1 . Many economists predict 2024 will be the time shoppers tighten their belts. That doesn’t mean people will stop spending, say retail (零售) analysts. But it will change what they choose to buy. With a slowing job market, global consumers are likely to move away from more high-priced purchases and focus instead on smaller, less expensive treats.
The economic uncertainty means that consumers are becoming more discriminating about their purchases, says Ethan Chermofsky, senior vice president of marketing at intelligence platform Placer. ai. “There are the things we decide are necessary, and then there’s another category of things that aren’t necessary but that we consider affordable luxuries, he says. This desire for these “affordable luxuries” is common in difficult economic times. Some economists refer to the phenomenon as the “lipstick index”: a small economic increase led by budget-minded consumers seeking out relatively affordable splurges (挥霍), like small cosmetics (化妆品).
Analysts at Deloitte say consumers will spend on little luxuries like specialty coffees and snacks as well. Additionally, stressed-out shoppers are prioritizing small splurge purchases for wellness and personal care.
As retailers see shoppers turning to little luxuries, they’re offering more and more of them. Target, for example, has staked a flag in what they refer to as “affordable joy”, which includes a selection of self-care and cosmetic products, along with wellness-centric beauty products. Beyond diversifying their offerings, stores are also bringing in luxury-feeling products at lower price points to appeal to more consumers.
Ethan says not every shopper will shift their spending to little luxuries-but even those who are still longing for the “must-haves” of social media will also look to get a deal. They want the feeling of purchasing lower-priced affordable treats. To get these goods, shoppers are likely to tap into the re-sale market for designer items at a more reasonable price. They want things that make them feel good about themselves-they just want to do it without breaking the bank.
1. What can affordable luxuries be?| A．Inexpensive daily necessities. | B．High-end products. |
| C．Reasonably-priced designer items. | D．High-priced purchases. |
| A．The strategies retailers use. | B．The joy businesses offer. |
| C．The competition stores face. | D．The products consumers buy. |
| A．Social-media deals. | B．World-famous brands. |
| C．Second-hand bargains. | D．Budget-friendly pleasures. |
| A．Lipstick Index: Where Does It Lead Us? | B．Must-have Treats: A Future Spending Trend |
| C．Affordable Joy: Will We Fall Into The Trap? | D．Little Luxuries: A Driving Force Behind Consumption |
1.介绍此次的调查结果；
2.发表你对国货的看法。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2.短文的首句已给出，不计入总词数。
A recent survey shows why young people have a preference for domestic brands when purchasing electronic products.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . We humans are comparison creatures.
It used to be that our primary reference of comparison was our local communities, primarily neighbors and co-workers. Because we tend to gather around those similar to ourselves in terms of educational level, work income, and shared interests, the range of differences when we compared ourselves to others was fairly small. Unfortunately, with the emergence of the Internet, we can now compare ourselves to literally anyone in the world.
These harmful comparisons also damage our emotional lives. When we feel lacking, we experience a variety of unpleasant and unhealthy emotions. We feel jealousy and envy for what others have and what we lack.
It’s one thing to realize that you compare yourself to others. It’s another thing to recognize that social comparison is often corrosive (逐步侵蚀的) to you in so many ways psychologically and emotionally. It’s an entirely other thing to stop yourself from comparing yourself to others.
| A．We are constantly measuring ourselves against other people. |
| B．Yet it is possible, and it is worth the effort for your mental health. |
| C．Thus, we are now exposed to groups that are quite different from us. |
| D．We believe that there is something wrong with us compared to others. |
| E．We can even feel bitterness and anger at others for the unfairness of it all. |
| F．Comparing ourselves to others has the potential to increase our life experience. |
| G．This new level of comparison has huge implications for our psychological lives. |
4 . “One, two, three, post the product links!” “Please press the button and give us a thumb-up” “exactly!” the “vibe group,” which means a group of people who are pumping some life into live-streaming and coordinating with live streamers to help steer customers to buy products. The group, also referred to as the “E-commerce straight man/crosstalk” by Chinese users, has stirred a craze in recent weeks on Chinese media platforms.
