1 . Italian company Lablaco is working with fashion houses and brands to digitize their clothes in the growing “phygital” fashion market. Lablaco was founded in 2016 by Lorenzo Albrighi and Eliana Kuo, who both had backgrounds in luxury fashion. They were looking to improve the industry’s sustainability and promote circular fashion — the practice of designing and producing clothes in a way that reduces waste.
Pushing fashion into digital spaces helps generate data that is vital in efforts to move toward circular fashion. With Lablaco’s model, customers can buy both a physical fashion item and its digital “twin” designed to be collected or worn in virtual environments. The physical and digital items remain paired even after sale, so if a physical item is resold, the digital one is transferred to the new owner’s digital wallet. The item’s creator can follow its after-sales journey. Without digitizing the product, as Albrighi emphasizes, there wouldn’t be any data to analyze and understand the fashion’s impact.
The fashion industry creates roughly 92 million tons of waste annually, and it is believed that digital fashion could have a role in reducing that figure. Kuo said digital spaces could be used as a test bed for the physical world. For example, a designer could release an item of digital clothing in 10 colors in digital spaces, and use the sales data to inform which colors to use for the real-world version. This on-demand model can help reduce fashion waste. Trying on virtual clothes could also reduce the amount of clothes that are returned in the physical world. Additionally, staging fashion shows in virtual spaces reduces the need for the fashion world to travel, thereby reducing its carbon footprint.
But for this innovation to become widespread, Albrighi says motivating brands is the key. With the phygital model, they can receive royalties (版税) when an item is sold and resold throughout its lifetime — a way to “produce less and actually earn more”.
1. What’s Albrighi and Eliana Kuo’s purpose of founding Lablaco?| A．To digitize clothes and waste less. |
| B．To put the fashion design into practice. |
| C．To dominate the “phygital” fashion market. |
| D．To promote luxury fashion and earn more. |
| A．The physical and digital fashion items can be both resold. |
| B．The physical fashion items are paired with digital ones for sale. |
| C．Its product creator can check the after sales information any time. |
| D．Its owner would understand its impact by analyzing the data. |
| A．Digital spaces could be used as a test bed in the fashion industry. |
| B．Trying on virtual clothes could decrease the waste of fashion market. |
| C．Staging fashion shows in virtual spaces reduces the fashion waste. |
| D．Digital fashion could help reduce the fashion waste in several ways. |
| A．Lablaco is setting the fashion. |
| B．Digital fashion has entered a new age. |
| C．Cooperation with Lablaco will be profitable. |
| D．The fashion industry lacks environmental awareness. |
The 19th China International Cultural Industries Fair kicked off in Shenzhen in South China’s Guangdong province on June 7, 2023,
A digital China exhibition area has been setup for the first time to highlight and promote national-level market players, major platforms, and the
Since its founding in 2004, the cultural fair has seen a continuous
Abduk Basit Khan, a Pakistani exhibitor participating
Chinese experts noted that China is building
Thanks to the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, consumption
While people of northern provinces remain the main consumers of winter sports because of
Ice and snow scenic
Due
“The ice-snow industry has always been popular in both northern
4 . There’s more information out about the results of Finland’s much-watched basic income experiment, and it should prove particularly interesting to policymakers around the world who are considering introducing such a system.
The idea of a basic income involves giving citizens a fixed amount of money for nothing. Finland ran an experiment with two thousand unemployed people through 2017 and 2018, and its Labour Institute for Economic Research (Kela) started reporting on the results in February.
In its first report, Kela said the basic income didn't much affect the amount of work that the subjects picked up during the experiment, but it did make them feel more confident about their ability to find work.
On Thursday, Kela released further results, noting that survey respondents felt less stressed about their finances and more in control of their lives but also that the basic income appeared to change the way they felt about society.
Here’s where it gets interesting for policymakers. According to Kela, “Respondents who received a basic income had more trust in other people and in public institutions politicians, political parties, police and the courts than members of the control group.”
The idea of basic income has gained attention in recent years, largely due to fears over automation’s effect on employment. In the US, a universal basic income is one of the core proposals of 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who insisted that it would not make people lazier. The Finnish results seem to back him up on that. In India, the Congress party is promising basic income for 250 million of India’s poorest people. The UK’s Labour Party is also warming to the idea, and plans to add a basic income to its next campaign.
