you were helping,” Peretti said. “Then increase it at a higher rate each year and essentially try to generate additional revenue.” In other words, if you’re going to print product, make it for the people who are already obsessed with it, which may be what the Times is doing already. Getting the print edition seven days a week costs nearly $500 a year -- more than twice as much as a digital-only subscription.
“It’s a really hard thing to do and it’s a tremendous luxury that BuzzFeed doesn’t have a legacy business,” Peretti remarked. “But we’re going to have questions like that where we have things we're doing that don't make sense when the market changes and the world changes. In those situations, it's better to be more aggressive than less aggressive.
1. The New York Times is considering ending its print edition partly due to ________.A.the high cost of operation | B.the pressure from its investors |
C.the complaints from its readers | D.the increasing online ad sales |
A.seek new sources of readership | B.end the print edition for good |
C.aim for efficient management | D.make strategic adjustments |
A.legacy businesses are becoming outdated |
B.cautiousness helps problem-solving |
C.traditional luxuries can stay unaffected |
D.aggressiveness better meets challenge |
A.Shift to Online Newspapers All At Once. |
B.Cherish the Newspapers Still in Your Hand. |
C.Make Your Print Newspapers a Luxury Good. |
D.Keep Your Newspapers Forever m Fashion. |
2 . Spanish-American Institute
Student Cub Notes
Free and Low Cost Gyms, Health Clubs and Pools
NYC Department of Parks Recreation Centers
www.nycgovparks.org
Recreation Centers: The NYC Department of Parks has many Recreation Centers throughout New York City. Recreation Centers offer a wide range of free and membership programs and services. Some have indoor swimming pools. Almost all have weight rooms, basketball courts, dance studios, boxing rings, art studios, game rooms, etc.
All Recreation Centers offer a wide range of programs such as aerobics, dance, tai chi, fencing, computer classes, and art. Many programs are free and open to the general public but many require membership.
You do not need to be a New York City resident to use a Recreation Center. You may use your annual membership at any and all Centers. Use one near the Spanish-American Institute and then use one near your home.
Costs: Free and membership programs. Standard annual membership is $50 for Recreation Centers and $75 for Recreation Centers with pools. (Do you know anyone 55 and older? The senior membership is only $10 a year.)
Standard annual membership provides scheduled access to the gym, pool, and all the other facilities. Instructor-led courses such as aerobics, martial arts, music, or yoga may require an additional fee.
Membership and Program Information: Go to the www.nycgovparks.org home page. On the “Facilities” menu, click on “Recreation Centers.” On the “Recreation Centers” page, you will find information about membership and fees. You will also see links to Recreation Facilities by borough (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island).
On the “Facilities” menu, you may also want to check out other NYC Department of Parks facilities such as beaches, ice skating rinks, nature centers, running tracks, soccer fields, etc.
Recreation Centers: There are several Parks Department Recreation Centers in each borough. After you go to the “Recreation Centers” page and click on a borough, you will find a list of the centers in that borough with their addresses, phone numbers, and web links. The list will look like that for Manhattan below. Click on the link for a particular Center to learn more about its services, schedules, and programs.
1. What special benefits can an annual member of Recreation Centers enjoy?A.Having access to all the facilities all year. |
B.Experiencing all programs and services free. |
C.Taking free Instructor-led courses. |
D.Using only the center near your home free. |
A.At least $20. | B.At least $120. | C.At least $180. | D.At least $220. |
A.the cost for various memberships | B.the locations of recreations centers |
C.the staff and provided services | D.the facilities, phones and web links |
3 . Last Thursday, the French Senate passed a digital services tax, which would impose an entirely new tax on large multinationals that provide digital services to consumers or users in France. Digital services include everything from providing a platform for selling goods and services online to targeting advertising based on user data, and the tax applies to gross revenue from such services. Many French politicians and media outlets have referred 10 this as a "GAFA tax", meaning that it is designed to apply primarily to companies such as Google, Apple. Facebook and Amazon - in other words, multinational tech companies based in the United States.
