2 . If a stranger offered you money to keep a suitcase in your spare room, would you accept? How about the other way round: if you had too many belongings, would you consider trusting someone you met online with their safekeeping (保管)? Anthony Paine believed enough of us would answer “yes” to these questions to launch (发起) his own startup (新兴公司), Stash bee. His business links people with space to those who need it.

And it’s just one player in the booming “sharing economy”. All their business models work around one simple word: trust. So, how does Stash bee measure up (合格)? BBC journalist Dougal Shaw decided to try it out for himself. He had some odds and ends to store while decorating his house, and met a host through the site who could keep them for 475 RMB for two months. All relatively smooth and painless.

Stashbee agree that dealing with security concerns is important, but say business success depends more on people overcoming a distrust of strangers we’ve been taught since childhood. They aren’t alone. Companies such as Costockage, Roost and Spacer all run similar storage businesses, and are all relying on a change in consumer attitudes.

Would you try it out? It’s a question of trust.

1. The author put forward two questions at the beginning of the text to________.

A．expect readers to answer them	B．carry out a survey among readers
C．start a conversation among readers	D．draw readers attention to the topic

2. How does Dougal Shaw try out Stashbee’s business?

A．Experiencing in person.	B．Doing a survey online.
C．Analyzing some data.	D．Exchanging his belongings.

3. What can we infer from the text?

A．Trust is not well built in childhood education.

B．The new startup isn’t concerned about security.

C．No company follows the business model of Stashbee.

D．Consumer attitudes have changed greatly over time.

3 . Last year, 138,000 San Francisco residents used Airbnb, a popular app designed to connect home renters and travelers. It’s a striking number for a city with a population of about 850,000, and it was enough for Airbnb to win a major victory in local elections, as San Francisco voters struck down (否决) a debatable rule that would have placed time restrictions and other regulations on short-term rental services.

The company of Airbnb fiercely opposed the rule, Proposition F. It also contacted its San Franciscan users with messages urging them to vote against Proposition F.

Most people think of Airbnb as a kind of couch-surfing app. The service works for one-night stays on road trips and longer stays in cities, and it often has more competitive pricing than hotels. It’s a textbook example of the “sharing economy”, but not everyone is a fan.

The app has had unintended consequences in San Francisco. As the San Francisco Chronicle reported last year, a significant amount of renting on Airbnb is not in line with the company’s image. Middle-class families rent a spare room out to help make ends meet. Backers of Proposition F argued that this trend takes spaces off the conventional (传统的), better-regulated (监管更好的) housing market and contributes to rising costs.

San Francisco is in the middle of a long-term, deeply rooted housing crisis that has seen the cost of living explode. Located on a narrow land overlooking the bay, San Francisco simply doesn’t have enough space to accommodate the massive inflow of young, high-salaried tech employees flocking to Silicon Valley. Consequently, the average monthly rent for an apartment is around $4,000.

As the Los Angeles Times reported, some San Francisco residents supported the rule simply because it seemed like a way to check a big corporation. Opponents of Proposition F countered that the housing crisis runs much deeper, and that passing the rule would have discouraged a popular service while doing little to solve the city’s existing problems.

1. The intention of Proposition F is to ______.

A．place time limits in local election	B．set limits on short-term rental
C．strike down a debatable rule	D．urge users to vote against Airbnb

2. What negative effect does Airbnb have on San Francisco?

A．It reduces the living space of middle-class families.

B．Users are taken advantage of by the service financially.

C．It helps regulate the house market effectively.

D．It indirectly leads to high house rental price.

3. What causes the housing crisis in San Francisco?

A．Explosion of the living cost.	B．Its historic characteristics.
C．Inflow of migrant population.	D．Development of local economy.

4. What is the author’s attitude toward Proposition F?

A．Objective.

B．Optimistic

C．Subjective.

D．Indifferent.

4 . Since App Store was set up, it has been selling consumers one simple thing: choice. Whether you wanted to play games, read the news, or do a thousand other things, there was something for whatever you desired.

Then something funny happened. Logging into the App Store today is like going into a shopping mall with only a coupon (优惠券) for one thing: There’s so much choice; it might be easier to give up than to choose.

It isn’t just consumers who are burdened, though. Too much content of all kinds also has economic effects. When countless choices are available, it causes pressure, pushing prices down and driving us a bit crazy.

So what is the way forward? Less choice itself may be a sensible strategy. There are already signs that this is happening. Firstly content companies are looking to prevent their offerings from getting lost in the tons of stuff. Most obvious is Disney, which is planning to open its own streaming service next year. The point is to narrow the focus so that those seeking Disney cartoons will have one place to go, rather than being around various services.

Yet if that represents a careful first step, there are more extreme options too. Consider the idea of a wine club: from tens of thousands of bottles each year, subscribers pay someone to select the most interesting ones. Perhaps what comes next for digital content is similar — carefully selected offerings from trusted sources that put choices in the hands of customers in order to get rid of the anxiety of choosing.

Up to now, too much choice in digital media has only one solution: the algorithm (运算法则). But we’ve seen the trouble with algorithms on You Tube. They feed you only what you’ve already said you like, not things you may not know you’re into. Worse, they have a tendency to serve up disturbing content. The way forward can’t simply be more or better algorithms.

