1 . Bubble tea(珍珠奶茶 ), also called boba, is becoming harder to find as the COVID-19-related shortage takes hold. The blockage of the Suez Canal by a large cargo ship in March 2021 is causing delays in the global supply chain, which is a big part of the reasons for the shortage.

“This is an industry-wide shortage,” the owners of Hayward, California-based US Boba Company said on their Boba Guys Instagram page. “Some boba shops are already out. Others will be out in the next few weeks. 99% of boba comes from overseas. ”

Oliver Yoon, vice-president of sales and marketing for Boba Tea Direct, a Chicago-based nationwide supplier of bubble tea products, told Business Insider that the shortage started about a month ago and wasn’t likely to end until the end of April at the earliest.

Alex Ou, owner of Tea & Others in San Francisco, said that 70% of her customers prefer boba drinks. “Some people will not buy drinks if we’re out of boba,” Ou said. “They’re simply here for the boba.”

“We have storehouses on both East and West Coast, so compared with other boba brands, there is little impact on us,” said Mai Shi, manager of Kung Fu Tea. “From this industry-wide shortage, we see the increasing demand for the entire bubble tea category as people want fresh, made-to-order drinks. We are using this as an opportunity to improve our products to attract more customers,” she said.

And despite the shortage, Kung Fu Tea is still planning to celebrate its annual National Bubble Tea Day when it gives its app users a free drink with a $ 4 credit to use on their next order.

1. What is the main reason for the boba shortage?

A．The popularity of boba.	B．The rising cost of shipping.
C．The lack of proper storehouses.	D．The traffic jams on the Suez Canal.

2. What can be inferred from Alex Ou’s words?

A．The demand for boba is increasing.	B．The boba shortage will last for a while.
C．Boba is popular among its customers.	D．The boba shortage leads to a loss of 70% of the customers.

3. What is Mai Shi’s attitude towards the future of bubble tea products?

A．Positive.	B．Cautious.
C．Indifferent.	D．Worried.

4. What will Kung Fu Tea do for its National Bubble Tea Day?

A．Offer its customers free refills.	B．Replace boba with other drinks.
C．Hand out free drinks to its app users.	D．Run advertisements with a wider reach.

5 . BEIJING — The Chinese economy has shown positive signs of stabilizing (稳定), but it’s hard to judge what it will be next year, governor of China’s central bank said on Thursday.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, made the remarks on a panel discussion with delegates from the financial field to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which opened here on Thursday morning.

China’s economic momentum (推进力) will depend on not only domestic conditions, but also changes brought by the global financial crisis, said Zhou, who is also a CPC delegate to the national congress.

“It has become increasingly clear that the Chinese economy is now moving towards a better direction,” he said.

Due to the impact of the debt crisis in Europe, China’s economy began slowing this year. The Chinese economy expanded only 7. 4 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2012, marking a downturn for seven straight quarters, the National Bureau of Statistics of China said.

As the government adopted a series of fiscal (财政的) and monetary measures and speeded up the approvals of investment projects to spur the slowing economy, the domestic economy has stabilized since September with better indicators, Zhou said.

He said it’s hard to judge how the global financial crisis will continue to affect the Chinese economy because the spreading of the European debt crisis and the so-called fiscal cliff problem in the United States have increased uncertainties of the world economy.

“We need to monitor the effect on our economy of the monetary, easing policies launched recently by the United States and the European Union,” he said.

China is likely to maintain the policy continuity to some extent in 2013, but will leave enough room to make the policy targeted and flexible.

1. What is the attitude of Zhou Xiaochuan towards the Chinese economy at present?

A．Doubtful.

B．Negative.

C．Optimistic.

D．Unknown.

2. The underlined word “spur” in the sixth paragraph probably means “______”.

A．cause

B．expand

C．decrease.

D．encourage.

3. What caused China’s economy slowing in 2012?

A．Global financial crisis.

B．The debt crisis in Europe.

C．Fiscal cliff problem in the US.

D．The Chinese economy policy.

4. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．The People’s Bank of China published the economic statistics of China.

B．The Chinese economy policy will have a chance of flexibility in 2013.

C．The world economy is uncertain.

D．The global financial crisis has a great effect on the Chinese economy.

6 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Du Wei, co-founder of Zeblaze, a company     1     a variety of smartwatches are made in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, sent a new batch of these products to the warehouses (仓库) before Spring Festiyal.

“We prepared 10,000 watches in advance for Chinese New Year. To my surprise, all of them sold out via online marketplaces during the weeklong holiday, and our sales increased     2     more than 200 percent year-on-year,” Du said, adding that most of the company’s customers come from Europe, North America, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Increasing sales were also reported by Chinese home appliance giant Midea Group for itsfloor cleaning robots, with orders     3     (receive) more often this year from Spain, France and Russia through AliExpress, Alibaba Group’s business-to-customer platform.

