Coupons to spend

“How did you spend your coupons?”

On their first day back to school, many students in Hangzhou greeted each other this way.

The coupons referred to the 100 yuan coupons each student received form the city government before the Spring Festival holidays. Over 260,000 primary school and middle school students were given coupons. They could use them in local stores and supermarkets, or to see movies and buy books.

The same coupons have also been given to low income families in Hangzhou. Other cities, including Chengdu and Nanjing, also gave coupons to their citizens. More cities are expected to follow their lead.

Why are local governments doing this?

These programmes are all part of a broader effort in China to increase domestic demand in the face of the global financial crisis.

The crisis has seriously affected China’s exports and investments (投资). Many factories in southern cities have been closed down. Some companies are laying off workers or reducing their pay. The stock market and real estate market have been falling.

In a time of financial crisis, people usually respond by saving money. They are uncertain about the future and are afraid that more difficult times may be ahead. Now many people are choosing not to spend money carelessly. Major chain stores have seen a sharp slowdown in sales, analysts say.

But spending keeps an economy healthy. If people don’t spend, there will be too many products in the market. Then shops will stop buying products from factories. When factories receive no orders, they close down. The workers there accordingly lose their jobs. Also, if people don’t spend, the service industry suffers. The total result is that the whole economy breaks down.

Issuing coupons is a practical and effective way to increase domestic demand in the current situation, said Jiang Zengwei, vice-minister of China’s Ministry of Commerce. Hangzhou reported a rise in customers in local markets during Spring Festival holiday.

However, issuing coupons is only a temporary measure. To increase consumers’ confidence, the government needs to establish a sound secure social system in the long term. When people don’t have to worry about education, health care and their pension, they will be more willing to spend instead of saving.

Why are local governments issuing coupons?

A. To increase domestic demand in the face of the global financial crisis.

B. To enable students to use them in local stores and supermarkets, or to see movies and buy books independently.

C. To help those low income families in the global financial crisis.

D. To show the government’s ability to solve economic problems

What is NOT the influence that the global financial crisis has brought us?

A. China’s exports and investments have been seriously affected.

B. People begin to spend money without a second thought.

C. Workers are faced with losing jobs and the reduction of the salaries.

D. The active stock market and real estate market have gone. 

What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Issuing coupons is a practical and effective way to increase domestic demand in a long term.

B. The total result of saving money is that the whole economy breaks down.

C. The government may carry out new policies to encourage citizens to be willing to spend in the near future.

D. After issuing the coupons, the local markets have seen a rise in customers during Spring Festival holiday.

If the government is to print a slogan on the coupons to restore consumers’ confidence, what might be used to promote the idea?

A. Spend now, save later.

B. Spend money like there’s no tomorrow; come on!

C. Spend money like it’s going out of style; let’s do it!

D. Big spender, wise spender.

A 33-year-old financial analyst in California recently quit his job to devote himself to an unpaid job teaching math on the Internet, and his lessons are reaching almost 100,000 people a month. Salman Khan’s voice is heard every day on the net --- by tens of thousands of students around the world who are hungry for help learning math. He has posted 1,200 lessons on YouTube ... lessons that appear on an electronic blackboard, which range from basic addition to advanced mathematics for science and finance. And they are free.

Khan lives in Silicon Valley, with his wife, a doctor, and their new baby. He got the idea for his “Khan Academy” four years ago, when he taught a young cousin how to convert kilograms to grams. With Khan’s help, the cousin got good at math, and Khan began a new career.

Now, Khan records his lessons himself, but he never goes on camera. “It feels like my voice in their head. You’re looking at it and it feels like someone’s over your shoulder talking in your ear, as opposed to someone at the blackboard, which is distant from you,” he said.

When Springfield High School in Palo Alto, California invited Khan to speak in person --- he immediately connected to the students there.

The idea of short lessons that can be played over and over again attracted high school senior Bridget Meaney. She says she had trouble with math in the seventh grade. “I think the teachers are good, but they can’t teach at a speed that’s perfect for everyone,” she said. “I like the idea of learning something in class but then going back and pressing pause or rewind and actually getting a deeper understanding of it.”

