1 . Advertising plays a major role in the competitive business world. Many industries take advantage of the power of advertising to attract or to win customers away from their business competitors. The influence of advertising is so huge that it causes many people to buy things that they do not want at the start.
Advertising encourages people to buy things they don’t want through misleading ideas. Advertising is proven to be a successful tool to stress the features of their product to the public even though it is regarded undesirable (不受欢迎的) such as cigarettes, drugs, alcohol and so on. For example, Dunhill, a cigarette company which sponsors (赞助) many football teams, seems to be promoting cigarettes to the public. Without the sponsorship, the company will be less known to the public, resulting in fewer sales of cigarettes.
Besides that, advertising has a large influence on the decisions made by the people in their everyday life. Many businesses use advertising as a form of promotion to create awareness (意识，认知) about their product in the market. For instance, in a fast food industry, the introduction of a new flavor o f burger needs advertising to reach the public while the other burgers require advertising to increase sales. Children, especially, are easily influenced by the advertisement and will have the desire to dine at fast food restaurants after that. Although fast food is bad for health, it has successfully become attractive to the public through advertising
However, advertising plays a part in helping customers to compare a product in terms of price, quality, reliability (可靠性) and so on. Without advertising, it will be very difficult for customers to judge the worthiness( 价值) of a product. For example, advertisements published by various companies have given the customers the opportunity to choose wisely when buying an item. Without the power of advertising, customers will choose a brand (品牌) which may not offer the best choice.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Advertising. | B．The product. | C．Feature. | D．The public. |
| A．food industry is having a hard time |
| B．the information passed on in advertisements is unreal |
| C．children are easily influenced by the advertisement |
| D．advertisements influence people to make decisions |
| A．plays a role in fast food industry |
| B．helps industries attract customers |
| C．encourages people to make the right choices |
| D．makes people buy some unnecessary things |
| A．objective | B．supportive |
| C．uncared | D．doubtful |
2 . Every day in the United States animals are beaten, ignored, or forced to struggle for survival. Left in poor conditions with no food or water, they have little hope as they live out their days without the mercy they deserve. Some are found and rescued, given the chance to experience how great life and humans can be; others aren't so lucky. To grow as a nation, we must fight for these abused(受虐待的) animals’ rights and seriously punish heartless owners.
One of the first steps in protecting animals and creating effective cruelty laws is to know what animal cruelty actually is. There are two categories: passive cruelty and active cruelty. The first involves acts of omission, meaning the abuse happens as a result of ignorance or lack of action. Passive cruelty might seem less serious, but that is not the case; it can lead to terrible pain and suffering, and finally death. Examples include starvation, inadequate shelter in extreme weather conditions, and the failure to get medical care. Passive cruelty is sometimes due to the owner's ignorance, so many animal control officers will first try to educate ignorant owners on how to properly care for animals before giving them a citation(传票) or putting them in prison.
Active cruelty, on the other hand, is more well-known and disturbing. Sometimes referred to as non-accidental injury, this type of abuse involves purposeful harm on an animal in order to feel more powerful or gain control. Active cruelty against animals should be taken very seriously, since it can be a sign that a person has serious psychological issues and may commit more acts of violence---possibly against humans.
It is hard to tell just what drives people to harm innocent animals. Most animal abusers find some sort of achievement or power in torturing a victim that they know can't fight back. While not all animal abusers become serial killers, it is important to take every case seriously.
As a nation we need to make it our right to come together and ensure the safety of our beloved pets. As Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
1. What is the first step to do with the passive cruelty abusers?| A．To throw them into prison. | B．To bring the case to the court. |
| C．To teach them how to treat animals. | D．To give them a strong warning. |
| A．is actually a sign of power or control |
| B．has been taken seriously in the nation |
| C．may lead to serious psychological problems |
| D．may cause acts of violence against humans |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Concerned. | D．Pessimistic. |
| A．warn those heartless pet owners |
| B．tell people the harm of animal cruelty |
| C．explain the reasons why people harm animals |
| D．call on people to fight for the abused animals |
3 . A parent posted on Reddit last week that her son’s school is now “zero waste”. In order to save money on the trash(垃圾) service, school leaders have taken away the trash cans. She wrote, “They are not taking any other method to reduce waste; they are just preventing the children from using the trash can. All their lunch waste must go home with them in their lunch box.”
