This year marks the 15th anniversary of China’s Double 11 online shopping festival.
The first Double 11 event
This year’s Double 11 shopping festival witnessed
According to Tmall, a leading online retail platform affiliated with Alibaba, 155 brands achieved sales of over 100 million yuan ($13.72 million) as soon as the event
Over the past 15 years, the Double 11 festival has become the most important platform
2 . Sheep herding is a profitable industry in China. However, if farmers want to earn more, they have to solve a range of problems such as scale expansion, processing and marketing, which is almost impossible relying on only their individual strength. But farmers in Nanxiaozhai village in the Shanxi city of Huairen, have found a solution.
Guo Jianqiang, a resident in Nanxiaozhai, said he started his business in 2013 by raising about 300 sheep. The number has since increased to 1,000. “I earned an income of 2 million yuan ( $309,000) last year and the amount is expected to reach 9 million yuan this year,” he said.
Guo attributed the growth to the establishment of a sheep cooperative, which helped to expand operational scale and sales channels with the joint force of stockholders.
According to Guo Zhidong, Party secretary of the village, Nanxiaozhai now has a total of 89 such cooperatives. The cooperatives have also developed a full industrial chain for sheep, ranging from raising, slaughtering and land processing to their sale.
Nanxiaozhai has a long history in the sheep industry, according to the village Party chief, who explained that was a natural choice out of the village’s environmental conditions. In Nanxiaozhai, residents used to farm on the infertile land and the grain yield could hardly support their existence.
It was Wang Yueming, Cao Zhiguo and other villagers who started their business as sheep dealers in the late 1970s. “They could earn up to 20 yuan for selling a sheep,” Guo Zhidong said. “That was a very large income at that time.” Later, about 80 percent of the villagers were engaged in the business but they found purchasing sheep from neighboring villages became more difficult because of limited output. So they began to raise sheep themselves.
The village business has boosted the sheep industry in Huairen city as a whole. Statistics show the city’s annual output of sheep is about 6 million heads, making it a renowned sheep-producing base in Shanxi.
1. What is the problem faced by farmers in Nanxiaozhai?| A．Finding better places to sell lamb. |
| B．Making larger profits on their own. |
| C．Satisfying the demand for more sheep. |
| D．Destroying the environment with herds. |
| A．Producing. | B．Counting. | C．Holding. | D．Killing. |
| A．They are proud to be sheep dealers. |
| B．They adapt to the conditions successfully. |
| C．They are opposed to buying sheep elsewhere. |
| D．They benefit substantially from working the land. |
| A．The Rise and Fall of Nanxiaozhai Village |
| B．Sheep Herding Brings Prosperity Flocking |
| C．The Switch from Sheep Industry to Farming |
| D．Establishing Cooperatives Boosts Connections |
3 . With coffee beans in short supply worldwide and Chinese consumers expanding their coffee habit, Yunnan province beans have increasingly appeared in major coffee chains in China.
Yunnan, the largest coffee planting area in China, is blessed with high altitudes and suitable climate for planting high-quality coffee beans. The province is the source of more than 99% of domestically (国内地) produced coffee.
Last year, Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producing country, experienced extreme weather, including drought and frost, which caused a decrease in output of nearly 20%. The epidemic (疫情) is another reason for the price increase. The COVID-19 pandemic has hampered the timely transportation of coffee beans to overseas markets.
With coffee from international markets in short supply, Yunnan has drawn attention of coffee chains in China.
Ye Peng, a coffee farmer in Pu’er, Yunnan, for more than a decade, said she has seen the prices of orders double from last year. With advanced planting technologies and higher quality local coffee beans, her company ships its product to famous coffee chains such as Starbucks and Manner Coffee.
Baoshan Chunzheng Coffee Company is a major coffee provider in Yunnan. It provides coffee beans to Yum China, which operates fast food chains KFC and Pizza Hut (必胜客) in the country.
With promising markets at home and abroad, there are more and more coffee farmers and coffee factories in Yunnan.
1. Why is Yunnan province suitable to grow coffee beans?| A．It is with high altitudes and proper climate. |
| B．It is a spring city with no summer or winter. |
| C．People in Yunnan are fond of drinking coffee. |
| D．Local government encourages people to grow them. |
| A．Foreign coffee markets. | B．The weather and transportation. |
| C．The COVID-19 pandemic. | D．Reasons for increased prices. |
| A．Speed up | B．Slow down. | C．Update. | D．Change. |
| A．The prices of coffee are decreasing for many reasons. |
| B．Brail is no longer the biggest coffee producing country. |
| C．Most of the Yunnan coffee beans are transported abroad. |
| D．Many people in Yunnan are willing to enter the coffee markets. |
Demand on tourism burst as the Minsu market’s recovery sped up during the May Day holiday. Oceans of tourists flooded into Zibo in China’s Shandong Province for its BBQ,
The Minsu in rural areas still gain
Among customers booking the Minsu in rural areas, the “post-80” and “post-90” generations are still the mainstream. The
