1 . Consisting of 39 episodes, the drama Knockout (狂飙) was directed by Xu Jizhou in 2021. It stars actors Zhang Songwen and Zhang Yi, who respectively play a fishmonger-turned-gang boss and a devoted police officer, recounting how they turn from friends to enemies over a period of two decades. Not only does it become a hit in China,     1    .

Set against the background of two decades of major social development in China and progress in it law-enforcement methods and capabilities, the story earned 8.6 points out of 10 on Douban and has won the market largely,     2    . Zhang Songwen’s character Gao appears as a humble fishmonger who relies on his small business to take care of two younger siblings.     3    . Luckily, he occasionally receives protective assistance from police officers he knew before. After tasting the benefits brought by guanxi, or “a special relationship” Gao is seduced (引诱) by the criminal underworld, a dark network that he once hated and fought against. In contrast, the police officer An Xin (played by Zhang Yi) is a lonely hero and idealist.     4    .

The show’s popularity index has reached 11,800—normally, 8000 marks a hit—on iQiyi.     5    . Despite describing the drama as “a shrimplike delicacy”, referring to its plain beginning and end, but with an excellent middle section, many viewers suggest the show signals the rise in quality of domestic TV offerings and express their hope that more, equally appealing, homegrown series will be forthcoming.

A．for it’s an in-depth examination of the complexity of humanity.

B．it was released on Feb 1 and reported by some domestic media.

C．it has also been streamed overseas and translated to more than eight subtitled languages.

D．However, he is bullied by two villains (恶棍) frequently and can’t do anything about it.

E．Many viewers spent their Spring Festival holiday following the Suspense-filled drama.

F．He makes people believe that even the darkest corner can be brightened by a glimmer of light.

G．The company believes the drama’s success can be attributed to creative writing and the multifaceted characters.

2 . The new TV series Joy of Life is a hit, scoring 8/10 among the most critical reviewers of Douban, a Chinese social networking service website. The series premiered(首映)on Tencent Video and iQiyi(online video platforms)on November 26,2019.

But how would you feel if Tencent Video and iQiyi allowed anyone to pay an extra fee to see a show’s upcoming episodes(集)ahead of schedule? The two of China’s biggest video streaming platforms decided to allow users to pay an extra fee on top of their subscription(订阅)to get advanced access to episodes of Qing Yu Nian(Joy of Life). Monthly subscriptions for Tencent Video cost 15 yuan(US$ 2.14)and iQiyi charges 19 yuan(US$ 2.71). Under the new policy, users could pay 50 yuan(US$ 7.14)to always stay six episodes ahead in Qing Yu Nian. Alternatively, watching a single episode in advance costs 3 yuan(US$ 0.43).

Users are mad about Tencent Video’s and iQiyi’s extra fees on top of subscriptions. On Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website, tags related to the two platforms’ pricing policies repeatedly recurred on trending searches, where many people were found complaining about the platforms being greedy and called for the audience to boycott the policy.

The policy also drew criticism from People’s Daily. The state-owned newspaper said the platforms “have bad table manners” and “drain the pond to fish and burn the woods to hunt,” which are Chinese idioms used to describe someone focusing on quick profits as opposed to long-term interests. People’s Daily also said the sites look down upon on users’ rights. ” Two lawyers apparently agreed. The lawyers, who claim to be users of Tencent Video and iQiyi, started two separate cases, saying that they violated users’ rights.

But some experts don’t think the new pricing rules are unreasonable. Zhu Wei, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, argued in an article that charging outside subscriptions are value-added services and don’t violate the law. But Zhu added that the platforms are at fault for not properly informing users about the policy in advance.

In the face of extreme competition and perhaps an ambitious business model, China’s streaming giants are hoping that additional charges could turn their luck around. But judging by the pushback on social media, it may not be so easy. It’s hoped that the next stage of this streaming war is a little more friendly.

1. According to the new policy,how much will the subscribers pay in total if they want to watch six episodes on Tencent Video in advance?

A．50 yuan.

B．18 yuan.

C．65 yuan.

D．69 yuan.

2. What is the author’s attitude towards the new policy?

A．Indifferent.

B．Neutral.

C．Favorable.

D．Critical.

3. What does the underlined word “recurred” mean in Paragraph 3?

A．Appear.

B．Perform.

C．Attract.

D．Serve.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．A well-received TV play.	B．An actor loved by the audience.
C．A debatable charging policy.	D．A TV play worthy of money.