1 . Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal, but that the gestures we use are understood by everyone. We do not realize that waving good-bye is the way to ask a person from the Philippines to one’s side, or that in Italy and some Latin-American countries, curling the finger to oneself is a sign of farewell.

Those private citizens who sent packages to our troops occupying Germany after World War II and marked them GIFT to escape duty payments did not bother to find out that “Gift” means poison in German. Moreover, we like to think of ourselves as friendly, yet we prefer to be at least 3 feet or an arm’s length away from others. Latins and Middle Easterners like to come closer and touch, which makes Americans uncomfortable.

Our linguistic and cultural blindness and the informality with which we take notice of the developed tastes, gestures, customs and languages of other countries, are losing us friends, business and respect in the world.

Even here in the United States, we make few compromises to the needs of foreign visitors. There are no information signs in four languages on our public buildings or monuments; we do not have multilingual guided tours. Very few restaurant menus have translations, and multilingual waiters, bank clerks and policemen are rare. Our transportation systems have maps in English only and often we ourselves have difficulty understanding them.

When we go abroad, we tend to cluster in hotels and restaurants where English is spoken. The attitudes and information we pick up are conditioned by those natives—usually the richer—who speak English. Our business dealings, as well as the nation’s diplomacy, are conducted through interpreters.

For many years, America and Americans could get by with cultural blindness and linguistic ignorance. After all, America was the most powerful country of the free world, the distributor of needed funds and goods.

But all that is past. American dollars no longer buy all good things, and we are slowly beginning to realize that our proper role in the world is changing. A l979 Harris poll reported that 55 percent of Americans want this country to play a more significant role in world affairs; we want to have a hand in the important decisions of the next century, even though it may not always be the upper hand.

The post millennial generation best known as Gen Z — individuals now in their teens and early 20s — looked on as their parents lost jobs during the Great Recession. They’ve seen older millennial siblings     1     in student debt. Since they could eat solid food, they’ve watched on promising techonology displace another, and, along with older generations, have questioned everything from the gig economy to the     2     of democracy. Now they’re entering     3     with a willingness to experiment.

“The old systems we used to rely on aren’t working anymore, but new systems haven’t necessarily been put in     4    ,” says Melissa Lavigne-Delville, founder of the trends and research firm Culture Co-op, which specializes in generational attitudes. “Parents aren’t even sure about how to     5     their children, because too much is up in the air.”

According to a survey by her firm, 78% of Gen Z-ers say getting a four-year degree no longer makes economic     6    , and hundreds of programs, from apprenticeships to boot camps, have cropped up to offer a(n)     7     path. New types of work are possible too. Research has found that teenagers are getting their driver’s licenses later and doing less traditional work-for-pay than previous generations. But while they might not be     8     tickets at the local cineplex, they may be starting a popular YouTube channel from their bedroom. Culture Co-op found that nearly 60% of Gen Z-ers, ages 13 to 22, say they are doing some form of freelancing. Dew, for one, didn’t have a job in high school but did teach himself to code and is building websites on the side while he attends MissionU.

Jumping into the freelance economy means taking an uncertain path, as is     9     one’s future earnings on an educational program no one has tried before. Almost $2 billion has been invested in “last mile training” efforts like MissionU, but many young people are still     10     for college.

The internet and its cultural impact are most often viewed through the lens of the “tech bro”. Biographies, and memoirs about these big-tech bosses have shaped readers’ understanding of    1     the online world changes the offline one. But these books rarely mention the principal figures who have shaped the experience of being online: social-media influencers.

Influencers—the (usually female) people behind the most popular accounts on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube—have large followings, often in the hundreds of thousands or millions. People like Jackie Aina, Matilda Djerf and Molly-Mae Hague earn a living from a combination of sponsored posts, commissions     2     (make) through associate links and by creating their own brands, from fake tan to eyeshadows.

Though they shape digital culture, too often influencers     3     (dismiss) as fame-hungry celebrities, who post about the details of their lives and mindlessly promote branded products for eye-watering sums. But a new crop of books takes the influencer industry    4     (seriously) by exploring the way social media’s most popular users are reshaping the global economy and changing what the average person views online.

Taylor Lorenz,     5    technology writer for the Washington Post, is a leading voice on social-media trends and internet culture. Her book, “Extremely Online”, argues that influencers hold huge power: “Tech founders may control the source code,     6     it is users who shape the product.” Charting the history of the influencer from the 1990s to today, Ms. Lorenz argues influencers rose by making fame and luxury less “sealed off”. Like reality-TV stars, early influencers created a new, niche sort of celebrity, popular enough    7     (draw) attention but still unrecognizable to most.