1. Why did Semenov’s grandparents start a furniture plant in Romania?
| A．They were skilled carpenters themselves. |
| B．They saw a business opportunity there. |
| C．Wood supply was plentiful in Romania. |
| A．Provide quality furniture at affordable prices. |
| B．Attract foreign investment to expand business. |
| C．Enlarge their company by hiring more workers. |
| A．They are from construction industry. |
| B．They are imported from Germany. |
| C．They all come from Romania. |
| A．All across Europe. |
| B．Throughout the world. |
| C．Only Romania and Germany. |
6 . Manufacturing (批量生产) is a one-way business. Raw materials go into a factory and finished products come out. Once those goods are sold, producers usually wash their hands of them. They normally don’t worry about how the products are disposed of (处理). Most are burnt or rot in landfill. In only 50 years the world’s consumption of raw materials has nearly increased to more than 100 billion tonnes according to the latest Circularity Gap Report from the World Economic Forum. Less than 9% of this is reused. Industry does talk about sustainability and recycling, but much of that is greenwashing intended to improve brand images.
Every car-making country wants gigafactories (超级工厂) that produce batteries for electric vehicles (EVS), which is profitable. Batteries contain valuable but expensive materials that are hard to get. Supply chains are long and complex. Recycling makes sense.
Most gigafactories are designed with recycling in mind from the start. The result is a circular (循环的) production process. The idea is that once batteries reach the ends of their lives, they should go back to a factory, where they can be used again.
Northvolt, a Swedish battery-maker, aims by 2030 to produce batteries enough to power some 2 million EVS from the three gigafacotries. By then, around half its raw materials should come from recycling old batteries. Using recycling and renewable power, CATL, a Chinese EV batteries firm, similarly, thinks it should eventually be possible to shrink the carbon footprint of a battery towards zero.
Carmakers such as the Renault Group and Stellantis, owner of brands that include Chrysler and Peugeot are both setting up circular-economy businesses, not just for batteries, but also for repairing and reconditioning parts and vehicles. Each of these operations will, bosses hope, have annual income of more than 2 billion dollars by the end of the decade.
1. Which of the following statements is right?| A．Circular economy is a one-way business. |
| B．Recycling is an important part of manufacturing. |
| C．Greenwashing helps improve recycling of raw materials. |
| D．Peugeot is setting up circular-economy businesses. |
| A．Gigafactories are making some progress in recycling. |
| B．Northvolt is building 3 gigafactories to power some 2 million EVS. |
| C．Northvolt set up circular-economy businesses to make money. |
| D．CATL has cut down the carbon footprint to zero. |
| A．The Chinese firm is producing EV batteries. |
| B．Carmakers such as the Renault Group and Stellates. |
| C．Repairing and reconditioning parts and vehicles. |
| D．World Economic Forum’s making Circularity Gap Report. |
| A．Gigafactories and Carmakers | B．One-way Business |
| C．Battery Producing | D．Circular Economy |
7 . Birth rates often fall during hard times, but the covid-19 pandemic was no ordinary difficult times. On the one hand, people might hesitate to bear children during such a challenge; on the other, the opportunity to work from home makes parenting much easier. During the dark days, no one knew which of these effects would be greater.
According to the data from an American survey, covid did lead to a small decrease in birth rates. Birth counts fell from 3.75 million in 2019 to 3.67 million in 2021. However, a new study by Martha Bailey, Janet Currie and Hannes Schwandt reaches the surprising conclusion that despite apparent decline, birth rates among women born in America actually rose during the pandemic.
The clue that data on total births might be misleading was the timing of the drop. Birth counts fell in early 2020, but most babies conceived (被怀上) after covid struck America in March 2020 would have been due in 2021. The study suggests that what changed in 2020 was not whether women gave birth, but where.
In 2019, 23% of newborns in America had foreign-born mothers (外籍母亲). Breaking down the data on pandemic-era births by mothers’ origin, the researchers found a striking difference: foreign-born women give birth to 91,000 fewer babies than pre-pandemic-era, whereas native-born ones had 46,000 more.
The study did not assess how much of the fall is from fewer foreign-born women entering the country and then giving birth, and how much from immigrants already in America deciding to leave. But given that America closed its borders for non-essential travel in 2020, a reduction in new arrivals-including those who visit briefly to have an American-citizen child, and then leave-seems more likely.
The researchers figured that the shift to remote work explained much of native-born women’s rise in birth-rate. The increase was most marked (明显的) among the college-educated, who are more likely to be able to work from home, in a country without any paid maternity-leave (产假) or child-care subsidy (补贴).