The digital services lax now awaits the signature of President Emmanuel Macron, who has expressed support for the measure, and it could go into effect within the next few weeks. But it has already sparked significant controversy, with the United States trade representative opening an investigation into whether the tax discriminates against American companies, which in turn could lead to trade sanctions against France.
The French tax is not just a unilateral move by one country in need of revenue. Instead, the digital services tax is part of a much larger trend, with countries over the past few years proposing or putting in place an alphabet soup of new international lax provisions. These have included Britain's DPT (diverted profits lax), Australia's MAAL (multinational anti-avoidance law), and India's SEP (significant economic presence), to name but a few. At the same time, the European Union, Spain, Britain and several other countries have all seriously contemplated digital services taxes.
These unilateral developments differ in their specifics, but they are all designed to tax multinationals on income and revenue that countries believe they should have a right to tax, even if international tax rules do not grant them that right. In other words, they all share a view that the international tax system has failed to keep up with the current economy.
In response to these many unilateral measures, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is currently working with 131 countries to reach a consensus by the end of 2020 on an international solution.
Both France and the United States are involved in the organizations' work, but France's digital services tax and the American response raise questions about what the future holds for the international tax system.
France's planned tax is a clear warning: Unless a broad consensus can be reached on reforming the international tax system, other nations are likely to follow suit, and American companies will face a cascade of different taxes from dozens of nations that will prove burdensome and costly.
1. The French Senate has passed a bill to ________.A.regulate digital services platforms | B.protect French companies' interest |
C.impose a duty on tech multinationals | D.curb the influence of digital technology |
A.may trigger countermeasures against France |
B.is apt to arouse criticism at home and abroad |
C.aims to ease international trade tensions |
D.will prompt the tech giants 10 quit France |
A.redistribution of tech giants' revenue must be ensured |
B.the current international tax system needs upgrading |
C.tech multinationals' monopoly should be prevented |
D.all countries ought to enjoy equal taxing rights |
A.OECD's current work on the international tax system has uncertain prospects. |
B.France's digital services tax mirror in detail Britain's DPT. Australia's MAAL and India's SEP. |
C.France's digital services tax is targeted on such companies as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon and their users. |
D.Other nations are likely to follow the example of France and make a joint effort to impose taxes on American multinationals. |
4 . Economists have long tried to calculate the value of unpaid housework. In terms of inputs and outputs, the
Last month China was shocked when a court ordered a man to pay his wife $7,700 for housework during their live-year marriage. The wife, known as Ms Wang, told a judge in Beijing that she "looked after the child and managed the household
The court ruling was widely
In the West, where the starting principle is an equal split of the couple's assets on divorce, claims for extra compensation are
In Britain, the concept of compensation fell out of use for over a decade before resurfacing in 2020, bringing the question of pay for housework into the
Many women have no option but to leave the workforce when they start a family—the cost of child care might
A.accusations | B.ambitions | C.contributions | D.exclamations |
A.fabrics | B.folds | C.packages | D.pockets |
A.appliances | B.chores | C.conflicts | D.expenses |
A.approved | B.celebrated | C.circulated | D.questioned |
A.awarded | B.channeled | C.furnished | D.transferred |
A.additional | B.compulsory | C.free | D.paid |
A.free | B.help | C.relieve | D.suspend |
A.considered | B.encouraged | C.favored | D.rejected |
A.gives out | B.loses out | C.misses out | D.wears out |
A.forum | B.horizon | C.lens | D.spotlight |
A.admit | B.recall | C.reflect | D.signal |
A.at first glance | B.for the first time | C.first of all | D.in the first place |
A.counter | B.eliminate | C.outweigh | D.replace |
A.accommodate | B.escape | C.fortify | D.shift |
A.check | B.distinguish | C.promote | D.publicize |
A. documenting B. resigned C. viral D. sensation E. rooted F. rarely G. appeal H. reassured I. fixed J. waking K. marvelously |
A Chinese "Auntie" Went on a Solo Road Trip. Now, She's a Feminist Icon
SuMin, a 56-year-old retiree from Henan province in central China, has never been happier. "I've been a wife, a mother and a grandmother," Su said. "I came out this time to find myself."