1. Which country has already tried the basic income experiment?| A．The US. | B．The UK. | C．Finland. | D．India. |
| A．It reduced people’s willingness to work. |
| B．It made people more confident to find jobs. |
| C．It increased people’s trust in public institutions. |
| D．It helped people have more control in their lives. |
| A．The political trends in rich countries. |
| B．The harmful effects of automation. |
| C．The acceptance of the idea of basic income. |
| D．The benefits of a universal basic income. |
| A．A newspaper. | B．A science fiction. |
| C．A textbook. | D．A lab report. |
5 . Researchers have found multilingualism (多语言能力) is good for economy. Countries which actively encourage the development of different languages gain a range of rewards, from more successful exports to a more creative workforce.
“Language matters on a larger national level and at the level of smaller companies,” said Hogan-Brun, a researcher in language study. Switzerland, for example, owes 10% of its GDP to its multilingual background. The country has four national languages. Britain, on the other hand, is thought to lose about 3.5% of its GDP every year since 95% of its population speaks English, which is the primary language of the country.
What Hogan-Brun said is reasonable. Languages partly can help build trade relations. A study of small and medium-sized companies in Sweden and Germany found that those that invested more in languages were able to export more goods. German companies that invested heavily in multilingual staff added 10 export countries to their markets. Companies that invested less said they missed out on business deals.
Researchers have also long stressed the individual benefits of speaking more than one language. Several studies show that languages help promote earning power. According to a Canadian study, women and men who can speak several languages earn 3.6% and 6.6% more than their English-only colleagues respectively. The twist: This is true even if they don’t use their second language for work. “It seems that you don’t have to actually speak a second language on the job to receive the financial rewards,” said an economics professor. He thought that this was because knowing a second language was seen as a sign of power. Beyond these immediate economic rewards, languages can help a country’s workforce in long-term ways. Multilingualism has been shown to delay memory loss. It has also been associated with a better ability to concentrate and process information.
1. What can multilingual countries expect?| A．Large numbers of imported goods. |
| B．Productive workers with great creativity. |
| C．New chances of developing education. |
| D．Powerful comprehensive national power. |
| A．European countries are rich. |
| B．Language research is important. |
| C．The number of English speakers is increasing. |
| D．Multilingualism can promote national economic growth. |
| A．Add some forecast information. |
| B．Introduce a new topic for discussion. |
| C．Support Hogan-Brun’s viewpoint. |
| D．Give some advice to small companies. |
| A．Women learn more languages than men. |
| B．Good native language is a sign of power. |
| C．Being multilingual benefits brain health. |
| D．Canadians prefer using their second language. |
6 . The cola wars became a cultural phenomenon. Credit for that goes to Donald Kendall, PepsiCo's brilliant former boss, who died on September 19th aged 99. A gifted salesman, he rose quickly through the ranks from his start on the bottling line to become the firm's top sales and marketing executive at the young age of 35.
Seven years later he was named CEO. In 1974 he invested in the Soviet Union, which allowed Pepsi to become the first Western product to be legally sold behind the iron curtain. By the time he resigned as boss in 1986, PepsiCo's sales had shot up nearly 40 times, to $ 7.6 billion. His legacy continues to shape the industry.
Mr. Kendall offered a mix of strategic vision, principled leadership and marketing talent. Two years after taking charge he acquired Frito-Lay, a leading producer of snacks, giving PepsiCo an advantage of diversity that continues to this day. PepsiCo brought in $ 67 billion last year in sales compared to Coca-Cola's $ 37 billion.
But his most famous move was the all-out marketing blitz (闪电战) against Coca-Cola, long the global market leader in non-alcoholic drinks. The two firms had competed for decades, but they mostly fought low-grade battles. Mr. Kendall changed that, by forcing both companies into an advertising arms race. In 1975 Coca-Cola spent around $ 25 million on advertising and PepsiCo some $18 million. By 1985 those figures had shot up to $ 72 million and $ 57 million, respectively. In 1995 Pepsi outspent Coke by $112 million to $ 82 million.
This was a risky strategy for both cola competitors but it paid off by helping non-alcoholic drinks win a greater "share of throat". Last year Coca-Cola and PepsiCo remained in the leading position as usual. Also, the cola wars benefited both companies by turning them into "the world's best marketers". Today a decades-long addiction to cut-price quantity growth has been replaced by a focus on income and profits.
