1 . A bunch of flowers, a box of chocolates and a bottle of wine are the classic moves when it comes to buying the best mother’s day gifts. If you want something a little different this year, we’ve prepared a guide to fine gifts for your mother, grandmother or mother-in-law.
Personalized Chopping Board (切菜板)
From £40, Etsy
Quickest delivery: 5-7 days, free
A good chopping board will stay with you for life. This wooden board is handmade in a Yorkshire workshop, and can be personalized on one or both sides. Sizes vary from small to extra large.
Bloom & Wild Flower Subscription
£104 for six months, Bloom & Wild
Give the gift of fresh flowers once a month, for six months with this well priced Bloom & Wild gift subscription. It works out at £17.33 per bunch. That’s a pretty good deal considering the average bunch at Bloom & Wild costs nearer £25.
The Body Shop Rose Quartz Gua Sha Stone
£15, The Body Shop
Quickest delivery: next day if you order before 11am, £4.99
The practice of gua sha is rooted in ancient Chinese medicine but became the number one western beauty trend in 2020 after influencers and beauty editors alike were crazy about how it made their faces appear more attractive. It involves combing a gua sha along your cheeks, jawline, chin and around your mouth in delicate dragging motions to de-puff (消肿).
Fitbit Inspire 2
£44.99, John Lewis
Quickest delivery: next day from £7.50
It’s a common misconception that you have to break the bank to buy a fitness watch, but this Fitbit watch suggests otherwise. For less than £50, she gets a tracker of activity, heart-rate and sleep, as well as a battery that lasts up to 10 days.
1. How much may yearly subscribed flowers cost at Bloom & Wild?| A．£100. | B．£104. | C．£208. | D．£300. |
| A．Its beautifying effect. | B．Its easy-to-use feature. |
| C．Its body weight control. | D．Its Chinese medicine origin. |
| A．It is water-proof. | B．It is reasonably priced. |
| C．It has a long battery life. | D．It can track users’ activity. |
Mr. Maude was thinking about what to buy for his wife as a gift for their 10th wedding anniversary(周年纪念日). One day, he happened to notice Mrs. Maude talking to a friend, showing interest in her ruby ring and he realized he would be able to make Mrs. Maude happy if he bought one for her. Mr. Maude couldn’t understand why ladies had so much passion for expensive stones of all colors, but he would be willing to do anything for his wife for such a great occasion.
As SM is a famous jewelry brand(珠宝品牌), Mr. Maude decided to buy the ruby ring from their online store. He found the store and contacted them. A lady at the customer service recommended one that she promised no lady could refuse. It was worth $12,000. Of course, it would cost Mr. Maude an arm and a leg, but he thought Mrs. Maude deserved it. Without much hesitation, Mr. Maude bought what the service lady recommended, expecting to give his wife a big surprise. What he didn’t expect was that what he finally received from SM was more than a surprise
Days after Mr. Maude placed the order online, he received a parcel from SM when his wife was taking care of the garden. Thinking that he needed to take a look at the real thing before he gave it to his wife, he took the parcel to the bedroom and opened it. Inside the package, there was some wrapping bubble plastic sheets. When Mr.Maude emptied the package, to his surprise, he found not one but two ring boxes. Inside each box, there was a ruby ring. The two rings are only slightly different from each other. “This is obviously not supposed to be a buy-one-get-one-for-free offer. Ruby rings are just too expensive for that. Most probably, this is a mistake of some kind,” Mr. Maude said to himself.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
So, Mr. Maude decided to discuss this matter with his wife.
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The day before the couple celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary, an unexpected parcel arrived from SM.
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Since last month,the sales value of goods featuring tiger elements
In China,the tiger
The zodiac element has been applied to almost many consumer goods,
| A．Its price. | B．Its design. | C．Its model. |
5 . Want to reduce your carbon, footprint? Here are the best sustainable choices for carrying your luggage(行李).
Paravel Aviator Grand $ 425
The Paravel Aviator Grand combines recycled fabric with recycled metal parts, including zippers(拉锁)and a handle that can be used as long as you do. The fabric lining is made from recycled and single-use plastic bottles. Its producer Paravel has up-cycled 3.1 million plastic bottles and planted 70,000 trees. A five-year after service,covering wear and tear, ensures you’ll get a lot of use from the Paravel Aviator Grand.
Dakine Terminal Spinner $220
With a 40-liter capacity, the Dakine Terminal Spinner is not only roomy but also lasting, with waterproof polyester(聚酯纤维)made from recycled plastic water bottles. The roomy outer pocket is padded for laptops up to 17 inches. It’s even got a cup rest—a place to set your coffee when you’re standing still.
Peak Design Travel Backpack $483
The Peak Design Travel Backpack expands to 45 liters. It has both internal and external pockets, with quick-access pockets for frequently-used small items. Made from lightweight polyester, this travel backpack is weatherproof. The bottom liner provides even more protection and a thicker fabric, so you don’t have to worry about setting your bag down on a wet surface, The Peak Design Travel Backpack is also Fair Trade certified and carbon neutral.