Reactions were quick and fierce, with 333 people commenting on the thread that is now closed. Some supported the original(最初的) poster, saying they’d tell their kids to throw the trash on the floor if trash cans weren’t provided. Most, however, challenged the parent's perspective, telling her that this isn't a bad thing and sharing their own experiences of schools and day camps that have been zero waste for years.
One advised, “Get a lunch bag and then pack small bread sticks, cut fruits, pasta salads etc and then use a reusable bag for sandwiches.”
Another said, “My kid's school is zero waste. Always has been. They bring their lunch waste home. It's never been a thing. If anything, it makes me a bit more mindful of how school lunches are packed.”
My children's school has always told us to pack waste—free lunches, but trash cans are still being used. I do think, though, that their presence is a crutch(拐杖) of sorts. Until we are truly forced to fight with the waste produced by our habits, we won't be active to change them.
By forcing kids to take their trash home, the school is not creating a real problem for kids and parents, just an inconvenience, because they all have trash cans at home. But the movement does need to start from the bottom, perhaps within individual classrooms at first, before being put upon tired, overworked parents.
1. How did the parent feel when writing the post?| A．Confused. | B．Angry. | C．Satisfied. | D．Hopeful. |
| A．Patience. | B．Behavior. | C．Opinion. | D．Intelligence |
| A．Taking the right amount of food. |
| B．Sharing the lunch with other students. |
| C．Thinking of good ways to pack the lunch. |
| D．Encouraging children to eat up the lunch. |
| A．People can't live without trash cans. |
| B．They are of great use in our daily life. |
| C．They help people develop a zero—waste lifestyle. |
| D．Their presence allows the possibility of wasting. |
4 . Over the past few years I've had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been making changes to my brain. I'm not thinking the way I used to think. I can feel it most strongly when I'm reading. Involving myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. That's rarely the case anymore.
I think I know what's going on. For over a decade, I've been spending lots of time online. The Web has been a godsend to me as a writer. Research that once required days in the rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes by a few Google searches. Even when I'm not working, I'm scanning headlines or just tripping from link to link.
The Net is becoming a universal medium where information flows through my eyes and ears and into mind. The perfect recall of silicon memory can be a blessing to thinking. But that comes at a price. As the media theorist Marshall Mcluhan pointed out, media are not just passive channels of information. They supply the staff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems to be doing is weakening my ability for concentration. Once I was a driver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a flying swallow.
I'm not the only one. When I mention my troubles with reading to acquaintances, Bruce Friedman, a blogger, also has described how the Internet has changed his mental habits. His thinking has taken on a “staccato” quality. “I can't read War and Peace anymore,” he admitted. “I've lost the ability to do that.”
A recently published study suggests that when reading online, we tend to become "more decoders of information. We are not only what we read; we are how we read.
1. According to the passage, the author thinks _______.| A．the Net is merely a headache |
| B．he can no longer die but swim shallowly |
| C．the deep reading in the past has become a struggle |
| D．other people around rarely have similar feelings like him |
| A．Thoroughly passive. | B．Totally puzzled. |
| C．Gladly approving. | D．Evidently worried. |
| A．the more mental habits can be improved | B．the more they have to fight to stay focused |
| C．the more they are influenced in shape | D．the more online activities they can enjoy |
| A．Is the Net gradually changing us? |
| B．Long articles are hard to read nowadays. |
| C．Do people lack concentration to cover Web pages? |
| D．More Web involvement results from attention distraction. |
5 . Are you shy? If you are, you are not alone. In fact, close to 50 percent of people are shy. Almost 80 percent of people feel shy at some point in their lives. These days, shyness is becoming more and more common. Now, scientists are trying to understand shyness. They have some interesting ideas about why people are shy.
Is it possible to be born shy? Many scientists say yes. They say 15 to 20 percent of babies behave shyly. These babies are a little quieter and more watchful than other babies. Interestingly, these shy babies usually have shy parents. As a result, scientists think that some shyness is genetic.