1. What was Donald Kendall's first position in PepsiCo?| A．CEO. | B．A worker. | C．A salesman. | D．Marketing executive. |
| A．PepsiCo has always been ahead of Coca-cola in sales. |
| B．Coca-Cola preferred low-grade battles to marketing wars. |
| C．Coca-Cola bought a snack firm to enrich its product diversity. |
| D．PepsiCo spent $ 30 million more than Coca-cola in advertising in 1995. |
| A．To prove the success of both Cola companies in advertising products. |
| B．To suggest both Cola companies spent too much money in advertising. |
| C．To describe how PepsiCo got ahead of Coca-Cola in the fierce marketing wars. |
| D．To confirm marketing wars between the Cola companies were a wise move. |
| A．Donald Kendall was to blame for the cola cultural phenomenon. |
| B．Donald Kendall was the most successful boss in PepsiCo history. |
| C．Donald Kendall started the cola blitz wars and achieved great success. |
| D．Donald Kendall's marketing strategies benefited both Cola companies. |
7 . The great recession may be over,but this era of high joblessness is probably beginning.Before it ends,it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults.And eventually,it is likely to reshape our politics,our culture,and the character of our society for years.
No one tries harder than the jobless to find silver linings in this national economic disaster. Many said that unemployment, while extremely painful, had improved them in some ways: they had become less materialistic and more financially prudent(节俭的); they were more aware of the struggles of others. In limited respects, perhaps the recession will leave society better off. At the very least, it has awoken us from our national fever dream of easy riches and bigger houses, and put a necessary end to an era of reckless(鲁莽的) personal spending.
But for the most part,these benefits seem thin,uncertain,and far off.In The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth,the economic historian Benjamin Friedman argues that both inside and outside the U.S.,lengthy periods of economic stagnation or decline have almost always left society more mean-spirited and less inclusive,and have usually stopped or reversed the advance of rights and freedoms.Anti-immigrant sentiment typically increases,as does conflict between races and classes.
Income inequality usually falls during a recession, but it has not shrunk in this one. Indeed,this period of economic weakness may reinforce class divides, and decrease opportunities to cross them-especially for young people. The research of Till Von Wachter, the economic at Columbia University, suggests that not all people graduating into a recession see their life chances dimmed: those with degrees from elite(精英) universities catch up fairly quickly to where they otherwise would have been if they had graduated in better times;it is the masses beneath them that are left behind.
In the Internet age, it is particularly easy to see the resentment that has always been hidden within American society. More difficult, in the moment, is discerning precisely how these lean times are affecting society's character. In many respects, the U.S. was more socially tolerant entering this recession than at any time in its history, and a variety of national polls on social conflict since then have shown mixed results. We will have to wait and see exactly how these hard times will reshape our social fabric(组织). But they certainly will reshape it,and all the more so the longer they extend.
1. By saying "to find silver linings" (Para.2) the author suggests that the jobless try to_____.| A．seek help from the government |
| B．explore reasons for the unemployment |
| C．make profits from the troubled economy |
| D．look on the bright side of the recession |
| A．impose a heavy burden on immigrants |
| B．bring out more evils of human nature |
| C．promote the advance of rights and freedoms |
| D．ease conflicts between races and classes |
| A．lag behind the others due to decreased opportunities |
| B．catch up quickly with experienced employees |
| C．see their life chances as dimmed as the others |
| D．recover more quickly than the others |
| A．certain | B．positive |
| C．unimportant | D．destructive |
8 . The United States has about 475,000 school buses — all painted yellow. Each day they carry more than 25,000,000 children, half of all schoolchildren in the country. But these buses, on average, use four liters of diesel ( 柴油) fuel to travel less than sixteen kilometers. When the school year began last fall, diesel averaged 55 cents a liter nationally. The price nearly doubled, to a dollar and 8 cents, by the end of school in June.
Bob Riley speaks for the American School Bus Council. He says fuel prices for schools are not much lower than others have to pay. As a result, schools are looking for ways to reduce transportation costs. Bus routes are being redrawn or, in some cases, canceled. Some areas are buying buses that use natural gas or other alternative fuels. Other steps include fewer field trips and less travel by sports teams. And some school districts may end any bus service not required by law.
Studies show that school buses are the safest form of transportation to and from school. The American School Bus Council says cuts in bus service are bad for children and possibly the environment. It says removing buses from the road will mean an increase in other vehicles transporting students. Spokesman Bob Riley says another concern is that reducing bus services might reduce attendance.