Solgaard Check-in Closet $355
The Solgaard Check-in Closet is designed with five inner shelves, so you interact with its contents with the bag standing up. It can handle more than enough for a week of travelling. Despite its size, the Solgaard Check-in Closet is also easy to roll around, thanks to smooth 360-degree wheels. Built from a polycarbonate shell made from recycled plastic bottles, the Solgaard Check-in Closet is lasting enough and has a 10-yearafter service.
1. Which luggage container has recycled metal parts?| A．Paravel Aviator Grand. |
| B．Dakine Terminal Spinner. |
| C．Peak Design Travel Backpack. |
| D．Solgaard Check-in Closet. |
| A．They are waterproof. |
| B．They have quick-access pockets. |
| C．They are made of recycled bottles. |
| D．Their producers have planted many trees. |
| A．Low price and outer pockets. |
| B．Strong zippers and a cup rest, |
| C．Large capacity and easy movement. |
| D．Roomy outer pockets and long after service. |
| A．$100. | B．$130. | C．$140. |
7 . When my two boys have free time, they want to go to the mall. No, they aren’t shop-a-holics (购物狂). They want to go to gaze at sneakers.
These aren’t the sneakers you find in Foot Locker. They are limited editions—usually Nikes—that range in price from $250-$900 or more. There’s the Chunky Dunkys, a collaboration between Nike and ice cream maker Ben and Jerry’s. And the Space Jam Jordans. And dozens of other pairs of shoes, all of which they know by name and all of which are very, very expensive.
That made me wonder: How did this sneaker culture develop? After all, when I was a kid, I wanted Jordan brand shoes too. But they cost $100 and I would wear them until they fell apart. Now, my boys long for shoes that cost ten times that and if they got them, they would never even think of scuffing them up by wearing them.
It all started during the Industrial Revolution, when the very wealthy began to find they had leisure time on their hands, Elizabeth Semmelhack, who runs the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, told me.
“These’ nouveau riche (暴发户)’ industrialists wanted to show that they had arrived. And so, the ancient game of tennis was revived.” explained Semmelhack, “But the problem with lawn tennis—one, the lawns of lawn tennis are extremely expensive, so they didn’t want people to run around in leather shoes. And two, when you play on lawn, you can get your feet wet. So rubber soled shoes, the sneaker, was invented as something that the wealthy could wear as they pursued these wealthy pleasures. Besides, rubber was, at the time, quite expensive, so having shoes with rubber soles was seen as a status symbol.”
But for most of us, sneakers were something you wore—not something you collected. With the development of internet, older versions of shoes could be purchased and collected. And sneaker companies, Nike especially, leaned into the trend.
1. What is the Chunky Dunkys?| A．It’s a company’s name. |
| B．It’s a kind of ice cream. |
| C．It’s a kind of limited edition sneaker. |
| D．It’s one of the author’s kids’ name. |
| A．To show he was poor when he was a kid. |
| B．To encourage his children to wear cheap shoes. |
| C．To give an example about the development of sneaker culture. |
| D．To show Jordan brand shoes have been popular for a long time. |
| A．Rubber soled shoes could prevent feet from wetting. |
| B．These ‘nouveau riche’ industrialists created lawn tennis. |
| C．Leather shoes were more expensive than rubber soled shoes. |
| D．The very wealthy were busy with their work during Industrial Revolution. |
| A．Objective. | B．Critical. |
| C．Favourable. | D．Unconcerned. |
8 . As you shop online, you may be drawn to digital ads with curvy(圆角)designs without even realizing it. According to a new study from the University of South Florida, consumers click on curvy call-to-action buttons, such as “Shop Now” or “Add to Cart”, at a significantly higher rate than those with sharp angles.
“It’s actually rooted in natural instincts(本能),” says Dipayan Biswas, professor of marketing. “According to research from different disciplines, our natural instincts send us signals that sharp angles usually indicate danger and that we’re more likely to get hurt. In contrast, curvy designs are perceived as friendlier and more approachable.”
This feeling leads people to subconsciously prefer things, including digital ad designs, which are soft-edged and curvy. As published in the Journal of Consumer Research, Biswas tested this concept through click rates and eye movement studies in the Muma College of Business Customer Experience Lab. The novel findings reveal how the shapes of virtual elements can subconsciously influence click-through rates.
“We studied a hotel search button and we consistently found the click rate was higher when the elements were curved,” Biswas says. “It translated to an increase of nearly 15percent in total revenue(收入).” According to Biswas, this means companies can potentially manipulate consumers as they will unconsciously click and spend more through the use of curved call-to-action buttons. For companies that put little thought or reasoning behind their design element choices, this study could be eye-opening for them.