1. What can be inferred from the passage?| A．The data on all America-born babies might be misleading. |
| B．More babies would have been born in 2021 in America. |
| C．There is paid maternity-leave in America. |
| D．Birth counts did fall in 2021 in America. |
| A．Some foreign-born women could not enter America and gave birth. |
| B．Some immigrants living in America decided to leave for their homeland. |
| C．Some women hesitate to give birth during hard times. |
| D．Some native American women were unwilling to give birth. |
| A．By grouping the mothers based on their origins. |
| B．By researching into the mothers’ education level. |
| C．By looking at the data of birth rates from 2007 to 2019. |
| D．By studying the American mothers’ working place. |
| A．Previous research data on birth rates was not accurate. |
| B．Birth rates fell in America during the pandemic for many reasons. |
| C．Pandemic-era birth rates among America-born mothers rose. |
| D．Covid-19 has greatly affected the place American women give birth. |
8 . The concept “China chic”, or guochao, has become popular in recent years. According to relevant data, from January to July 2022, the search volume for “Guochao” as a keyword has increased by 392. 66% year on year. Big Data Report of 2021 Guochao Pride Search from Baidu revealed that the level of interest in guochao has skyrocketed in the past 10 years. Domestic（国内 的）products are in fashion, and domestic consumption has increasingly become an important choice for the new generation of consumers.
China chic mixes unique cultural elements with the latest trends in various industries, which not only satisfies younger consumers' needs for pursuing personality and fashion, but also plays a role in bringing back traditional culture. The rise of China chic is the result of China's rapid economic development and has some cultural motivations behind it. Besides, the continuous improvement of the consumption power of Chinese people is an important reason for the rise of China chic.
Most importantly, cultural confidence is the driving force for the rise of China chic. Five thousand years of Chinese civilization has left us a rich cultural heritage. Guochao is, in many ways, the perfect representative of the new wave of Chinese nationalism. Starting in the fashion industry, this trend shows Chinese consumers' newfound interest in Chinese cultural heritage. The guochao trend is at its strongest among young adults who live in an even more powerful China and thus have a strong feeling of national pride. China's national strength is increasing, and its soft power is also on the rise. Even so, we still have a long way to go to carry forward this China chic. But as it has become a part of people's lives, no doubt there will even be more diverse China chic products showing Chinese charm in the future.
1. Which statement reflects China chie's situation in recent years?| A．It has not often been searched in Baidu. |
| B．It has gained great popularity among Chinese. |
| C．It has attracted consumers of older generation. |
| D．It has been widely accepted in different cultures. |
| A．Risen sharply. | B．Dropped obviously. |
| C．Remained stable. | D．Changed slightly. |
| A．The rapid economic development of China. |
| B．Cultural confidence from rich cultural heritage. |
| C．Government's measures to bring back traditional culture. |
| D．The continuous improvement of Chinese consumption power. |
| A．The selection of China chic products is limited. |
| B．China chic has little influence on people's lives. |
| C．China chic still needs developing and improving. |
| D．The author is disappointed at the future of China chic. |
9 . China's livestreaming e-commerce industry has witnessed explosive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, thus creating new growth opportunities for a wide range of businesses.
Cao lei, director of the E-Commerce Research Center at the Internet Economy Institute, said that while most e-commerce platforms have now hit bottlenecks in finding new customers, livestreaming provides an important channel for them to tap into customers living in fourth and fifth-tier cities as well as rural areas.“What's more, livestreaming allows hosts to answer call-in questions from digital audiences in real time, which will enhance shopping experiences and attract more netizens to shop online," Cao added.
The number of people likely to watch livestreaming e-commerce events is 388 million in 2020. The typical livestreaming e-commerce session involves celebrities promoting and selling goods while answering questions from an online audience， with everything taking place in real time via devices such as smartphones.
Livestreaming is increasingly gaining popularity as a new online shopping platform among Chinese netizens, creating a huge market worth more than 970 bilion yuan ( $ 149.9 bilion) in 2020. E-commerce giant Alibaba's Taobao Live has taken the lion's share of livestreaming, as 68.5 percent of consumers use the service, according to a survey conducted by the China Consumers Association. Douyin and Kuaishou have taken second and third spots, respectively. Other large Chinese Internet and e-commerce players like JD. com have also thrown their hats into the ring.
Livestreaming has become a key means for brands to gain awareness and boost sales, and for smaller operators such as farmers to have better access to consumers, especially during the pandemic period.
1. What contributes to better shopping experiences in livestreaming?| A．Discount price of products. |
| B．Participation of some popular guests. |
| C．Convenience to buy goods at any place. |
| D．Interaction between hosts and customers. |
| A．The e-commerce giants in livestreaming. |
| B．The present situation and ways of livestreaming. |
| C．The influence and effect of livestreaming. |
| D．The reasons why livestreaming is so popular. |
| A．Throw away their hats. | B．Participate in the game. |
| C．Exchange hats for a ring. | D．Ring other e-commerce players. |
| A．Douyin. . | B．Taobao Live. |
| C．Kuaishou. | D．JD. com. |