After fulfilling her family's expectations of dutiful Chinese womanhood, Su is embracing a new identity: fearless road-tripper and internet
Her main
Her unexpected popularity speaks to the collision of two major forces in Chinese society: the rapid spread of the internet and a flourishing awareness of gender equality in a country where traditional gender roles are still deeply
Still, Su said, she never considered a divorce, worried about a social stigma that is still pervasive in much of China. She
On September 24, she
In her videos, she marvelled at her newfound freedom. She could drive as fast as she wanted, brake as hard as she liked. Still, Su blushes when asked about her new fame. She also says she is not yet qualified to claim the mantle of feminist. "It took me so many years to realize that I had to live for myself." She paused: "It's something I'm
6 . Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which means “Doctors Without Borders”, was established in 1971. It is now one of the world’s largest organizations that provide emergency medical relief. In 1999, it won the Nobel Peace Prize. Its aim is to help people who have suffered badly in wars or natural disasters, such as earthquakes or floods.
Each year, about 3,000 people are sent abroad to work in more than 60 different countries worldwide.
One volunteer reports, “Working in politically sensitive areas with limited resources can be frustrating, but there is huge satisfaction in making even a small or temporary difference to people. What better recommendation than to say, “I’m about to leave on a third mission!”
A.In some countries, there are even more volunteer professionals than locally hired staff. |
B.The rewards can be enormous. |
C.MSF relies on volunteer professionals but also works closely with about 25,000 locally hired staff. |
D.What do volunteers have in common? |
E.What qualities and skills do you need to become a volunteer? |
F.The reaction of volunteers returning from MSF speaks for itself. |
7 . Care for a zoom-in observation of animals with no bars between you and the observed opposed to ordinary zoos? Where to have close-up encounters with some of the world’s most rare animals? We are revealing for you.
Right whales, Bay of Fundy, Canada
Northern right whales are on the brink of extinction, but survivors arrive in the Bay of Fundy each summer (May through October) to feed east of Grand Manan Island. They are recognized by a broad back and no dorsal fin, which distinguish them from other whales entering the bay.
Planning: Whale-watching tours operate out of Digby Neck peninsula on Nova Scotia and nearby islands, such as Brier Island, St. Andrews, Grand Manan Island, and Deer Island.
Grizzly bears, Alaska, USA
Grizzlies like salmon. In mid-July and again in mid-August, grizzlies make for Alaskan rivers to hook out the fish with their formidable claws. The bears gather in large numbers at rapids and pools, sometimes fighting for the best sites. Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, and Fish Creek, near Hyder, have viewing platforms.
Planning: Most fishing sites are accessed by chartered light aircraft and a hike. Hyder is off the Stewart-Cassiar Highway.
Monarch butterflies, Sierra Chincua, Mexico
Each fall, millions of North American monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles to the oyamel fir forests of the Transvolcanic Mountain Range, in the state of Michoacán. They flock intimately on tree trunks, bushes, and on the ground, fully showing their gregarious nature and occupy Sierra Chincua and four neighboring hills that make up the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve.
Planning: Chincua is one of two hills in the reserve open to the public from November through March.
Komodo dragons, Komodo Island, Indonesia
Landing on Komodo, you would feel like stepping back to a time when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, as park maps reported, “Here be dragons!” This mountainous volcanic island is home to the world’s largest living lizard – the Komodo dragon. Weighing 79 to 91kg, the Komodo dragon has a tail as long as its body. You can hike to a viewpoint at Banugulung and watch as park rangers feed food to the lizards, some of which are more than 10ft long.
Planning: Komodo is reached solely by boat from Bima (on eastern Sumbawa) or Labuan Bajo (on western Flores).
Wildebeest migration, Serengeti, Tanzania
Undoubtedly the world’s most spectacular wildlife sight is the annual wildebeest migration, when 1.4 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebras and gazelles are on the move across the Serengeti plains. The animals are trekking to chase the clean water and fresh grass. Along the way, lions and hyenas stalk them, and crocodiles lie in wait.