For the “E-commerce crosstalk” or people who help live streamers to sell their merchandise, it is their specialization. However, others believe that this is confusing to consumers.
The “E-commerce crosstalk” is also known as the center control of the live stream. The work of the center control spans across the pre, mid and post-stage of the live stream, and needs to be responsible for equipment debugging (调试), backstage operation, maintenance of the live stream order, data review and other contents.
They usually create a warming vibe to help live streamers sell products such as “I want 100k likes, could you guys help me to get them, please”, “Post product links!”, “Repost!” or “Let’s join the fan club”. These are normal psychological suggestions for customers which don’t break any of the rules of how to conduct business.
While the “E-commerce crosstalk” group doesn’t just control tempo, they also have another important role — they create a sense of exigency for customers, making them buy now, such as “My friends, the last one! Hurry, buy it now!” “How many are left? No, almost out of stock, only 30 left!” “Buy more today! Hurry up my friends! Go to the yellow cart, find the 1st link! Great price, great quality!”
“These practices are creating an illusion (错觉) of inventory constraints to mislead customers,” Fan Xiaolin, a Beijing-based lawyer told us. The unrealistic atmosphere created by the “E-commerce crosstalk” can easily mislead consumers, causing them to make irrational purchases. The 2020 China Live E-commerce Industry Research Report shows that the average return rate of live e-commerce is as high as 30 percent to 50 percent, which is much higher than the traditional e-commerce return rate of 10 percent to 15 percent.
1. What do “E-commerce crosstalk” specialize in?| A．Guiding staff to post the product lines. |
| B．Motivating followers to click the “like” button. |
| C．Assisting live streamers to sell goods. |
| D．Monitoring the live stream to function smoothly. |
| A．To ask for a great many thumb-ups. |
| B．To tempt the fans to shower the streamer with gifts. |
| C．To invite consumers to join fan clubs. |
| D．To share or forward the live stream to others. |
| A．Urgency | B．Rhythm | C．Involvement | D．Motivation |
| A．E-commerce crosstalk can create an authentic atmosphere for viewers. |
| B．The customers of e-commerce tend to be irrational. |
| C．The traditional e-commerce return rate is relatively lower. |
| D．The products of live streamers are in short supply. |
5 . Some in the Western media are sensationalizing the tepid response of Chinese consumers to new iPhone products, and some previously went so far as to suggest that China was imposing a ban on iPhones.
This doesn’t make sense. As a market economy, Chinese consumers have the right to choose from a competitive phone market.
At an event held on Wednesday, Apple Inc introduced its new series of iPhones, which come with new chips and new titanium shells and a USB-C charging cable. The iPhone 15 series comes after Huawei started selling its Mate 60 series and the Mate X5.
The launch of the two brands’ new phones generated different reactions from Chinese netizens. For example, the iPhone 15’s launch event was not on the most-searched lists of many popular Chinese online platforms such as Sina Weibo. In contrast, Huawei’s Mate 60 series was trending on Chinese social media platforms during its launch in late August.
Some researchers point out that there is absence of groundbreaking technological features in the new iPhone series; instead, they have been relying on brand loyalty to sell its smartphones. They also say that Huawei’s strong comeback gives users more choice, and will force Apple out of its comfort zone to improve its technology, although it has been the most purchased smartphone in China for years. According to market research company Counterpoint, Apple dominated the Chinese smartphone market with a share of 19.9 percent in the first quarter of 2023, followed by Chinese phone brands such as Oppo (18.3 percent), Vivo (17.7 percent), Honor (14.6 percent), Xiaomi(13.6 percent) and Huawei (9.2 percent).