Like Zeblaze and Midea, tens of thousands of vendors (供应商) based in China now sell their products     4     (global) through cross-border e-commerce platforms. Meanwhile, more Chinese     5     (brand) are gaining popularity among overseas consumers, which experts said is an affirmation (肯定) of the country’s manufacturing and supply chain capabilities.

Cui Lili, director of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics’ Institute of E-commerce, said the popularity in overseas markets of products made in China shows these cost-effective commodities have gained wide     6     (recognize) and raised brand reputationabroad in recent years. “In the past Chinese consumers usually     7     (tend) to buy imported and foreign-branded products, but nowadays, China’s major online shopping festivals have become more international,     8     (have) a greater influence on overseas shoppers who are increasingly willing to buy Chinese brands via cross-border e-commerce platforms,” Cui said. Faced with emerging opportunities, Cui said Chinese companies should make full use of cross-border e-commerce platforms to quickly grasp demands from overseas markets, learn more about closely     9     (relevance) laws, regulations and quality standards in these countries, and adjust supply chains to make products that meet local requirements.

Amazon Global Selling, which helps Chinese merchants sell their products abroad, said that     10     nation’s vendors are paying more attention to building brands and expanding their presence in overseas markets, given the rapid growth of cross-border e-commerce.

7 . 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. address               B. unnecessarily               C. threat               D. feed            E. consumption F. financially          G. worth               H. access          I. adapt            J. surviving            K. afford

Grace Kajange, 29, is a volunteer business development service officer for gender equality from Mbeya region, Tanzania. She is especially concerned about the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for small business owners and entrepreneurs, like those she has been supporting through a VSO project.

“Many business owners here in Tanzania don’t have the skills and knowledge to develop their businesses and just do business to earn a living,” says Grace.

Illiteracy(especially among women), lack of     1    to capital and credit as well as the paucity of business education, make it very challenging to start a business in Tanzania. Now COVID-19 poses a huge new     2    to the small businesses Grace has been supporting as a volunteer.

“We expect changes in sales for small business owners, as people now have changed their     3    behaviors. People are less able to move around and some people have lost their jobs, so many people are now focused on making savings rather than using their money to buy things they used to before COVID-19.”

Many Tanzanians work in the “informal sector”—meaning they have to go out most days to work for that day’s living, such as selling items at a market or the roadside. For families struggling     4    due to COVID-19, there is no furlough scheme or government grant available(Tanzania’s economy is about 2% of the size of the UK’s).

“The nature of life here means people need to leave their homes to go out to work and make a living,” says Grace. “It is not that easy for people to reduce their movements and avoid gathering in some places, if they are to be able to     5    their families and themselves. People are trying hard to take precautions but still the majority can’t     6    to buy things like face masks and sanitisers.”

One of the reasons these items are so expensive for people in Mtwara, where Grace is a volunteer, is a lack of supply. But now, volunteers like Grace are helping     7    this challenge through the same small businesses she has helped to grow.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, VSO has provided training to well over a hundred small businesses, helping them     8    to selling products that are now in high demand but short supply-such as soap, hand sanitiser and face masks.

Since the training, these small businesses have won contracts     9    thousands of pounds and even been able to hire on more staff. Through volunteers like Grace, business owners are     10    , and even thriving, amidst the most difficult circumstances.

8 . Directions: Write an English composition in at least 150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
上海一家知名的老字号面馆（time-honoured noodle restaurant）的面和菜品质量、口碑都很好，但由于依托老式的市场营销手段，最近几年生意不景气，门庭冷落。
假如你是李华，作为一家商业咨询公司的分析师, 你接到了该面馆的求助信息。全面分析后，你认为改变营销模式迫在眉睫。请你以电子邮件的形式回复一封建议书，内容主要涵盖：

1)从面馆的经营现状出发，指出问题所在；
2)向面馆负责人推荐1~2种适合该店的营销方式(可参考下表)。

	市场营销方式	具体做法
1	产品植入 (Product placement)	与电视剧、电影剧组合作，将剧中主人公的就餐地点定在该家面馆，植入面馆的品牌。
2	饥饿营销 (Hunger marketing)	推出一款风味绝佳的主打产品，每日限量100份。
3	网红营销/影响者营销 (Influencer marketing)	与各大社交平台的网红合作，定期发布推广该面馆的短视频。

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . When in a saturated (饱和的) market, you need a hook that makes your business stand out from the competition. Lower prices could help, but imagine a tactic that could encourage organic conversation about your brand, and actually help you increase the value of your product.

That’s scarcity marketing. And you’ll find it used across numerous industries.

It’s especially common in retail, as companies use several exclusivity techniques, like limited time sales, to encourage consumers further along the buying cycle. It’s also common in the tech industry, whether for promoting apps or devices. Even beauty brands are rewarding consumers with exclusive club membership.