Planning: The herds migrate across Tanzania from December through July, and then pass through the Masai Mara in Kenya in August and September.
1. In which place can a variety of types of animals be viewed?A.Alaska. | B.Sierra Chincua. | C.Komodo Island. | D.Serengeti. |
A.being able to climb | B.preferring group living |
C.migrating in huge numbers | D.moderate in temper |
A.Right whales are distinguished from other whales by unique appearance features. |
B.Viewing spots for grizzly bears can be reached through air and on foot. |
C.Komodo dragons are similar to dinosaurs in living period. |
D.Wildebeest herds travel to pursue favorable food conditions. |
This is the fear of Cui Zhiqiang, a senior calligraphy master with the China Calligraphers Association. “The style of writing among Chinese people today has been changed or ruined,” he laments. He explains this as the unavoidable effect
It isn’t just the written form of Chinese that is being impacted by this phenomenon, though. The English language has been impacted, too. Computer skills are now considered so basic that the time once spent
Language and culture are inextricably linked. The written form of the Chinese language
Not all see the changing forms of our written languages as a negative thing. If you look at language solely as a tool for communication, then perhaps you might agree. Modern ways of writing are efficient and effective. But if you also see language as an art form, then we are truly losing something
9 . The World Trade Organization (WTO) was formed in January of 1995. It deals with the regulation of international trade.
Here we will focus on two of those aspects: doing business internationally and raising living standards worldwide. Before the WTO, countries relied on independent partnerships to accomplish trade. Doing trade was often expensive, as tariffs were high. With one place for all of these countries to meet, and discuss new trade deals together, it is easier for them to make trade deals that are advantageous for all parties.
How does the WTO raise the standard of living globally? In modern life, we rely heavily on trade to have the things we need and want. For example, China exports a lot of manufactured items to many countries. These frequent international transactions can also raise living standards by introducing new jobs to different countries. Without international business and trade, there would be far fewer jobs in all countries.
There are many benefits of being in the WTO. However, sometimes it leads to international disputes.
A.It is similar to having an office to accomplish work. |
B.With jobs, citizens are able to earn income and have a better life. |
C.The WTO also seeks to increase awareness of unity and cooperation. |
D.It currently has over 160 participating members. |
E.The functions of the WTO are constantly changing and developing. |
F.Some have accused the WTO of promoting too much globalization. |
10 . “Chinese tourists have overtaken (超过) Germans as the world’s biggest-spending travelers after a decade of rapid growth in the number of Chinese vacationing abroad,” the United Nations World Tourism Organization said.
Chinese tourists, known for travelling in organized tours and
Tourists from other fast-developing economies with a growing middle class, such as Russia and Brazil, also
“The impressive growth of tourism spending from China and Russia reflects the
The German Travel Association said it was to be expected that the Chinese tourists would
“But that they have overtaken us already is
“The Chinese make more long-distance trips than Germans, who
China is the world’s fastest-growing tourist-source market,
Chinese tourists made 83 million
“Hotels, tour companies, restaurants and even taxi drivers will need to improve
Other countries in the top 10 posted growth in travel spending.
A.starting | B.buying | C.showing | D.designing |
A.costing | B.passing | C.beating | D.controlling |
A.increased | B.limited | C.postponed | D.checked |
A.lengths | B.budgets | C.destinations | D.plans |
A.inquiry | B.investigation | C.research | D.entry |
A.eventually | B.secretly | C.suddenly | D.normally |
A.businessmen | B.housewives | C.residents | D.immigrants |
A.exciting | B.frightening | C.amazing | D.interesting |
A.usually | B.reluctantly | C.purposefully | D.ideally |
A.public | B.additional | C.free | D.average |
A.in spite of | B.thanks to | C.except for | D.in addition to |
A.family | B.business | C.exploratory | D.foreign |
A.knowledge | B.appreciation | C.criticism | D.ability |
A.tear | B.attract | C.drive | D.cheat |
A.Otherwise | B.Therefore | C.Besides | D.However |