This shows that the market share of Chinese brands is growing quickly. Among China’s more than 1 billion smartphone users, more than half are using middle-range handsets. They already have reasonable expectations for the money they will invest in electronic devices. They also attach great importance to innovative functions of smart phones that can cater to their individual needs. So the fact that a number of Chinese smartphone makers are rapidly catching up and even surpassing iPhone in certain features is really a good news for them. Plus most domestic-brand smartphones are within their reach.
The market share of smartphone brands in China clearly shows that smartphone sales are decided by market factors and not political factors. A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry told a news conference on Wednesday that there are no laws, regulations or policy documents prohibiting the purchase and use of mobile phones of foreign brands such as Apple.
China is now the third-largest market for Apple, and has also been a growth engine and manufacturing hub for Apple for years now. It brings in roughly 20 percent of the US tech giant’s total revenue and is a key part of the supply chain for iPhones, MacBooks and other devices.
It’s time the Western media stopped churning out these “ban” stories.
1. Which of the following words is closest in meaning with the underlined word in paragraph 1?| A．tense | B．unenthusiastic | C．passionate | D．indifferent |
| A．China is a major competitor to Apple in the smartphone market, affecting its global operations. |
| B．Huawei’s performance in smartphone market will prompt Apple to focus on expanding its market presence in China. |
| C．Apple may have to prioritize technological innovation in its future smartphone release. |
| D．The Chinese government discourages but does not prohibit the purchase and use of mobile phones of foreign brands. |
| A．Chinese government subsidies (补贴) and support for local smartphone brands. |
| B．The aggressive marketing strategies employed by Chinese smartphone companies. |
| C．The innovative functions and superior technology of Chinese smartphone brands. |
| D．The affordability and tailored features of Chinese smartphone brands. |
| A．Chinese ban on iPhones? Think twice. |
| B．Apple’s iPhone 15 series: facing a ban in China. |
| C．Huawei’s Mate 60 series: outcompeting Apple’s iPhone 15. |
| D．Chinese smartphone market: growing rapidly. |
Wang Yu, 28, from Shanxi Province in
Wang’s job is to entertain (娱乐) tourists for up to 9 hours a day by role-playing the daily lives of people who lived during the Tang Dynasty. At first, she couldn’t stop
The news report of her role-playing has started discussions about body confidence on the Internet. Many people who watched the video have called for a change in attitudes and
“I admire her very much, as I believe that people with confidence throw light
“Why do people always connect thinness with beauty? Everyone is unique, so it’s really
7 . Tokyo, with around 37 million people calling it their home, is the world’s most populated city which means it has the most people living in it. About 120 million people in total live in the country of Japan, which means that nearly a third of the country lives in one area.
The Japanese government is offering money to families to move away from the city Tokyo. The scheme (方案) aims to encourage young people to move to less popular villages and towns around the edge s of the city. The scheme has been running for the last three years, but the government has recently announced that it is increasing the amount of money it is offering to 1 million yen per child. To be able to claim the money, however, families must move outside the greater Tokyo area, live in their new homes for at least five years and one person must be in work or plan to open a new business.
Japanese officials hope that the offer will encourage families with children aged up to 18 to bring life to villages. This will help ease some of the pressure on space and public services in the center of Tokyo. They hope around 10,000 people will move from Tokyo to the countryside around it by 2027.
There is, in fact, a growing trend of young Tokyo-dwellers (居民) who want to leave behind urban life in the city to move to smaller, cheaper, and quieter parts of Japan. The small ski town of Niseko in Hokkaido is also enjoying a small increase in population, thanks to an explosion of interest overseas in Japan’s ski slopes. But with Japan’s vast government bureaucracy, its top schools, as well as companies all concentrated in Tokyo, escaping the capital looks set to remain a day dream for most.