Originally, Khan kept his lessons short because of YouTube restrictions. Now, he thinks short is better. “Education researchers now tell me that 10 minutes is how long someone can have a high level of concentration. And anything beyond that and your brain switches off,” he said.

For Khan, teaching math, science, and finance is just the beginning. He says he’s ready to expand his YouTube site to include other subjects as well.

What gave Khan the idea of teaching math online?

A. His success in helping his cousin learn math.

B. His discovery that many students found learning math difficult.

C. A suggestion made to him at a local high school.

D. His interest in Internet teaching.

Why does Khan never go on camera?

A. He’s too shy to show his face on camera.

B. It’s restricted by YouTube for education videos.

C. He wants to keep distance from the viewers.

D. He wants to create a more relaxed learning atmosphere.

From the passage, we know that ________.

A. Khan travels to many schools to promote his lessons

B. Khan plans to include more subjects in the future

C. Khan gives live math lessons every day for free

D. Khan set up the Khan Academy with his wife

Why does Bridget Meaney like Khan’s lessons?

   A. Khan teaches seventh grade math better than her teacher.

   B. The lessons can be watched repeatedly until fully understood.

   C. She can perfectly follow the pace of Khan’s teaching.

   D. She cannot concentrate when learning in class.

What does Khan mean by “short is better” in the 6th paragraph?

   A. Keeping the lessons short can ensure better concentration.

   B. YouTube recommends short lessons for its site.

   C. Short lessons encourage students to return to the website.

   D. Students enjoy short mathematics lessons more.

“Any time! Any where! Decades ago there was no such thing” – “Communication”.

Then, September 7th 1987, the global system for mobile communication or GSM was born. And international agreements that laid out the standards, regulations and practices gave rise to a global mobile phone industry.

To be honest, the world’s first mobiles were not so attractive and the range of effectiveness wasn’t very good. But they became a must-have among those wealthy people who could afford that. However, by advantage of GSM which has many different elements to it, we can all enjoy the ability to go around the world in 217 countries, land in that country and know that a phone would work.

There are other cell phone systems using different technology in the world. The majority of the United States and parts of South America have been using something called CDMA which is very rare in Europe. In some Asian countries like China, GSM and CDMA both exist at the same time. But the GSM Association claims 85% of the global mobile phone market. They estimated there are now about 2.5 billion different users who make more than 7 trillion minutes of calls everyday, and that’s not all.

20 years later, the mobile phone is so much more than just a phone. You can use it to send text messages, take pictures, show video, even surf the internet.

“The phone itself is involved from just being a communication tool, to be a tool for round-the-clock connectivity, you can not live without it even in a minute.” Mobile consultant Nick Lane also points out with so many customized styles and features, your mobile phone will become a symbol of you.

Where will the global mobile phone industry be in another 20 years? Certainly, there will be more connections than better coverage. As for where else technology will take us, one can only imagine.

According the passage, we can know that GSM is ____________.

A. a global-used mobile phone                   B. a global mobile phone industry

C. a global mobile phone association           D. a global mobile communication system

It's most difficult to find a CDMA mobile phone in ____________.

A. the United States              B. South America               C. Europe                 D. China

From this passage, we can infer that ____________.

A. as soon as the first mobiles appeared, they became popular and many people have one

B. with a GSM mobile phone, you can make a phone call in most parts of the USA

C. there are only two cell phone systems in the whole world: GSM and CDMA

D. most of the mobile phone users in the world now are using the GSM mobile phone

By pointing out “your mobile phone will become a symbol of you”, what does Nick Lane want to tell us about the mobile phone in the future?

A. You can have a mobile phone with the unique look and functions as you like.

B. Others can find us without any difficulties if we carry our mobile phone.

C. The mobile phone can be used as a permit when you enter some places.

D. The mobile phone we carry can show others how wealthy we are.

What does the writer feel about the GSM development in the following 20 years?

A. Satisfied.            B. Worried.               C. Confident.          D. Confused.

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