题目内容
RED lanterns adorn(点缀) the aisles of a small supermarket. There are stacks of red envelopes on sale, for stuffing cash in and handing out as gifts. A sign offers seasonal discounts. Such festive trappings are quite common in China in the build-up to the lunar New Year, which this year starts on January 28th. But this is Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, where Han Chinese are a mere 2.5% of the country’s population. They are a sign that Chinese New Year is becoming a global holiday.
Several countries in Asia celebrate the lunar New Year in their own way. But dragon and lion dances in Chinatowns the world over have helped to make China’s the most famous. These days growing numbers of people who are not of Chinese descent are joining in. In Tokyo window cleaners dress up as the animals of the Chinese zodiac(十二生肖). Barcelona’s Chinese parade includes dracs (a Catalan species of dragon). America, Canada and New Zealand have issued commemorative stamps for the year of the chicken. Last year New York City made the lunar New Year a school holiday for the first time.
The spread of the spring festival, as China calls it, is partly due to recent emigration from China: 9.5 million Chinese people have moved abroad since 1978, many of them far richer than earlier waves of migrants. It also reflects the wealth and globe-trotting ambitions of China’s new middle class: festivities in other countries are partly aimed at the 6 million Chinese who are expected to spend their weeklong holiday abroad this year. International brands are trying to lure these big spenders with chicken-themed items.
Conscious of China’s growing economic and political clout, foreign leaders have taken to noting the occasion. Britain’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, has given a video address, a tradition started in 2014 by her predecessor, David Cameron. Last year the country’s royal family tweeted a picture of Queen Elizabeth dotting the eye of a Chinese lion-dancer’s costume. Also in 2016, Venezuela’s culture minister admitted that his country was celebrating Chinese new year for the first time—with six weeks of festivities—in a bid to improve economic ties with China. It is rumored that this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos was held a week earlier than usual to avoid clashing with Chinese New Year.
China also sponsors related events, such as a display this year of martial arts in Cyprus and a traditional Chinese temple—fair in Harare, Zimbabwe. It may give Chinese officials satisfaction to see foreigners enjoy such festivities. They lament the growing enthusiasm among Chinese for Western celebrations such as Christmas—in December cities across China are bedecked with Santas and snowflake decorations. Chinese New Year is a welcome chance to reverse the cultural flow.
1.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Many countries in Asia are similar to each other in celebrating the Chinese lunar New Year.
B. This year’s World Economic Forum in Davos was held a week earlier than usual to avoid clashing with Chinese New Year.
C. Venezuela is the first country in South America to celebrate the Chinese spring festival.
D. Partly owing to recent emigration from China, the Chinese spring festival could be spread worldwide.
2.Paragraph 2 is conducted by means of ________.
A. analyzing reasons B. giving examples
C. listing arguments D. comparing facts
3.Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word in Para 3?
A. hook B. attack
C. interfere D. exclude
4.The sentence “China hopes the festival will boost its cultural ‘soft power’ abroad.” should be put at the beginning of Paragraph ________.
A. Two B. Three
C. Four D. Five
5.Why are Chinese officials pleased to see foreigners enjoy Chinese new year festivities?
A. Because these activities are beneficial to improving economic ties with foreign countries.
B. Because these activities can bring about large amounts of money.
C. Because these activities offer a chance to promote Chinese culture.
D. Because these activities would bring forth peace and harmony of the world.
Commercial advertisement was once thought of as a technique of the marketers to inform the potential buyers about the availability of certain products. It was seen more as a medium to inform the buyers rather than persuade them to buy. The present day marketers see advertisement as a medium to damage the image of their competitors and their products. This indeed, is an undesirable and an immoral practice. Instead of speaking about their own products, these marketers speak about the drawbacks (often without any basics) of the competing products.
People watching TV advertisements would notice that there has always been an advertisement war between the marketers of different consumer goods. A few such cases are given below.
1.Parachute Coconut Oil vs. V.V.D. Gold
Sometime back, the producer of V.V.D Gold Coconut Oil claimed in their TV advertisement that only their products were superior and the one sold in blue colour bottles (the reference was to Parachute coconut oil) was suitable only for un-natural hair.
2.Tata Salt vs. Captain Cook
Tata salt was first iodised (碘处理) salt marketed by an Indian Company. It has been enjoying a good and steady market. Captain Cook, another producer of iodised salt, who entered the market later, had to adopt some strategy to get control of the market. The TV advertisement of Captain Cook stressed on ‘Free flow’ of their salt when transferred to a container. The producer of Tata Salt retaliated (报复) by saying that the claim of Captain Cook was a trick and those who were quality conscious should deal with it with caution.
3.Pepsi vs. Coca Cola
Coca Cola was selected as the official soft drink for the Wills World Cricket 1996. When the cricket series was on, the marketers of Pepsi constantly advertised on TV. Their advertisement gave the idea that the cricketers preferred only Pepsi and as a matter of fact there was nothing official about it.
4.Horlicks vs. Complan
Sometime back, the TV advertisement of Complan, a health drink directly attacked Horlicks, which has been in the market for several decades. The claim of Complan was that their brand (which according to them was Brand C) has a higher percentage of ingredients compared to Brand H (reference was nothing but to Horlicks).
The above examples clearly show how the technique of advertisement is misused by some marketers to ruin the image of their competitors. This, certainly, is not a healthy trend.
Any marketer should only speak about his products and not about his competitors’ products. The awareness of consumers has certainly increased over the years and they are no longer easily taken in. There are many consumer products like salt, oil, shaving blades etc. But one thing for sure is that offering the same product in a different container will not make the product different.
Mass media like Radio, Television and newspaper should not allow advertisements that tell lies. Legal regulations, in this regard, should also be made stricter.
Comparison of the past and the present | ||
In the past | A technique mainly used for offering_________ | |
At present | A trick used as a means of unfair _______ | |
Unhealthy trend of the _______ of advertisement | ||
_______ | Products | Wrong _______ |
V.V.D. Gold | No product of the kind could _______it. | |
Captain Cook | Captain Cook stressed on their “free flow” when their product was put into a container. | |
Tata Salt | Tata salt warned consumers to be_______. | |
Pepsi | Too much advertisement on TV seemed to say that Pepsi was the cricketers’ _______. | |
Complan | Complan claimed that their product was much _______in ingredients. | |
Solutions | ●Only products of their own are allowed to be ________ in the advertisement. ●Stricter laws should be made to protect every producer’s and consumer’s benefits. | |