Ms. Lorenz makes the case that, despite its bad rap, influencing has “given more people the chance to benefit directly from their labor than at any other time in history”,     8     (entertain) readers with stories about “mommy bloggers” turning the pain of parenthood into six-figure businesses and teens becoming multi-millionaires through short comedy skits.

Some experts estimate as much as 90% of online content could be AI-generated by 2026.     9    the number of believable posts and photos produced by AI soars, influencers will face significantly more competition for internet users’ attention. No influencer,     10    skilled they have proved to be at using the internet to gain popularity and profits in the past, is guaranteed to retain any kind of influence in the next technological transformation.

8 . Today’s youth will drive tomorrow’s growth. Young people have always confused their elders. Today’s youngsters are no different. They have thin wallets but ________ tastes. They long for authenticity while being constantly immersed in an artificial digital world. They ________ convenience and abundance. As they start spending in earnest, brands are trying to understand what these walking paradoxes (悖论) ________ and how they shop. The answers will define the next era of consumerism.

A good place to start analyzing the psyche of young consumer is to consider the ________ that has shaped them. At one end of the scale, today’s 30-somethings came of age in the midst of the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. Their younger peers were slightly ________, beginning their careers in years when tightening labour markets had pushed up wages until the covid-19 pandemic turned many of their lives upside down.

These two big ________ have contributed to pessimism among the young people who experienced them. A study found a widespread ________ among Gen Zs that they would be able to afford to retire. Less than half believed they would ever own a home.

In many ways youngsters’ shopping habits, like their lives, are defined by the “________ economy”. The popularity of social media means there are many new ways of attracting consumers’ eyeballs. Most young shoppers never knew a world without smartphones. More than two-thirds of 18- to 34-year-old Americans spend four hours or more on their devices each day.

These “always-on purchasers” often avoid a weekly shop so that they can have quicker ________ of everything from fashion to furniture. They like subscriptions, often favoring shared access to products over outright ownership, which has ________ online-rental sites and streaming services.

The internet has also changed how the young discover brands. Print, billboard or TV advertising has ________ social media. Instagram and TikTok are where the young look for inspiration, particularly for goods where ________ matter, such as beauty, fashion, and sportswear. ________ physical shops are not entirely out of favor. They can be successful as long as the experience feels personal and, ideally, integrates virtual and physical worlds.

How the young shop is clearly shifting. What they buy, too, is changing. What older generations consider optional, such as wellness and luxury, has become ________ for the young.

More broadly, young consumers claim to be more ________ than previous generations. Some of these values are centered around identity (race, gender and so on). Others stem from things the young care about, such as climate change.

More Americans are opting to work well     1     retirement, a growing trend     2     threatens to upend the old workforce model.

One in three Americans who are at least 40 have or plan to have a job in retirement to prepare for a longer life, according to a survey     3     (conduct) by Harris Poll for TD Ameritrade. Even more surprising is that more than half of “unretirees” — those who plan to work in retirement or went back to work after retiring — said they     4     (employ) in their later years even if they had enough money to settle down, the survey showed.

Financial needs aren’t the only culprit for “the unretirement” trend.     5    , according to the study, include personal fulfillment such as staying mentally fit, preventing boredom or avoiding depression. About 72% of “unretire” respondents said that they would return to work     6     retired to keep mentally fit while 59% said it would be tied to making ends meet.

“The concept of retirement is evolving,” said Christine Russel, senior manager of retirement at TD Ameritrade. “It’s not just about finances. The value of work is also driving folks     7     (continue) working past retirement.”

One reason for the change in retirement patterns: Americans are living longer. The share of the population 65 and older was 16% in 2018, up 3.2% from the prior year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s also up 30.2% since 2010. Older Americans are also the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. workforce, and boomers are expected to live longer than previous generations. The percentage of retirement-age people in the labour force has doubled over the past three decades. About 20% of people 65 and older were in the workforce in February, up from an all-time low of 10% in January in 1985, according to money manager United Income.

Unfortunately, many people who     8     (choose) to work in retirement are preparing to do so because they are worried about making ends meet in their later years, said Brent Weiss, a co-founder at Baltimore-based financial-planning firm Facet Wealth. He suggested that preretirees     9     speak with a financial adviser to set long-term financial goals.

“    10     (challenging) moments in life are getting married, starting a family and ultimately retiring,” Weiss said. “It’s not just a financial decision, but an emotional one. Many people believe they can’t retire.”