But it could also get more children to walk or bicycle to school. And that would surely make people happy at the National Center for Safe Routes to School. More kids walking or biking safely to school is the aim of a three-year-old federal program, part of an international movement. The goal is to increase physical activity and reduce air pollution. The United States will celebrate Walk to School Day on October eighth this year. But for some students, high fuel prices could make every day a walk-to-school day.
1. What does this passage mainly tell us?| A．High fuel prices’ influences on school buses. |
| B．New measures to transport school students. |
| C．The safest form of student transportation. |
| D．The origin of Walk to School Day. |
| A．changing some bus routes |
| B．stopping some bus routes |
| C．asking parents to drive children to and from school |
| D．using other types of fuels |
| A．save more fuels and diesel for the country |
| B．keep the children safe on their way to school |
| C．make the children live a simple life |
| D．keep the children healthy and the environment clean |
9 . It was close to midnight and it was unusual to see vehicles on the road. However, several trucks pulled over and workers silently unloaded camera equipment and cardboard boxes, and then carried them inside the Morgenson family home.
What took place over the next eight weeks was inspired by a Hollywood movie called The Joneses about a family of marketers who move into a local neighborhood to sell their products secretly to their neighbors. The idea was to test the power of word-of-mouth marketing. By filming a ‘rear’ family in unscripted (无剧本的) situations, my team and I would document how the Morgensons’ circle of friends responded to brands and products the Morgensons bought into their lives.
With the help of 35 video cameras and 25 microphones hidden in side the furniture, the operation done secretly showed something shocking. The most powerful hidden persuader of all isn’t in your TV or on the shelves of your supermarket. It’s a far more important influence that’s around you almost every waking moment: your very own friends and neighbors. There is nothing quite so persuasive as observing someone we respect or admire using a brand or product.
Our analysis also found that the brands the Morgensons used went faster. About one third of the Morgensons’ friends began promoting these same brands to their friends. We also found that the brands their friends were most likely to buy at the Morgensons’ suggestion were the bigger and better-known ones. This proved my thoughts that traditional marketing and secret marketing work well together. The most persuasive advertising strategies are strengthened by word-of-mouth advertising.
Whenever I meet with company managers, I tell them that the people who hold the real marketing power are mouse-clicking consumers and their wide circles of real-life friends. In other words, the people who hold the real power are us.
1. The author and his team went to the Morgenson family home to .| A．visit the Morgensons | B．sell products to them |
| C．shoot a Hollywood movie | D．carry out marketing research |
| A．noticing an advertisement for it on TV |
| B．the product appears repeatedly in a movie |
| C．seeing their friends using the same product. |
| D．someone is promoting it in the supermarket. |
| A．Travel. | B．Business. |
| C．Lifestyle. | D．Entertainment. |
The report measured a city’s housing market along the following guidelines. An “affordable” home required three times or less of the average family’s income to purchase. At four times earnings, a home fell into the “unaffordable” category. And a “seriously unaffordable” home needed five times a family’s income. In Australia, homes in the least affordable city cost just about 9.5 times the average income. Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne were only a little under this figure．
Australian officials offered little comment, apart from a general statement on the dismal findings. These prices make the possibility that many Australians will one day own a home largely unbelievable. Land rationing （配给制） and excessive development charges have raised prices, and the problem will only be solved through urgent action by the Rudd government．
Some American cities were also included on the least affordable list, four of which were in California. America is still involved in a mortgage（抵押）crisis, though, affecting the affordability of homes. Yet a number of US cities garnered “affordable” status, namely Dallas and Kansas. Australia had no cities listed in the top fifty places with affordable homes．
The survey suggests that you can find affordable homes in most places, just not if you’re Australian and choose to live down under．
1. To buy an affordable house, you should pay _____．
| A．3 times or less of the average family’s income |
| B．4 times or less of the average family’s income |
| C．5 times or less of the average family’s income |
| D．9.5 times or less of the average family’s income |
| A．The rising family’s income． |
| B．The demand over supply. |
| C．The excessive development charges． |
| D．The decrease of land． |
| A．cheerful | B．satisfactory |
| C．difficult | D．sad |
| A．Affordable Houses | B．A House is a Dream First |
| C．Housing Bubble | D．Homes Too Expensive |
