Exploring the Appeal of Vintage
Today, the term “vintage” applies to almost everything. Vintage is more recent than an antique (古董) which is defined as 100 years old or more. It basically means reviving something old-fashioned or filled with memories. For an object to be considered vintage, it must be unique and genuine enough to retain at least some of its original charm.
We buy vintage because it creates a sense of personal connection for us: it speaks to our childhood memories and that feels good. We also buy vintage because we’re rebels. Vintage is a protest against modern mainstream culture. In an age of technology, buying vintage is a refuge from our fast-paced, high-tech world. We want our children to make the most of their creativity and know how to entertain themselves without electronic gadgets. Ironically, early video games are now considered vintage.
Of all the vintage objects, vintage toys are forever attractive for both adults and children. Although some toys have emotional value, others have high market value and are expensive to collect. Vintage toys that were made in small quantities often bring a higher value than those that were mass produced. That means, if you own one of the 2,000 “Peanuts” royal blue beanie baby elephants that were manufactured with a darker blue coat than originally intended, you might have something valuable on your hands. In fact, due to a manufacturer error, this is the most collectible beanie baby around — and worth about £3,000.
If you’re motivated and feeling lucky, you can find deals on vintage toys by browsing charity shops, secondhand stores, community centers, flea markets and garage sales. You never know what kind of treasures are hiding at the bottom of a mixed box in someone’s basement, garage or attic.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________假设你班将举行十八岁集体生日，并请每位同学准备一份生日礼物在班会上进行随机互赠。你打算赠送什么物品？写一篇短文介绍你的礼物，内容须包括：
1. 对该物品的简要描述；
2. 你选择赠送该物品的理由。
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Second-hand fashion stages a comeback
Few followers of fashion will forget the moment when a super model arrived at a New York fashion week dinner, wearing a 1950s dress. The next day, a hunt for something similar began. That was 2003. Fast forward to the 2020s and second-hand fashion is renewing a new round of craze, and this time, arguably, it’s back for good.
When super models and designers were buying things at second-hand markets and matching them with expensive pieces, the act was more related to the old ideal of what fashion was — very trend-based and very season-based. Today, ordinary people always want to have new looks but they’re becoming more aware of the impact of their choices on the environment, and the best thing we can do in this climate crisis is to limit the resources we take out of the planet. Second-hand fashion speaks to what’s happening right now. And the world is speaking back. It’s estimated that the total resale clothes market is expected to rise in value from $96 billion in 2021 to $141 billion by 2023. More than ‘back for good’, second-hand fashion looks set to become the new norm.
The increased crafts of repair and upcycling offer another contemporary dimension to the trend. There’s a rise in young people looking at things that already exist, not only to take inspiration from, but also to use as material for next-stage creation. Current repair and upcycling skills make their wish a reality.
Even social media platforms are on board. “Once you start finding heat at the second-hand fashion shop, it quickly turns into an ever-growing addiction. Each piece has history behind it,” said an online celebrity with 1.7 million followers. He, along with other celebrities posting visits to shops of this kind, has pushed up sales. Their power in the field can’t be neglected.
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现在，除了在实体店购物以外，线上购物的方式也是多种多样，有社区团购，有抖音带货，还有自己直接在线上商家购物等等。你最喜欢哪一种线上购物方式，请介绍一下。
文章必须包括：
1. 简单介绍一种你熟悉的线上购物；
2. 对你所购买物品及售后服务做反馈评价。
（注：文中不要出现真实姓名和学校）
现在年轻消费者在网上购物时十分迷恋网络直播节目（live streaming webcasts）。请就此现象背后的原因谈谈你的看法。
启明中学学生会对该校高三年级学生作了一项“中学生追求名牌现象”的问卷调查, 部分调查结果如下, 如果你是宣传部（Propaganda Department）负责人李群, 请写一份调查报告, 内容包括：
1. 简述调查结果
2. 谈谈你的看法
| 购物档次选择 | 买名牌父母不同意, 你采取何种态度？ | ||||
| 中高档mid-high grade | 低档 low grade | 无所谓 | 愤怒 | 自己积蓄 | 就这样算了 |
| 61% | 21% | 18% | 46% | 24% | 30% |
Natural perfume or artificial perfume?
The use of perfume dates back to earliest times. The ancient Egyptians perfumed the bricks used to build their houses and temples, and wore perfumed fat in their hair.
These days, consumer demand for perfumed products is intense. In the home, from washing-up liquid to paper tissues, soap to shoe polish, fragrance is the common ingredient. Artificial leather is perfumed to make it smell like the real thing, and in Japan, some companies spray perfume through building’s air-conditioning system at key times of the working day.
To meet the demands of the perfume industry, scientific developments have made the companies use substitutes for some natural ingredients. Scientists have also discovered that natural and artificial materials are highly complementary and are acceptable to the consumer. Even the most expensive perfumes are in fact compounds of both natural and artificial ingredients. The French perfume manufacturers were among the first to blend artificial compound when they made the famous perfume Chanel No. 5 in 1923.
Producing natural oils is very expensive. For example, 1000 kilos of jasmine flowers make just one kilo of extract. Using artificial fragrance has reduced the costs of manufacture overall, although the chemical operations involved can be very time-consuming and costly-sixteen or seventeen chemical separations may be needed to produce the right result.
Nevertheless, the use of complex chemical to reproduce fragrance is likely to increase, as the artificial ingredients as well as natural oils gives perfume manufacturers more control over the production process, which is why many classic perfumes owe their characteristic top notes to fruits of science not nature.
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It has been found that fewer than one shopper in five makes a complete shopping list before going to the store. The reason for this is that seven out of ten of today’s purchases are decided in stores where shoppers tend towards impulse buying. Buying groceries on impulse has risen for the past forty years, and this rise has coincided with the growth of self-service shopping. However, in grocery stores where clerks wait on customers, there is much less impulse buying. It is hard for people to buy on impulse if they have to address a clerk.
Psychologists have joined forces with merchandising experts. It is their job to persuade people to buy products which they may not need or even want until they see them attractively presented. It was discovered by the psychologists that shoppers want help with their purchases. Having so many choices confuses them, but they are affected most by attractive package designs. Attraction also depends a lot on the products position on the shelf, however, and persuading shoppers to buy is easier when the product is located at eye-level.
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现在中国购物网站非常繁荣，很多人选择网上购物而不是去商场实体店购物，你更倾向于哪种购物方式，并说出你的理由。
注意:请勿出现真实的学校及姓名。
描述图片内容
谈谈你的看法
