经济学人阅读理解测试题-2025届高三英语上学期一轮复习专项

第一篇：Chinese fast-food insurgents are beating McDonald’s and KFC The healthy appetite comes from smaller cities WESTERN CHAINSused to dominate casual dining and drinking in China. The arrival of a Kentucky Fried Chicken in a Chinese city was once regarded as a developmental milestone. Today China is home to 10,000 KFCs (whose owner, Yum China, was spun off from its American parent in 2016), more than twice the number in America. Starbucks has 7,000 coffee shops and McDonald’s boasts 6,000 burger joints. The foreigners’ cash and cachet made it hard for locals to compete. Now the tables are turning. Starbucks’s Chinese sales fell by 8% in the first quarter, year on year, and Yum China reported a drop of 3%. Yet even as they lose their appetite for foreign chains, Chinese consumers cannot get enough of domestic ones. Tastien, which fills hamburgers with local delicacies such as Peking duck or mapo tofu rather than beef, has opened 1,600 new shops in the past six months, bringing its total to 7,000. Wallace, another burger-flipper, now has more than 20,000. Cotti, a two-year-old coffee-shop chain, plans to have that many by the end of 2025, up from 6,000 last October. An older caffeine-pedlar, Luckin, opened 8,000 in 2023, doubling its network. Mixue hawks its bubble tea through 36,000 outlets. Investors are licking their lips. Mixue, which also sells ice cream and churned out 2.5bn yuan ($350m) in net profit in the first nine months of 2023, may soon seek a $1bn initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong. A rival tea-seller, Chabaidao, raised $330m when it listed there in April. Another, Chagee, is said to be preparing for an IPO in America. According to local media, the privately held Tastien is valued at 7bn yuan. A big reason for the sudden popularity of domestic chains is their lower prices. Rather than forgo lattes as China’s economic prospects sour, consumers are trading down. Luckin is selling coffee at a promotional price that is one-third that of an equivalent beverage at Starbucks (it is also lacing some coffees withbaijiu, a local firewater). Mixue and Cotti offer similarly cheap (though less boozy) fare. Another explanation has to do with geography. Many homegrown chains come from places other than China’s rich megalopolises such as Shanghai. Cotti and Wallace opened their first outlets in Fuzhou, a “tier-2” city in the south-east. Tastien was founded in Nancheng, an inland railway hub likewise considered second-tier. Those are also the places where such chains are expanding most aggressively, in part because Western rivals have historically ignored them. About half of Tastien’s outlets are in second- and third-tier cities. Luckin’s rapid growth has been driven by its expansion in these relative backwaters, according to Nomura, a bank. Starbucks, by contrast, has barely ventured beyond the biggest cities in the past two years. This has allowed the locals to take advantage of perkierconsumer sentiment in such places. According to McKinsey, a consultancy, 30-somethings living there are less gloomy about their prospects than their metropolitan coastal counterparts.UBS, a bank, recently found that residents of smaller cities intended to spend more on dining, cosmetics and sportswear than those in larger conurbations. Can the feast last? Foreign rivals are catching on. Between January and March about 60% of new ChineseKFCs and Pizza Huts (also owned by Yum China) opened in cities that are no bigger than third-tier. Many of the 4,000 new restaurants that McDonald’s is planning to open by 2028 are expected to be in smaller towns. Potentially more worrying, Chinese consumers’ belt-tightening mood may spread inland from the coasts. Overall growth in retail sales has already slowed to 2.3% in April, year on year, down from 3.1% in March and 5.5% in the first two months of the year. Despite its piping-hot growth, and a near-tripling of pre-tax profit last year to 3.1bn yuan, Luckin’s shares have lost half their value since October. Chabaidao’s share price is down by more than 40% relative to what investors just paid at itsIPO. Not the sort of bubble investors had in mind. ■ 1. What is one reason for the sudden popularity of domestic fast-food chains in China? A. Their unique menu offerings such as Peking duck burgers. B. Their high prices compared to foreign chains. C. Their focus on luxury dining experiences. D. Their strong presence in major cities like Shanghai. 