Instead, it’s time for digital companies to start thinking about how to put limits on things: on how much we can use a device, or what we are available to choose from. As we move further into the digital revolution, what people ask for is clear: Less.

1. Faced with too much choice, consumers are more likely to__________.

A．choose carefully

B．feel anxious

C．use a coupon

D．push down prices

2. What’s the purpose of mentioning the “wine club” in paragraph 5?

A．To teach customers how to choose a bottle of wine wisely.

B．To show digital companies how to narrow customers’ focus.

C．To demonstrate what some customers’ extreme options are.

D．To save customers from getting lost in the choice of the APP Store.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．In order to sell choice better, digital companies should offer less.

B．You Tube tends to feed people what they are possibly interested in.

C．Algorithms can help consumers and companies make better choices.

D．Those seeking Disney cartoons have easy and quick access to them.

4. What do we know about the algorithm?

A．It manages to offer what consumers will possibly like

B．It helps to remove disturbing content from digital media

C．It offers consumers things based on what they’ve said they like

D．It’ll solve the problem of having too much choice

5 . According to a recent survey carried out by The Economist (经济学家) magazine, Ireland is by far and away the best country in the world to live in.

Once Ireland joined the EU in 1973, the base for economic growth started to be put into place. The 1990s saw the economic growth finally arrive-a total change in Ireland’s economic fortunes was born. The country experienced year-on-year growth of almost ten per cent and now has the fourth-highest GDP per head in the world — a massive 36.5 thousand dollars per person. Coupled with this has been a huge drop in unemployment (失业率) from 20 per cent15 years ago to around four per cent today, all of which has meant Dublin’s newspapers now come with larger job sections and the country is looking to import up to 300 thousand new workers in the next few years.

In many ways, Ireland is the perfect advertisement (广告) for the policies of the IMF and the World Bank as it is one of the few economies that has opened itself up to free trade, foreign investment (投资) and unregulated business activity, cut welfare (福利) spending and checked wage (工资) increases and yet still managed to grow rapidly.

1. When did Ireland join the EU?

A．In 1990.

B．In 1973.

C．In 1991.

D．In 1974.

2. What can we learn from the text?

A．Business activity is regulated in Ireland.

B．Dublin’s newspapers now come with smaller job sections.

C．Ireland is the bad advertisement for the policies of the IMF.

D．Ireland will import up to 300 thousand new workers in the future.

3. What does the underlined word “it” refer to?

A．Free trade.	B．The advertisement.
C．The World Bank.	D．Ireland.

4. What section of a newspaper is the passage probably taken from?

A．Technology.

B．Education.

C．Economy.

D．Nature.

6 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. admire B. appeal C. attract D. benefits E. relevant F. entry G. eager H. expected I. launch J. maintain K. packaged

Lin Wanqi, a 26-year-old resident of Shanghai, was among the earliest to try Luckin Coffee’s new Moutai-flavored latte. She was curious about how her beloved coffee tastes with Chinese liquor in it,     1     to sample this “young people’s first sip of Moutai”. “The aroma of the alcohol is very strong and is well blended with the milk,” Lin told.

The partnership between China’s top liquor maker Kweichow Moutai and domestic coffee chain Luckin Coffee has become both a hot topic and a moneymaker, selling 5.42 million cups and grossing (总共赚得) 100 million yuan just on Sept 4, the product’s     2     date, China Daily reported. The coffee drink,     3     with an iconic Moutai-themed label and containing less than 0.5 percent (alcohol by volume) of 53 degrees Moutai, is priced at 38 yuan, although consumers can get it for 19 yuan using coupons.

“I    4     the spirit of innovation of the two brands, and the spirit is also shared by young people,” said Lin. In recent years, Moutai has embarked on various creative campaigns to     5     to younger customers, introducing products like Moutai ice cream, scented sachets (香囊) and canvas bags. “This partnership lets Moutai make its brand younger,” Li Honghui, a marketing director for drinks, also pointed out that such innovative cooperation can bring     6     to both brands. “Through partnerships, brands can share resources, expand the market, and bring more diversified products to consumers,”Li said.

In 2023, China’s brand partnership market is     7    to surpass a scale of 100 billion yuan and is projected to approach 300 billion yuan by 2025, according to China Quality Daily.

However, flawed partnerships may lead to negative consequences. Take the collaboration between Chinese coffee chain Manner and French luxury brand Louis Vuitton (LV), for example. Consumers could get a free LV canvas bag by buying at least two books in the coffee shop. The two books would cost at least 580 yuan. The campaign was harshly criticized for the high barrier of     8    to receive the gift and many people doubted whether it was worth the price.

Similarly, in July this year, milk tea brand Heytea and jewellery brand Chow Tai Fook jointly launched a peach-flavored drink, which was mocked by internet users as neither     9     nor tasty. They said that peaches had nothing to do with Chow Tai Fook, and that the drink was too sweet with not enough peaches. “It’s important to    10     the high quality of the products in these partnerships rather than merely generate hype (炒作),” Li said.

