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Chinese consumers' crazy appetite for luxury goods and services appears unstoppable, with just 2 percent of the Chinese population responsible for one-third of the world's luxury items.
As China's economic miracle develops, the market opportunities for all sorts of luxury goods and services are increasing. Luxury consumption in China now extends way beyond well - known car. Clothing and jewelry brands. For example, the luxury jet market ,n China is the fastest - growing in the world, even outstripping that of the United States, with a market share of 25 percent. This trend appears to
continue, with 20 to 30 percent growth expected in China, compared with only 2 to 3 percent in the US. But more important, China's luxury jet market growth represents a major development in the private
consumption of luxury items.
China's high - quality red wine market also provides evidence of the growth in private consumption ofluxury goods. In 2013, China became the largest market for red? wine? in the world, even overtakingthe French, with 1. 86 billion bottles consumed in China last year. Over the past five years, China's redwine consumption has grown 136 percent.
According to my ongoing consumer research in this area while working at the University of
International Business and Economics in Beijing, public consumption of such expensive global luxury brands such as Prada and Armani is easily explained by the desire to "gain face" and publicly display socialclimbing through material possesses. On the other hand, it is "self-reward" that lies behind consumermotivation in this area Chinese consumer, who have experienced rapid financial and economic gainsappear particularly prone to the need to reward themselves for their success. But this has little to do with"gaining face" and impressing others and much more to do with the need for personal contentment.
Finally, the growth in private luxury consumption in China is set to continue in part due to the
maturity of the Chinese consumer and advancement of Chinese consumer culture generally.
28. What do you think the author would most probably be?
A. A news reporter, B. An accountant.
C. A professor. D. A conductor.
29. The underlined word "outstripping" in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.
A. falling far behind of
B. going hand in hand
C. going far ahead of
D. keeping pace with
30. What can we learn from paragraph 2 and 3 ?
A. China's luxury jet market growth is only 2 to 3%.
B. French was once the largest market for red wine in the world before 2013.
C. The luxury jet market in the US shares 25% of the jet consumption in the world.
D. China's red wine consumption has increased to 1. 86 billion bottles since 2013.
31. What can be the best title for the passage?
A. Future Private Luxury Consumption in China
B. Chinese Appetite for Luxury Goods and Services
C. The Potential Luxury Jet Market in China
D. The Maturity of the Chinese Consumers
D
Even if trees cannot walk, they are still on the move.
In parts of the Arctic, entire forests are moving northward. Across Ac Arctic, temperatures are rising faster than anywhere else in Ac world. As that happens. Tie tree line that marks where forests stop and the treeless tundra （冻土地带） starts has been shifting northward. Trees growing along the tree line must protect themselves from the cold wind. To do this, plants tend to grow horizontal ( 水平的) branches low to the ground. The energy it take, for trees to grow this way means they don't have enough energy to make seeds.
But as Earth's climate has been warming, trees no longer have to just grow horizontally. Many can in. Stead grow up, toward Ac sky. This takes less energy. And with all that leftover energy. these trees have started producing more seeds. This happens especially in places where the white spruce( 白云杉) grows.
White spruce, which is a North American tree, is quite able to produce a lot of seeds, which can move long distances in the wind. When wind - blown seeds end up on the tundra beyond Ac tree line, they eventually can sprout ( 发芽) new trees. This explains how a forest can move. Of course. Ac process would work only if Ac tundra were warm enough. But in recent years, Ac whole planet has been
warming.
New trees will provide shelters for some snow. Keeping the sun's rays from making the white surface disappear. Instead, the trees absorb the sun's heat. This warms the surrounding air. The extra warmth
encourages even more trees to produce seeds. That further boosts a forest's ability to expand. In addition, more trees will trap more snow, preventing much of it from being blown away. Snow can trap heat in the soil below, which encourages trees to grow. The recent rise of temperature has helped more trees grow. The recent rise of temperature has helped more trees grow past the tree line. People worry about impacts on the animals that depend on frozen conditions for food and shelter.
32. What is the main cause of the trees in the Arctic moving northward?
A. The shrinking of northern tundra. B. The rising temperature.
C. The fierce and cold wind.D. The abundant resources in the north.
33. What does the underlined word, "this" , in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. To produce more seeds. B. To move northward
C. To respond to the climate change. D. To protect themselves from the cold wind.
34. What can be inferred from the last paragraph^
A. New trees can trap the snow, which may make the soil colder.
B. The trapped snow prevents new trees from producing more seeds.
C. New trees can make the surrounding air warmer.
D. New trees can bring more food and shelter for local animals.
35. The passage is most probably taken from
A. a science reportB. a health report
C. a fashion magazine D. a children's magazine.