2. Why are Chinese consumers trading down to cheaper fast-food options? A. Due to a decrease in the quality of foreign chains. B. Because of a decline in China's economic prospects. C. To try new and innovative menu items. D. To support local businesses over foreign chains. 3. Where did Tastien and Wallace first open their outlets? A. Shanghai B. Fuzhou C. Beijing D. Nancheng 4. What is a potential concern for the future growth of domestic fast-food chains in China? A. Lack of interest from consumers in smaller cities. B. Competition from foreign chains expanding into smaller towns. C. A decrease in consumer spending on dining and other goods. D. Lack of unique menu offerings compared to foreign chains. 5. What has happened to the share prices of Luckin and Chabaidao in recent months? A. They have both doubled in value. B. They have remained stable. C. They have dropped significantly. D. They have experienced minor fluctuations. 答案和解析： 1. A. 解析：文章提到，像Tastien这样的国内连锁店提供独特的菜单项目，如北京烤鸭汉堡，这有助于它们的受欢迎程度。 2. B. 解析：文章指出，由于中国的经济前景下降，中国消费者正在转向更便宜的选择。 3. B. 解析：文章提到Cotti和Wallace在东南部的二线城市福州开设了第一批分店。 4. C. 解析：文章强调了国内快餐连锁店在中国未来增长的一个潜在担忧，与零售销售和消费者支出的放缓有关。 5. C. 解析：文章提到，自10月以来，瑞幸咖啡的股价已经失去了一半的价值，茶百道的股价下跌了40%以上，表明它们的股价有了显著的下降。 第二篇：Is it better to be an early bird or a night owl? The promise and perils of waking before sunrise Rare is thechief executive who extols the virtues of a lie-in. Tim Cook, boss of Apple, maker of the iPhone, wakes between 4am and 5am. So does Bob Iger, his counterpart at Disney, a media giant. According to one survey, two-thirds of the chief executives of large American companies are up by 6 o’clock; for average Americans the share is less than one in three. For those aspiring to corporate greatness, the message seems clear: you snooze, you lose. Your guest Bartleby harbours no such ambitions. But he has, in the past, experimented with early starts, and can confirm that their benefits go beyond the smug sense of satisfaction that comes from arriving at your desk before your editor. Inboxes can be cleared and tricky problems mulled over before the onslaught of emails and meetings begins, leaving you feeling well prepared for the day ahead. Those quiet hours of the morning need not be spent solely on work. In a popular genre of TikTok videos, influencers film themselves performing elaborate morning routines in which they submerge themselves in ice baths, recite affirmations and mindfully prepare nootropic coffees. In one widely pilloried video, Kris Krohn, a business coach, details how he wakes at 4 in the morning to “align the pharmacy of the body and over-dopamine the mind”. Although Mr Krohn’s routine may lack scientific rigour, plenty of research finds merit in early rising. In a study conducted in 2012 by Renée Biss and Lynn Hasher, then both at the University of Toronto, early birds reported feeling happier and healthier. Night owls, their nocturnal opposites, tend to have less sleep, which can weigh on their mood and health—as well as their productivity. Andrew Conlin of the University of Oulu, in Finland, and co-authors found that men who rose late made 4% less money than those who were up early (they did not test whether an extra 4% is enough to entice slumberers to throw off their duvets). Early birds are certainly held in higher regard. Rolling into the office late continues to be frowned upon in most workplaces. A study published in 2022 by Jessica Dietch of Oregon State University and her co-authors found that night owls were perceived by respondents as being “lazy”, “undisciplined” and “immature”. To pile on the stereotypes, they are fatter, too, according to research by Lap Ah Tse of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and colleagues. Rising early is not, though, all upside. Those ready and waiting to receive work when the boss arrives may be given more of it. If the early bird gets the worm, the clever worm stays in bed. Urgent tasks often come up during the day, meaning that those who come in early may end up working just as late as their dawn-averse colleagues. And the more emails you send in the morning, the more responses you are bound to get back. Waking before sunrise also risks turning you into a bore. Some larks cannot resist describing how much they got done while owls bashed the snooze button. Others go home early to tuck themselves in rather than socialise after hours. Night owls, by contrast, let loose. Research shows they drink more and take more drugs. They also have more sex. Christoph