Scarcity marketing is everywhere. But it’s also a risky tactic.

Limited items and restricted membership mean some of your consumers will miss out, leading to frustration, disappointment, and anger. You need to use social media listening to make sure your strategy doesn’t backfire.

The reason why scarcity marketing tactics are so effective is due to our fear of missing out, or FOMO(fear of missing out). It’s driven by the explosive growth of social networking that gives us a greater opportunity to connect with people around the world. But that increased reliance on the Internet encourages people to feel more anxious about missing something important.

Brands can make the most of this in their sales and marketing strategy by the scarcity principle. Consumers place a higher value on goods that are scarce. Or even, just perceived to be scarce. So, by decreasing the availability of your product or service, while still maintaining the demand, your product will be made more scarce. Meaning you can charge a premium price. That’s why scarcity marketing is so effective. You’re decreasing supply, tipping the equilibrium in your favour.

In What Exclusivity Can Do for Your Business Marketing, Rachel Winsted explains how you can use exclusivity as your entire marketing strategy. This relies less on traditional marketing techniques, and more on making your brand appear unique.

This boutique style can be more cost-effective, as you don’t need to advertise to everyone. In fact, it benefits from fewer people knowing about the brand. That way, new consumers get an extra thrill from discovering you and will sell you to their friends, if only to show off what they’ve discovered. The three things for making this strategy work are:

·Networking

With fewer marketing channels available, you want more face-to-face engagement. It’s a more personal way to promote. Therefore, more exclusive.

·A simpler online presence

You want to create engaging social media content, not promotional sales posts. Give clients the opportunity to find out more about you on their own accord.

·An amazing customer experience

This is essential. There’s no point in being exclusionary if what you offer isn’t. It’s easy for exclusivity to go wrong if there’s nothing unique about the brand.

1. Which of the following cases falls into the category of strategy of scarcity marketing?

A．A small cafe in Singapore only opens on random days.

B．A fitness gym encourages people to pre-purchase courses with a special offer.

C．A cosmetic shop sends samples of its latest products to its potential customers.

D．Face masks are out of stock during the outbreak of the pandemic in January 2020.

2. All of the adjectives describe the feature of scarcity marketing EXCEPT ”________“.

A．risky

B．tricky

C．effective

D．eccentric

3. According to the context, which phrase best interprets the underlined word “backfire” in paragraph 5?

A．Let somebody down.	B．Miss a golden opportunity.
C．Have the opposite effect.	D．Go against the principle.

4. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．Access to the Internet could alleviate people’s fear of missing out because of the extensive information it provides.

B．Your scarcity marketing would be in vain without the excellent customer experience.

C．Decreasing the availability of your product results in the decline in demand.

D．The more people you target at, the more people knowing about your brand, the better.

10 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

The power of colour in branding

Take five colours: red, black, blue, green and purple. How do they make you feel? It’s a question of supreme significance to designers and marketers. British fashion designer Wayne Hemingway explored this topic about the psychology of colour in branding. Do you agree with him? Or do you think the meaning of colour depends on the culture you live in?

Red is, of course, considered auspicious(吉利的) in China. But he points out that it’s a powerful colour    1    you go, with some serious scientific credentials. Studies have indicated that red “raises blood pressure”, and claim that it stands out from other colours    2       its long wavelength. Hemingway says it appears to be “coming towards you”, and so is useful for emergency and alarm signs, and also for conveying “urgency” in general. That’s why he thinks red sale posters seem to yell at us: “Quick, buy it now!”

Black has a different sense. In the West it’s associated with death, but that hasn’t stopped it    3    (become) a prestigious and mysterious colour. Hemingway says it’s the colour of luxury brands: things like “glossy black limousines” and “designer watches” are often black. He says “it’s very powerful and sophisticated when    4    (use) as a primary colour in branding”.

Blue, by contrast, is cool and tranquil. The colour is a constant presence in our lives, says Hemingway, being the colour of the sky and the sea. That gives it    5    air of reliability, which makes it a firm choice with “banks and corporations”. Hemingway says this is also why emergency services often choose the colour. A blue uniform    6    , for example, indicate “the cool competence of a nurse”.

Green is, unsurprisingly, the colour of nature and the environment. Marketers understand that giving a product green packaging creates the impression    7    it is environmentally friendly. But savvy customers are also aware of this—and now think twice    8    blindly swallowing environmental claims. Hemingway also says that green is the colour of growth and movement: it’s used to indicate “go” on traffic lights.

Finally, we have purple, which is associated with valuable things. In the past, purple dye was expensive because it was very difficult to produce, and it became the colour    9    (wear)by royalty in many Western countries. These days, companies still use purple to make their product seem more exclusive,    10    they’ re selling chocolate or cigarettes.