1. What problem is Tokyo involved in at present?| A．Tough business environment. | B．A lack of foreign tourists. |
| C．A too large population. | D．High housing costs. |
| A．To help poor families go to cities. |
| B．To let children receive better education. |
| C．To urge the youth to leave their families. |
| D．To encourage more people to leave Tokyo. |
| A．It might be a failure. | B．It will be a growing trend. |
| C．It will bring success to businesses. | D．It will benefit government sectors. |
| A．Tokyo is an attractive city |
| B．Tokyo has too many cars |
| C．Japan pays to solve a population issue |
| D．Japan faces the problem of low birth rate |
8 . Imagine you’re out for an evening stroll (闲逛) in a foreign city, looking to find a restaurant for dinner. You will look for the busiest restaurant with the most diners because its popularity is bound to reflect on the quality of food and service. But is this true?
In tourist areas, which lack regular, local customers, the number of diners is unlikely to hold information about the quality of the meal. In this case, following the example of others could have led to a sub-optimal (次佳的) dinner choice in an overcrowded restaurant.
Spontaneously (不由自主地) copying other people’s thoughts or choices or simply going with the crowd is often referred to as “Herd behaviors”. It is a frequent occurrence among humans as well as many other animals, a common example being sheep.
Herding can appear to make a lot of sense. Average judgements of large groups of people often outperform individual choices. Furthermore, following the crowd appears to offer protection and comfort — after all, there’s “safety in numbers” — while helping to maintain a favourable reputation. Finally, following the herd reduces the effort needed to make a personal or unique decision.
Herd behaviors, while common and easy to explain, can have many harmful effects. Blindly following the herd can have grave consequences when trying to escape from danger. As seen in examples during earthquakes, herding may result in the entire crowd rushing for the same door, even if other exits are available. This unavoidably affects evacuation (撤退) efforts and may result in avoidable injuries or even deaths.
Psychology research suggests that it’s surprisingly difficult to resist the influences of the herd. In an experiment involving financial decision making, researchers found that warning messages about the potential errors of the crowd were surprisingly ineffective in helping customers make better choices. It appears there is no quick and easy fix. Instead, it is advisable to involve individuals adopting more critical approaches towards peers’ opinion, and questioning others’ behaviors as opposed to blindly following them.
1. What does the author want to tell us by the restaurant example?| A．Undesirable outcomes of herding, | B．Wise dinner choices of most customers. |
| C．Practical ways of avoiding herding. | D．Poor conditions of popular dining places. |
| A．Its application. | B．Its disadvantages. |
| C．Its definition. | D．Its benefits. |
| A．Send warning messages. | B．Follow peers’ opinions. |
| C．Stop behaving critically. | D．Have our own judgments. |
| A．Why can’t you find the reasons for herding? |
| B．Why shouldn’t you follow the crowd blindly? |
| C．When should you avoid influences of herding? |
| D．How can you discover wisdom of crowds? |
9 . Fear gets a bad rap(评价). It is certainly true that pure fear doesn’t feel good, but that is very important. Fear tells us to get out of it. Fear developed over millions of years to protect us from danger. So, yes, fear is a feel-bad emotion, but also, perhaps on the contrary, the engine in a whole range of pleasurable activities and behaviors--which inspire what we can call recreational(娱乐) fear.
Once you start looking for it, you’ll find recreational fear everywhere. From a very early age, humans love being jump-scared by caregivers and being hurtled(猛冲) into the air (and caught). They get older and take great pleasure in chase-play and hide-and-seek. They are drawn to scary stories about monsters, witches and ghosts. As they grow a little older, they get together for horror(恐怖)movie nights, stand patiently in line for roller coasters, and play horror video games. Indeed, most of us never quite lose our odd attraction to recreational fear.
One theory is that recreational fear is a form of play behavior, which is widespread in the animal kingdom and universal among humans. When an organism(生物) plays, it learns important skills and develops strategies for survival. Playfighting cats train their ability to hold their own in a hostile encounter(敌对遭遇), but with little risk and low cost, compared to the real thing. It’s the same with humans. When we join in recreational fear activities, from hide-and-seek to horror movie watching, we play with fear, challenge our limits, and learn about our own physical and mental responses to stress.