Family size might cause people to be shy as well. Scientists at Harvard University studied shy children. They found that 66 percent of them had older brothers and sisters. As a result, they became shy. At the same time, children with no brothers and sisters may be shy as well. Growing up alone, they often play by themselves. They are not able to learn the same social skills as children from big families.
You may also be shy because of where you were born. When scientists studied shyness in different countries, they found surprising differences. In Japan, most people said they were shy. But in Israel, only one of three people said so. What explains the difference? One scientist says the Japanese and Israelis have different opinions of failure. In Japan, when people do not succeed, they feel bad about themselves. They blame themselves for their failure. In Israel, the opposite is true. Israelis often blame failure on outside reasons, such as family, teachers, friends, or bad luck. In Israel, freedom of opinion and risk taking are strongly supported. This may be why Israelis worry less about failure and are less shy.
For shy people, it can be difficult to make friends, speak in class, and even get a good job. But scientists say you can get over your shyness. They suggest trying new things and practicing conversation. And don’t forget — if you are shy, you are not the only one.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．Happiness. | B．Shyness. | C．Kindness. | D．Loneliness. |
| A．Passed down from parents. |
| B．Learned from friends |
| C．Taught by teachers. |
| D．Made up by brothers. |
| A．Genetics. | B．Family size. | C．Failure. | D．Birthplace. |
| A．Try to know why you are shy. |
| B．Talk to your parents and blame them. |
| C．Try to learn some social skills. |
| D．Try new things and practice conversation. |
| 40%同学认为 | 60%同学认为 | 你的观点 |
| 有些荒诞；这些语言有时让人听不懂；破坏了汉语的规范与纯洁，对学英语毫无作用。 | 形式活泼，使语言更具有多样性，有助于表达思想。 | …… |
要求：1.可适当发挥，不要逐句翻译；
2. 补充自己的观点；
3. 词数：100左右，开头已给出，不计入总词数；
4. 参考生词：荒诞的ridiculous
Nowadays, with the development of the Internet, there came a kind of language called Web language.
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Do social influencers affect our buying?
Have you ever been on social media and seen your favourite celebrity (a widely known person) talking about a product? These endorsements (promotional statements by famous people) might not be totally random, and are actually seen as a vital part of the marketing process. The question is: How do social media influencers ‘influence’ what you buy?
Human desire for status and making friends, combined with our need to belong to a group, make us susceptible (easily impressed emotionally) to being ‘socially influenced’. Companies often use that desire to have a similar lifestyle to a celebrity we admire to hawk (sell or offer sale from place to place) or launch a product. So, what do these endorsements actually do?
Firstly, they can be used to build brand awareness. A social media influencer should have a strong understanding of the platform they operate on, and therefore can create engaging (appealing) content that not only adheres to (stay with) the brand image, but sparks their followers’ interests in a product they might never have seen before.
Secondly, influencers can improve a company or product’s relationship with their customer base. According to InMoment’s 2018 US Retail CX Trends Report on customer loyalty, 77% of buyers have been brand loyal for more than ten years. This is also true of 60% of millennials. A popular celebrity can target key demographics (customer group) and talk or blog about a product, which can create an instant and lasting bond (connection) with the consumer.
Lastly, influencers can improve customer buying habits with seemingly ‘unbiased (just) opinions’. We are more likely to respond to ‘peer recommendation’ than traditional ads, meaning the fact we see an influencer as a ‘friend’ can make us less likely to be sceptical (doubting) about what we are seeing.
So, the next time you see a celebrity talking about a product, you might want to consider that this could be a carefully crafted marketing strategy designed to target your core (main) needs. If you find yourself perusing (consider with attention and in detail) a product you’ve seen on social media, you may well have been influenced.
1. What factors make ‘social influence’ so effective?2. What does an influencer do to make the brand he promotes well-known among his followers?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement. Then underline it and explain why.
A popular celebrity makes his followers believe he is their friends, sharing with them his real opinions on the products.
