1 . The global secondhand market is expected to increase at three times the rate of the overall global clothing market up to 2027, driven by Gen Z consumers, according to online secondhand platform Thredup.

The company’s 11th annual resale report, released on Wednesday, says Gen Z consumers will account for nearly two-thirds of incremental (增量) secondhand spend as their purchasing power increases. Thredup’s report contains much data and research from analytics firm Globaldata, which conducted a survey of over 3,000 American adults, asking specific questions about their behaviors and preferences for secondhand.

Opportunities exist in great numbers for secondhand platforms to expand business online and connect with Gen Z consumers who already purchase secondhand clothing online. Some 58 per cent of Gen Z who bought secondhand clothing over the last 12 months made at least one purchase online — more than any other generation, the report says.

Demand for secondhand goods is driving retailers (零售商) to rethink their strategies. Some 86 per cent of retail executives say their customers are already participating in resale, up 8 per cent on 2021.“Brands are adopting resale at an accelerated rate to capture more of this demand,” says Thredup president Anthony Marino. “With more than half of Gen Z saying they’re more likely to shop with a brand that offers secondhand alongside new, resale is becoming table stakes (筹码) for retailers.”

One significant question surrounding resale’s growth is whether or not it’s a more eco-friendly way of shopping if customers are still consuming at an ever-rising pace. When secondhand shopping becomes sport-like for a generation of customers, and brands aren’t reducing production levels as they also make profits from resale, experts say it’s not actually a greener option.

“We have a huge issue with overproduction,” says Harriet Vocking, chief executive of the firm Eco-Age. “The fact that there is so much opportunity for resale highlights just how high the production and consumption rates are.” She argues that efforts should be directed at educating consumers and helping them understand the value of their purchases.

1. What does Thredup’s report show about Gen Z?

A．They depend too heavily on online shopping.

B．They are easily attracted to secondhand clothing.

C．They will be leading the way in secondhand sales.

D．They expect to have their purchasing power increased.

2. What does paragraph 4 highlight?

A．Retailers’ comments on resale.	B．The appeal of resale to retailers.
C．Retailers’ expectations of resale.	D．The impact of resale on retailers.

3. What is the major concern for experts like Harriet Vocking?

A．How to increase production.	B．How to make resale sustainable.
C．How to encourage consumption.	D．How to control the resale market.

4. In which section of a website may the text appear?

A．Business.

B．Education.

C．Environment.

D．Technology.

2 . China's digital currency may be world's first. According to Xinhua Newspaper, China may issue the world's first central bank digital currency (CBDC) to cut the costs of circulating traditional paper money and boost policy makers' control of money supply. The CBDC is a new form of money issued digitally by the central bank and serves as legal currency. The to-be-issued currency could be put into electronic wallets to support direct and peer-to-peer transactions (对等交易). The “wallet” could be an app on a smartphone, but the final design has not yet been settled.

At the beginning stage, the CBDC is for domestic use only. In the future, it is designed to adopt the same exchange rate as physical money, but the international transaction system will be much more complex. "If China successfully issued the world's first CBDC, it will motivate other countries to make relevant studies and join the competition of creating CBDC," said Huang Yiping, director of the Institute of Digital Finance at Peking University. As some officials said, the CBDC will replace bank notes and coins, or the cash in circulation and it is designed for retail (零售) payments at the early stage.

In other countries, many central banks have begun planning to issue their own digital currencies. The Bank for International Settlements, a club of central banks, last month said it expects one-fifth of the world's population will have access to a CBDC by 2024.

China is the clear frontrunner. On February 17th it ended the third big test of its digital currency, handing out 10 million yuan to 50,000 shoppers in Beijing. It has announced a joint venture (合资企业) with SWIFT, an interbank-messaging system used for international payments.   Sweden, another supporter, has extended its digital currency project.

The latest big central bank to get serious about a CBDC is the European Central Bank (ECB). Speaking to The Economist on February 10th, Christine Lagarde, its president, said she planned to seek approval from her colleagues to begin preparing for a digital EURO.

1. What can we say about the CBDC?

A．It has been issued in China.	B．It will be used legally in China.
C．It is a new form of paper money.	D．It could be put into people's wallets.

2. What can we know from the passage?

A．Digital currency has replaced the paper money totally.

B．The world population will have access to CBDC by 2024.

C．Sweden has begun to study its own digital currency.

D．ECB has got approval from its members for a digital EURO.

3. What does the underlined word “frontrunner” in paragraph 6 mean?

A．Adventurer.

B．Pioneer.

C．Challenger.

D．Supporter.

4. From which is the passage probably taken?

A．A science journal.	B．An economic magazine.
C．A computer paper.	D．An educational report.