1 . My generation — people born after 1990 — are accustomed to “all-in-platform” life, where we use mobile apps of different platforms to do almost everything in life.
For instance, I ordered a cup of coffee on Monday using an online delivery app. Then, I called a taxi by tapping on the app of a ride-booking service. Next, I bought some necessities on shopping platform Taobao. That done, I moved on to various other online destinations to get my daily fix of music, reading, social networking and so forth.
Platforms now play an increasingly important role in almost all aspects of day-to-day life, not just in economic and political processes. Consumption and social interaction are closely linked to platforms now.
But, I began to get confused recently. I thought I was being treated differently. My friend and I called a taxi at the same time on a ride-hailing platform (打车平台) and found that for the same destination, the prices were different. The price indicated on my phone was higher. One of the potential reasons could have been that I regularly use the ride-hailing platform and have a higher ranking while my friend doesn’t use it that often. So, the ride-hailing platform offers discounts to newbies like her, to attract and have such customers.
China’s latest efforts in regulating monopolistic or improper market behavior are of great significance in protecting consumers’ lawful rights.
“The essence of platform-based monopoly (垄断) is that a large number of users are gathered on only a select few platform companies, leading to uneven data gathering different platforms. But in China some platforms use their own data and traffic (流量) to expand capital in a disorderly way,” said Wang Yong, deputy director of the Institute of Economics at Tinghua University.
Data monopoly also brought another inconvenience for comumers — platforms block links to each other. For instance, link to WeChat Pay of Tencent is not available on Alibuba’s Taobao while there is no Alipay link on JD app’s payment options.
Last year, Meituan was charged with preventing customers from using Alipay as a payment option on Meituan apps and platforms.
In July, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched a six-month special rectification (专项治理) for the internet industry, asking platform operators to stop blocking each other’s link.
“More efforts should also be made to strike a good balance between personal information protection and interconnectivity between platforms Companies are being encouraged to further develop data encryption (加密) technology so that the data are available but not visible.”
1. What is the author’s purpose in writing Para.2?| A．To offer some tips on using apps on mobile phone. |
| B．To share his experience with mobile apps. |
| C．To further explain what is “all-in-platform” life. |
| D．To help readers familiarize themselves with mobile apps. |
| A．The author encountered so called “big data price discrimination”. |
| B．The author and his friend were treated differently by taxi drivers. |
| C．Due to the author's higher ranking, the platform offered him a cheaper price. |
| D．The ride-hailing platform offers discounts to regular customers. |
| A．to gather personal information |
| B．to expand capital |
| C．to protect consumers' rights |
| D．to use their data and traffic wisely |
| A．Sympathetic. | B．Approving. |
| C．Critical. | D．Grateful. |
| A．Data monopolies and the inconvenience they bring to mobile app life. |
| B．Mobile apps have greatly changed our lives. |
| C．How to protect personal information on mobile apps. |
| D．Platforms have impacted every aspect of our daily lives. |
2 . China-chic is a term that describes the trend of China-centric design. It demonstrates the rise of Chinese brands. Before we discuss whether or not the term is accurate, and reasons thereof, it is important to first figure out who are the main consumers of these Chinese brands.
Generation Z, the young consumers born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s, have been raised on the Internet and social media. They are gradually moving toward maturity. They have naturally become the main force that drives China’s consumer market.
Most young people earn their own incomes. Even if they don’t, their parents and family members will support them financially. So their purchasing power is stronger than prior generations of youth.
Besides, today’s young people have had access to various domestic and foreign brands since they were born. For them, global brands such as KFC. McDonald’s, L’Oreal and Nike are just everyday consumer goods. Unlike the previous generations in China, they do not look up to global brands with admiration.
As members of Generation Z are taking the center stage in the consumer market, full of confidence, personalities and awareness of investing in themselves, they almost determine its present and the future. This factor plays a key role in the global economy. That is to say, whichever brand, domestic or global, that pays attention to Generation Z first and satisfies the group’s needs will get a head start.
It is the Chinese companies more than others that truly respect the uniqueness of Generation Z’s demands. A typical example is Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning. Although the domestic sportswear market is still dominated by global brands like Nike and Adidas, Li-Ning has succeeded in using “China-chic” as a way to show self-confidence of the Chinese young people. By wearing Li-Ning’s products, a consumer is telling others: “I’m different from you. I have my own personality traits.”
Inspired by Li-Ning, other Chinese brands including Anta and Feiyue also launched products to satisfy the demands of the new generation of consumers.
1. In writing Paragraph 1, the author aims to ______.| A．introduce the topic | B．present an argument |
| C．reach a conclusion | D．propose a definition |
| A．Generation Z make money all by themselves. |
| B．Generation Z have more buying power than their parents. |
| C．Generation Z treat brands at home and abroad equally. |
| D．Generation Z consume global brands every day. |
| A．dominate Chinese sportswear market | B．meet the needs of Generation Z |
| C．learn from Generation Z | D．determine their own future |
| A．It’s a typical Chinese company. |
| B．It is confident of success. |
| C．Chinese brands are starting to respect the unusual needs of Generation Z’s. |
| D．Chinese brands have ruled the domestic sportswear market. |
| A．Why do Chinese brands impress Generation Z? | B．The uniqueness of Generation Z. |
| C．The choice of Generation Z. | D．Sportswear brands and their future. |
