1 . According to China Central Television, 40 percent of singles in first-tier cities belong to the “moonlight clan” (月光族), mostly young people who live paycheck to paycheck. In lower city-tiers with lower monthly income, the proportion of the “moonlight clan” has risen sharply and 76 percent of single young people living in fourth and fifth-tier cities run out of money every month.
On the basis of data released by data analytics company Nielsen, 42 percent of singles spend for self-indulgence (自我放纵), compared to 27 percent of non-single consumers. The number of single adults reached 240 million in 2018. More than 77 million of those adults live alone and that number is expected to rise to 92 million by 2022, according to China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs.
They have converged into a huge new purchase power, giving birth to a new concept of singles self-indulgence spending.
Justin Sargent, president of Nielsen China, said: “The ‘single economy’ is the awakening of single people’s consumption awareness, which reflects their pursuit of a higher-quality life.” Singles spend on one-person entertainment. A quick getaway, a movie, a favorite meal, they’re willing to do whatever it takes to delight themselves. Single people are also more willing to spend money to find emotional support. As it’s reported, more than 70 percent of people born in the 1980s and 1990s have pets and most of them are single.
As the “singles economy” continues to thrive, more and more businesses are flocking to the track. The “singles economy” develops various products to meet the consumption habits of a single person, such as one-person dining, small home appliances, one-person travel. Because it is small scale single person spending, the characteristic such as flexibility, cost performance and fashion may become a trend gradually.
Many restaurants have introduced a single table, where the person is isolated, to attract consumers. Besides, many multifunctional small home appliances with smaller capacity and fashion design attract singles. Artificial intelligence is also entering the “singles economy.”
1. What do we know about the “moonlight clan”?| A．40% of young people in first-liner cities run out of money each month. |
| B．The number of “moonlight clan” has increased in lower city-tiers. |
| C．42% singles spend more money than non-singles in many ways. |
| D．More than half of the singles live alone today. |
| A．Changed | B．Rushed | C．Broke | D．Gathered |
| A．Singles desires a high-quality life. |
| B．Singles spend money on emotional support. |
| C．Singles have a high monthly income. |
| D．Singles would like to please themselves at all costs. |
| A．A smart speaker. | B．Group travel. |
| C．A large fridge. | D．Couple meals. |
1. How many people were dead in the air crash?
| A．11. | B．99. | C．110. |
| A．No one survived. |
| B．The survivors were in bad condition. |
| C．Only 5 bodies were identified. |
| A．Researching the reason of the crash. |
| B．Identifying the rest of the victims. |
| C．Searching the two black boxes. |
| A．In November 2017. | B．In May 2018. | C．In July 2019. |
3 . Recently, Facebook has changed its corporate name to Meta. The company said it would better include what it does, as it broadens its reach beyond social media into areas like virtual reality (VR). The CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the existing brand could not possibly represent everything that they’re doing today, let alone in the future. He also revealed the company’s plans to build a “metaverse (元宇宙)” — an online world where people can game, work and communicate in a virtual environment.
The term “metaverse” was invented by author Neal Stephenson in Snow Crash, a science fiction published in 1992. In the work, the metaverse is a sort of 3D virtual world. It’s not simply a virtual reality game but is a persistent and shared virtual world. Or rather, the metaverse is a whole universe of shared virtual spaces seemingly linked together — you could, essentially, teleport (瞬移) between them.
Metaverse combined at the very least five technologies — they are social media, online game, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and cryptocurrency (加密货币). Those technologies will bring users to an interactive world. AR and VR are vital for Metaverse. VR serves to present the virtual world visually and then AR will provide the audio and sensors for people to be able to interact. With Metaverse, Facebook will offer not only a texting service but also a multi-perspective virtual touch that feels like a real thing.
Facebook said that it plans to create 10,000 jobs in Europe over the next five years to work on metaverse-related endeavours (活动). The company also has introduced Oculus-branded virtual-reality headsets, and it joined with Ray-Ban to develop smart sunglasses that went on sale for $299. “Over time, I hope that we are seen as a metaverse company and I want to anchor our work and our identity on what we’re building towards,” Mark Zuckerberg said. “I view this work as critical to our mission because delivering a sense of presence — like you’re right there with another person — that’s the highest goal of online social experiences,” he said.
1. Why has Facebook changed its corporate name?| A．To lead the gaming industry. |
| B．To cover its extended business. |
| C．To improve its corporate image. |
| D．To attract investment for its new plans. |
| A．The introduction to the VR game. |
| B．The future with 3D virtual world. |
| C．The origin of the word “metaverse”. |
| D．The importance of the novel Snow Crash. |
| A．It has a wide range of applications. |
| B．It offers people deeply interactive experiences. |
| C．It enables people to enjoy a free texting service. |
| D．It uses the five technologies to explore the universe. |
| A．There will be fierce competition in the metaverse market. |
| B．Facebook will focus on designing virtual devices. |
| C．Metaverse will be the center of online experience studies. |
| D．Facebook will be devoted to developing the metaverse. |
4 . Who is a genius? This question has greatly interested humankind for centuries.
Let’s state clearly: Einstein was a genius. His face is almost the international symbol for genius. But we want to go beyond one man and explore the nature of genius itself. Why is it that some people are so much more intelligent or creative than the rest of us? And who are they?
In the sciences and arts, those praised as geniuses were most often white men, of European origin. Perhaps this is not a surprise. It’s said that history is written by the victors, and those victors set the standards for admission to the genius club. When contributions were made by geniuses outside the club—women, or people of a different color or belief—they were unacknowledged and rejected by others.
A study recently published by Science found that as young as age six, girls are less likely than boys to say that members of their gender(性别)are “really, really smart.” Even worse, the study found that girls act on that belief: Around age six they start to avoid activities said to be for children who are “really, really smart.” Can our planet afford to have any great thinkers become discouraged and give up? It doesn’t take a genius to know the answer: absolutely not.
Here’s the good news. In a wired world with constant global communication, we’re all positioned to see flashes of genius wherever they appear. And the more we look, the more we will see that social factors(因素)like gender, race, and class do not determine the appearance of genius. As a writer says, future geniuses come from those with “intelligence, creativity, perseverance(毅力), and simple good fortune, who are able to change the world.”
1. What does the author think of victors’ standards for joining the genius club?| A．They’re unfair. | B．They’re conservative. |
| C．They’re objective. | D．They’re strict. |
| A．They think themselves smart. |
| B．They look up to great thinkers. |
| C．They see gender differences earlier than boys. |
| D．They are likely to be influenced by social beliefs |
| A．Improved global communication. |
| B．Less discrimination against women. |
| C．Acceptance of victors’ concepts. |
| D．Changes in people’s social positions. |
| A．Geniuses Think Alike | B．Genius Takes Many Forms |
| C．Genius and Intelligence | D．Genius and Luck |
