1 . While English is getting more important in our schools, Chinese has become popular among foreign kids. But Chinese can be more difficult to learn. At least 16-year-old Piao Chenglong thinks so. “English is easier for me. Chinese characters (汉字) have too many strokes (笔画),” said Piao. “But I want to learn it. I want to study at Beijing University when I grow up.” Piao is from Korea. He came to China in 2008.

In Korea, there are more than 300, 000 Chinese learners like Piao. Some Korean students begin to learn to write the language on their first day at school. To help students learn Chinese, Korea holds speaking competitions for high school students every year.

Chinese isn’t just popular in Korea. People from all the world want to learn it. The Ministry of Education of China says that nearly 130 million people from 85 countries are learning Chinese. This number will be increasing to 800 million in the coming years.

In America, Chinese is the second most popular foreign language after Spanish. Some American middle schools have Chinese classes. Students learn to make jiaozi and tie Chinese knots (中国结). Some even try to write and draw in the Chinese way!

People want to learn Chinese because China is becoming such an important country. Foreign countries want to understand China better to help them with business. The Chinese government is also helping the world learn Chinese. It has sent more than 200 Chinese teachers to more than 60 countries in the world. Many more Confucius Institutes (孔子学院) will be set up in the world. These institutes will teach Chinese to foreign students.

3 . Some fifteen years ago, when smartphone apps were new and few truly understood their potentials, retailers (零售商) _________knew that consumers could browse in stores while comparing prices and_________from other item providers through certain apps before_________making the purchase online. Ten years ago, brick-and-mortar (实体店) retailers had to acknowledge that showrooming existed and appeared to be a _________. That’s the year when retailers were up in arms as online giant Amazon released an “evil” promotion that encouraged consumers to visit_________stores and use Amazon’s Price Check App at the same time. Any purchase completed through the app was given_________ discounts, which significantly stimulated sales and_________many shop owners to the edge of bankruptcy (破产).

From the point on, retailers began launching strategies to combat showrooming including releasing exclusive items for sale so that no_________prices from other sources are available for comparison.

“Media have reported showrooming as a big threat to physical stores.” says Casey Carl, a retailer. “However, less _________is the fact that it is also the greatest opportunity for us.” Retailers need to accept that the act of showrooming is not_________and any sensible buyer tends to compare prices. As there’s nothing you can do about it, you might as well offer conveniences like in-store internet access to_________these consumers. With caring services combined with good prices, the store might actually improve the likelihood for consumers to close the deal_________.

And a showrooming study indicates that it’s wise for retailers to limit the item price to at most 5 dollars_________than what online stores charge. After all, for the majority of consumers, getting the absolute lowest price is not their_________. Many of them, instead, are willing to pay _________in exchange for favourable shopping experiences, such as the pleasant store atmosphere, agreeable staff attitudes or even the merry music played, with a reasonable price_________, of course.

_________, adopting a strategy of_________channels is also essential. With many sale channels under control, retailers are sure to have access to the lowest price possible for an item. Therefore, when a customer_________a mobile device in store, retailers can be spared the_________that was unavoidable for them some ten years ago.