4. What do you think of today’s social media? (40词左右)
8 . The sudden death of the 23-year-old female emplovee of Pinduoduo has sparked a heated debate, with many criticizing the overwork culture. Three experis share their views. Excerpis (节选) follow:
Labor laws compatible (兼容的) with digital era needed
This case should inspire society to reflect on how to better protect employees’ rights in the digital era. The relevant clauses in the Labor Law cannot be specifically applied to charge internet companies suspected of violating laborers' rights and interests.
The blurring (模糊) of the line between social and economic activities in the digital era makes it difficult to define fixed working hours.
Lawmakers should find out the new factors affecting labor relations due to the rapid development of internet and communications technology. This can pave the way for law-making on working hours in the digital era. “996” working schedule is against labor laws.
More than one year ago, it was shocking to hear e-commerce tycoons (巨头) Liu Qiangdong and Jack Ma publicly support the "996" working schedule to push their employees to work harder. A growing number of companies have been using different methods to exercise ever-increasing control over their employees.
To correct the situation, it is vital that the country bring in specific law on internet enterprises, especially in terms of labor contracts and work schedules, and make it clear that the “996” working schedule is illegal.
Death due to overwork needs legally definition
Work pressure and long working hours can seriously affect workers' physical and mental health, making. them more easily hurt by occupational and stress-related diseases.
But it is difficult to prove that a person dies of overwork. Only a person who dies at the workplace or of a sudden illness within 48 hours of getting off work is considered a victim of work.
China should issue guidelines explaining in detail what leads to death due to overwork.
1. What do the three experts agree on?| A．The Labor Law in China is non-effective. |
| B．It is difficult to define fixed working hours. |
| C．Supervision on companies should be tightened. |
| D．Improvement should be made to the current laws. |
| A．To highlight the models of e-commerce. |
| B．To introduce tycoons' attitudes to overwork. |
| C．To confirm their efforts to protect employees. |
| D．To express disagreement on “996” working schedule. |
| A．To make somebody anxious. | B．To do sports or other physical activities. |
| C．To use your power to achieve something. | D．To test or make experimental use of something. |
| A．Someone dies on his way to office. | B．Someone dies of a heart attack in his office. |
| C．Someone dies three days after work. | D．Someone dies after work without symptoms. |
9 . Many people prefer eating out instead of cooking at home. A change appears to be taking place, though, and millennials (千禧一代) are leading the way. According to one survey, more young people are starting to cook at home for three basic reasons: They can save money, eat healthy and waste less food.
Popular TV chefs are also getting millennials excited about learning some basic cooking skills. Many millennials view cooking as a form of entertainment and self-expression. They proudly post pictures of their cooking creations on Facebook or Instagram, and invite friends over to share the cooking experience.
Many millennials have also found ways to avoid wasting food. After roasting a chicken, they put the leftover bones in their freezer instead of the garbage can. Later, they use the bones to make chicken soup, which is an important raw material in many dishes.
They also hate throwing out fruit that’s too old. To avoid that situation, they bake ripe fruit like berries and bananas for 15 minutes at 175 degrees C. Then they freeze it overnight. After that, they place the fruit in plastic bags and store it their freezer for later use.
Now millennials only eat at restaurants that have excellent food-waste policies. These servants use every part of the vegetables they buy, including their stems and roots, in dishes. They also use beef, chicken and pork bones to make their own soup.
Millennials also reduce food waste by only buying what they require. Before going to a market, they write down what they need and don’t buy anything else. They way they won’t purchase more food than they can consume.
1. What is the main subject of this article?| A．A cooking trend that has attracted millennials. |
| B．A plan that millennials have for donating food. |
| C．A novel cooking technique that millennials like. |
| D．A food production system favored by millennials. |
| A．Mix it with other raw materials in a bowl. | B．Carefully remove the skin and seeds from it. |
| C．Use a sharp knife to chop it up into pieces. | D．Put it in an oven at the proper temperature. |
| A．They select small cans and packages. | B．They leave their credit cards at home. |
| C．They prepare a practical shopping list. | D．They weigh produce before buying it. |
Li Jiaqi, a star in live-streaming(网络直播), knows how
In the month
As a new way of shopping, live-streaming has proved successful,
A convincing live-streamer together with limited-time discounts or lucky draws also
For now, there is still some doubt