For shoppers, this means when they’re surfing the web around a holiday shopping season, they are subject to the marketing practice, such as design elements, which can lead to more unplanned purchases. Biswas encourages online shoppers to set a budget to balance such digital influence. “Having a budget will give you a benchmark to keep things more conscious-oriented and you’re less likely to be influenced by variables like these.”
1. Why do people tend to click curvy buttons when shopping online?| A．They make shopping convenient. | B．They give us a sense of security. |
| C．They often mean trade discounts. | D．They offer various easy options. |
| A．Respect. | B．Block. | C．Track. | D．Affect. |
| A．They have been used by all businesses. | B．They stop us making decisions quickly. |
| C．They are a powerful tool for companies. | D．They enable websites to function well. |
| A．Be reasonable consumers. | B．Frequent physical stores. |
| C．Become aware of their right. | D．Avoid surfing the Internet. |
9 . Best devices for students 2023
External hard drive
Price: about £50
The last thing you want is for your laptop to break (or get stolen) and to lose all of your work as a result. An external hard drive like this one from Western Digital can store a backup copy of pretty much your entire laptop.
Amazon Kindle
Price: about £130
Even if you’re a die-hard fan of physical books, the pain of carrying university textbooks around every day might change you.
The latest model of the Kindle Paper white comes with Bluetooth and a front-lit screen that has an adjustable warm light and, as is the case with most e-readers, the battery can last for weeks on a single charge.
Tile Mate key finder
Price: about £20
If you’re the kind of person who’s always losing stuff — particularly your phone or keys — then this little device could be a lifesaver.
Attach your Tile Mate key ring to your set of keys, and you can use the Tile Mate app to locate them if you happen to lose them.
And best of all, if you’ve got your keys but can’t find your phone, hitting the button on the Tile Mate key ring will make your phone ring — even when it’s on silent.Genius.
WiFi range extender
Price: about £35
All too often, the routers supplied by broadband companies aren’t quite up to the job.
We’ve used this WiFi range extender from NETGEAR and can confirm that it does a great job of improving the WiFi signal around the house. It plugs straight into the wall, and although you might need to trial a couple of different locations before finding the perfect position, you should notice the difference straight away.
1. What is the price of an external hard drive?| A．About £20. | B．About £35. |
| C．About £50. | D．About £130. |
| A．It can be attached to your keys. |
| B．It can be located very easily. |
| C．It can save your life in time of emergency. |
| D．It can make your phone ring — even when it’s on silent. |
| A．External hard drive. | B．Amazon Kindle. |
| C．Tile Mate key finder. | D．WiFi range extender. |
10 . It’s easier than ever to buy things online. It’s so easy that Ryan Cassata sometimes does it in his sleep. Casata, a 24-year-old singer, recently was informed by Amazon that a package had been shipped to his apartment, but he didn’t remember buying anything. When he logged onto his account and saw that some socks were on the way, he remembered: A few nights back, he had woken up in the middle of the night to browse-and apparently shop-on Amazon.
Casata shops when he’s awake, too, buying little gadgets like an onion chopper, discounted gums, and decorations like a Himalayan salt lamp. The other day, he almost bought a pizza pool float, until he remembered that he doesn’t have a pool.
Thanks to a perfect storm of factors, Americans are accumulating a lot of stuff. Now, the Internet has made it possible for us to shop from anywhere, anytime. And because of the globalization of manufacturing, everything is cheaper than ever before — so cheap that we add them to our online shopping carts without a second thought. Shopping online also feels good. Humans get a dopamine hit (多巴胺刺激) from buying stuff, according to research, and then also experience delayed pleasure when the order arrives a few days later, which may make it more physiologically rewarding than shopping in stores.
Justine Montoya, a caregiver in Los Angeles, who buys all sorts of stuff online, said, “In the past few months alone, I bought an S18 smart watch from Wish.com that I’ll probably never use, a second Kindle because it was on sale and I am worried my first Kindle is going to die soon, and a pair of wireless ear buds that I had hoped would allow me to charge my iPhone and listen to music at the same time, but that instead just fall out of my ears whenever I put them on. I also bought, on Amazon, a book about hiking, only to find the exact same book in a box of my stuff in my parents’ basement.”
1. What do we know about Casata when he was informed of a package?| A．He went to sleep. | B．He forgot buying anything. |
| C．He waited for it until midnight. | D．He was happy to receive the socks. |
| A．He already had one. | B．It was not discounted. |
| C．It was poorly decorated. | D．He doesn’t have a pool at all. |
| A．Factors contributing to overbuying online. |
| B．Conveniences brought by online shopping. |
| C．Reasons explaining why everything is cheap online. |
| D．Good feelings one can get through online shopping. |
| A．The quality of products is a major public concern. |
| B．We have a wide choice of products in online stores. |
| C．People accumulate useless stuff by shopping online. |
| D．Today people depend on the Internet to do shopping. |