So, there is pleasure from these activities, but are there any other benefits? In several past and ongoing studies of the psychological(心里的) and social effects of engagement with recreational fear, we’ve seen it improve people’s ability to deal with stress and anxiety. For instance, one study found that people who watch many horror movies showed better psychological resilience(适应力) during the first COVID-19 lockdown than people who stay away from scary movies.
With research findings such as these in mind, we should maybe think twice about protecting kids and young people too eagerly from playful forms of fear. They’ll end up in the real world sooner or later, and they will be better equipped if they’ve at least pretended to be there before.
1. What’s recreational fear in the author’s eyes?| A．Another greedy emotion. |
| B．A lifelong attraction to humans. |
| C．A remote memory at an early age. |
| D．A good inspiration for brave behaviors. |
| A．By attracting them to activities with little risk. |
| B．By providing guidance on how to play with fear. |
| C．By offering chances to improve their ability to survive. |
| D．By showing them importance of challenging their limits. |
| A．To show it is another example of recreational fear. |
| B．To prove scary movies affect people. |
| C．To indicate protective measures against it are necessary. |
| D．To prove the experiences of recreational fear are beneficial. |
| A．We should allow kids to experience more recreational fear. |
| B．We shouldn’t ignore kids’ needs for more time to play. |
| C．We should stop kids from recreational fear activities. |
| D．We should be careful in planning playful activities for kids. |
10 . Sometimes we must admit it: Reading is boring. But people who think so don’t regard audiobooks as a shortcut, and they seem to agree that listening is an inferior (次等的) form of engagement (参与). Indeed, some studies have shown that people who listen to books achieve less than those who read them. As easy as it is to multitask with audiobooks, the form does make it harder to return, after a spell of distraction (分心), to the passage where your mind started to wander. Others insist that audiobooks remove the readers’ responsibility to understand something like irony(讽刺), given that the person recording does the work. According to this logic, listening to audiobooks is inferior indeed because it is easier — because it lacks the element of suffering that is incontrovertible (无可争议的) evidence of accomplishment.
However, most of us were read to by adults before we learned to read ourselves, and listening to audiobooks recalls the delight of being told a story: The rhythms of the prose (散文) made in a human voice; the dialogue animated through the performance of a skillful reader; the ease with which our eyes are free to move so as to better imagine the development of the plot.
Oral storytelling predates (早于) writing by thousands of years, and many of the oldest stories existed for centuries as bardic tales (吟游诗) before they were put down in print. Storytelling may have appeared to deepen community bonds or model unfamiliar situations in ways that might have increased chances of survival.
But it seems to me that there exists a more obvious explanation for why reading often feels so boring: Most books are very bad. The vast majority of them are uninspired, unconvincing, and poorly written. My advice is to be less concerned about the medium and more careful about the books you pick up. If you find that your mind is wandering or that you’re not able to fully enter the reality of the story, consider that this might be a problem with the content. Audiobooks have some distinct advantages when it comes to this. It’s easier to identify a bad writer when the book is read aloud. Most of all, I would urge you to trust your instincts (直觉) — to “listen”.
1. What do we know about listening to audiobooks according to Paragraph 1?| A．It is a shortcut to replace reading paper books. |
| B．It weakens the sense of accomplishment by reducing suffering. |
| C．People face more distraction while listening to audiobooks. |
| D．People feel it easier to understand irony of audiobooks. |
| A．The dialogue with skillful performance. |
| B．The ease to picture the actions of a story. |
| C．The rhythms of the prose made in a human voice. |
| D．The freedom to walk around the bedroom. |
| A．Storytelling might have helped survive. |
| B．Writing has a much longer history than storytelling. |
| C．People prefer storytelling owing to the instinct of imitation. |
| D．It was bardic tellers who passed down the history. |
| A．Audiobooks are absolutely better than paper books. |
| B．Reading feels boring only because of a book itself. |
| C．The medium doesn’t matter when you pick up a book. |
| D．The contents may be to blame when reading fails to satisfy readers. |
