1 . China’ s booming coffee business has made it the second most important market for global giant Starbucks, behind only its home U.S. market. But it’s also providing fertile ground for new and innovative (勇于创新的) players catering to local preferences. One of the latest in that group is Shanghai-based chain Manner Coffee, which, together with other similar homegrown names, are reshaping the country’s coffee drinking landscape.
This year alone has seen 16 financing events in China’s coffee sector, with more than 5 billion yuan ($784 million ) pouring into the space. Even the infamous Luckin Coffee, which was removed from the Nasdaq last year after being exposed for massive fraud (欺诈), is once again attracting investors’ attention.
Dubbed (被称作) as a seller of “street coffee” priced between 10 yuan and 20 yuan per cup, equal to $ 3 or less, Manner quickly became popular among young office workers for its less expensive price and high quality.
Manner and the other up-and-comers are thriving on a China coffee market that is growing at a healthy 15% per year. After expanding slowly in its first three years, Manner’s store count rose from just eight at the end of 2018 to 194 this year, with 165 in Shanghai and the rest in Beijng, Shenzhen, Chengdu and other cities. It plans to keep expanding outside of Shanghai by opening up to 100 new stores a year.
Meanwhile, Starbucks reported its same-store sales in the Chinese market grew by just 19% in its financial third quarter, down sharply from 91% growth in the previous quarter, due in part to weak year-ago figures from stores affected during early stages of the pandemic in 2020. The company forecast that growth would slow further still in the following years.
1. What does the underlined phrase “fertile ground” in paragraph 1 probably mean here?| A．Limited space. | B．Fat chance. |
| C．Rich soil. | D．Necessary conditions. |
| A．Starbucks is creating the country’s coffee-drinking landscape. |
| B．Starbucks was removed from the Nasdaq last year due to fraud. |
| C．Manner Coffee has a cheaper price and superior quality. |
| D．Manner Coffee plans to expand is overseas market. |
| A．To show that new players are starting to bite into Starbucks’ lunch. |
| B．To prove that Luckin Coffee is an unusually successful hit. |
| C．To explain the fast increase of Starbucks in the Chinese market. |
| D．To present the promising future of the U.S. coffee market. |
| A．Manner Coffee becomes fashionable worldwide “street coffee”. |
| B．Manner Coffee joins hand with Starbucks to develop business. |
| C．Manner Coffee replaces Starbucks both at home and abroad. |
| D．Manner Coffee takes on Starbucks in China with “street coffee”. |