9 . The food delivery industry (外卖行业) now is a hotly competitive business, attracting the world’s biggest moneybags such as Alibaba and SoftBank. Balancing the needs of diners, cooks and couriers (专递公司) is complicated. Most new companies lose money. Yet they have received more than $30bn (十亿) from venture capitalists (资本家) in the past five years. And they are likely to get more.

The food-delivery business can be divided into two camps: mostly profitable veterans (老手) and loss-making newcomers. The veterans, founded at the start of the century, are led by Grubhub in America, and Just Eat and Takeaway in Europe. They account for the largest share (份额) of the market, offering customers online access to restaurants. Their relatively simple business model, in which they take a cut of the bill from the restaurants, has enabled Grubhub and Just Eat to turn a profit for years. Takeaway makes money in its home market (本土市场) of the Netherlands.

The newbies, born more recently, have turned a once-tidy business into a food fight (食物大战). They include listed firms such as Meituan of China and Delivery Hero of Germany, Uber Eats (part of Uber), Ele.me (owned by China’s Alibaba), and privately held DoorDash, based in San Francisco, and Deliveroo, from London.For most of them, delivery is their core business, so they share their cut of the bill with riders as well as restaurants. This substantially broadens the market to restaurants. But profit suffers.

The only attractive aspect of the delivery business is its potential size. According to Bernstein, almost a third of the global restaurant industry is made up of home delivery, takeaways and drive-throughs, which could be worth $1trn (万亿) by 2023. In 2018 delivery amounted to $161bn, leaving plenty of room for online firms to expand.

Yet it is by no means clear if anyone can make money by delivering meals. In fact, the economics may be even worse. Delivery businesses have ways to cut their losses. One is to diversify further, by delivering groceries, flowers, booze, and even people, as well as meals. Another is to provide cheaper meals by centrally supplying ingredients to restaurants. In the dog-eat-dog world of food delivery, it will still be hard.

1. How can the veterans make a profit?

A．They get lots of support from capitalists.

B．They offer customers great convenience.

C．They draw a part of profit from restaurants.

D．They balance the complicated needs successfully.

2. What makes the delivery business attractive?

A．Massive profits.	B．Satisfying service.
C．Efficient management.	D．Development prospects (前景).

3. What is the author’s attitude towards making money by delivering meals?

A．Positive.	B．Definite (确定的).
C．Uncertain.	D．Confident.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．Delivery businesses balance some complicated needs

B．Meal delivery attracts the world’s biggest moneybags

C．The two camps of delivery businesses compete fiercely

D．The food-delivery business is far from tasty business

10 . IKEA is the world's largest furniture retailer(零售商), and the man behind it is Ingvar Kamprad, one of the world's most successful enterprisers. Born in Sweden in 1926, Kamprad was a natural businessman. As a child, he enjoyed selling things and made small profits from selling matches, seeds, and pencils in his community. When Kamprad was 17, his father gave him some money as a reward for his good grades. Naturally he used it to start up a business—IKEA.

Today IKEA is known for its modern, minimalist(简约的) furniture, but it was not a furniture company in the beginning. Rather, IKEA sold all kinds of goods.

Kamprad's goods included anything that he could sell for profits at discounted prices, including watches, pens and stockings.

IKEA first began to sell furniture through a mail-order catalogue(目录) in 1947. The furniture was all designed and made by manufacturers near Kamprad's home. Furniture was such a successful aspect of the business that IKEA became completely a furniture company in 1951.

In 1953, IKEA opened its first showroom in Almhult, Sweden. People loved being able to see and try the furniture before buying it. This led to increased sales and the company continued to develop. By 1955, IKEA was designing all its own furniture.

In 1956, Kamprad saw a man disassembling(拆卸) a table to make it easier to transport. Kamprad was inspired. The man had given him a great idea: flat packaging. Flat packaging would mean lower shipping costs for IKEA and lower prices for customers. IKEA tried it and sales went up. The problem was that people had to assemble furniture themselves, but over time, even this grew into an advantage for IKEA.

Today there are over 200 stores in 32 countries. Amazingly, Ingvar Kamprad has managed to keep IKEA a privately-held company. In 2004, he was named the world's richest man. He now lives in Switzerland and has retired from the day-to-day operations of IKEA. IKEA itself, though, just keeps on growing.

1. IKEA's flat packaging____________.

A．needs large space to assembly furniture	B．is a business concept inspired by Kamprad
C．helps reduce transportation costs	D．makes the company self-sufficient

2. Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Kamprad didn't show his talent for business until he graduated from university.

B．During 1947 and 1951, all the furniture in IKEA was designed by Kamprad himself.

C．Kamprad's goods were usually less expensive than those of competitors.

D．IKEA, the world's largest furniture retailer, was founded in 1926.

3. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Ingvar Kamprad is the richest man in the world.

B．IKEA is the world's largest furniture retailer.

C．The advantage of IKEA's furniture is dissembling.

D．Ingvar Kamprad established IKEA and led it to great success.

4. What is the author's attitude towards IKEA's future according to the last paragraph?

A．Negative.

B．Positive.

C．Doubtful.

D．Worried.