Randler and colleagues at the Heidelberg University of Education found that men who stayed up later had “higher mating success”. In the eyes of many, late nights are the preserve of youth, whereas early mornings are the domain of the geriatric. Efforts to alter your circadian rhythm are likely to end in sleepy frustration. A person’s chronotype, to use the scientific lingo, is largely a product of their genes. Dimming your lights at night and buying a special alarm clock will not magically transform you into a morning person. Those early hours will be of little use if they are spent staring blankly at a screen through blearyeyes. This Bartleby abandoned his efforts at early starts after growing alarmed at the quantities of caffeine he required to stay awake. Early birds, for their part, lose out by never being the life of the party after the sun goes down. If nothing else, that gives them one fewer thing to feel smug about. Perhaps the best advice, then, is to stop worrying about your body clock. Most people are neither early birds nor night owls, but in between. They do not perform well first thing in the morning or late in the evening. Many, including your columnist, get sleepy in the afternoon, too. That is why most offices operate between 9 and 5—and why they ought to have nap rooms.■ 1. According to the article, which of the following is NOT a benefit of waking up early? A. Feeling happier and healthier B. Being perceived as more disciplined and mature C. Having more time to clear inboxes and mull over problems D. Being more likely to make more money 2. What is one potential downside mentioned in the article for those who wake up early? A. They are more likely to be perceived as lazy and undisciplined. B. They may end up working just as late as their colleagues. C. They are at risk of not getting enough sleep. D. They are more likely to engage in unhealthy habits like drinking and drug use. 3. What does the article suggest is a key factor in determining whether someone is an early bird or a night owl? A. The amount of caffeine they consume B. Their genetic makeup C. The type of alarm clock they use D. The number of emails they send in the morning 4. According to the article, what is one potential downside of trying to change your natural circadian rhythm? A. You may end up feeling sleepy and frustrated. B. You may be perceived as lazy and undisciplined. C. You may be more likely to engage in unhealthy habits. D. You may have difficulty getting work done in the morning. 5. What is the main takeaway from the article regarding whether it is better to be an early bird or a night owl? A. It is best to try to change your natural body clock to become an early bird. B. Most people are somewhere in between and do not perform well at extreme ends of the day. C. Being an early bird is always more beneficial in terms of productivity and success. D. Night owls are more likely to be perceived as disciplined and mature in the workplace. 答案和解析： 1. B. 解析：根据文章内容，早起的好处包括感觉更快乐和更健康，有更多时间清空收件箱和仔细考虑问题，以及更有可能赚更多钱。选项B“被认为更有纪律和成熟”文中没有提到。 2. B. 解析：根据文章内容，早起的一个潜在缺点是他们可能会像同事一样工作到很晚。因此，选项B“他们可能会像同事一样工作到很晚”是早起的一个潜在缺点。 3. B. 解析：根据文章内容，一个人是早起鸟还是夜猫子的一个关键因素是他们的基因构成。因此，选项B“他们的基因构成”是决定一个人是早起鸟还是夜猫子的关键因素。 4. A. 解析：根据文章内容，尝试改变你的自然昼夜节律可能会导致你感到困倦和沮丧。因此，选项A“你可能会感到困倦和沮丧”是尝试改变自然昼夜节律的一个潜在缺点。 5. B. 解析：根据文章内容，文章主要表明大多数人处于两者之间，早晚两个极端并不表现良好。因此，选项B“大多数人处于两者之间，早晚两个极端并不表现良好”是关于早起鸟和夜猫子哪个更好的主要结论。 第三篇：How the chilli pepper has set fire to the internet in China Thanks to Mao, the once-derided pepper quietly revolutionised Chinese palates Tianshui,a city tucked away in China’s north-western hills, does not normally make headline news. But a fiery soup that owes its unique flavour to locally grown Gangu chillies has lit up the internet. Since March, the hashtag #TianshuiMalatang, referring to a popular type of street food, has racked up more than 140m views on Weibo, a social-media platform. Millions have flocked to the city to try it themselves. Increasingly the Chinese palate is craving spice. Last year Meituan, China’s biggest food-delivery app, reported that nearly 80% of restaurants now offer spicy fare, a taste known as la in Chinese. Look back a few hundred years, though, and chillies were nowhere to be found. Unlike ginger and Sichuan peppers, which are native to the region and widely used, chilli peppers were brought to China from the Americas by Portuguese and Dutch explorers only in the 16th century. At first, nobody ate them. For at least 50 years, they were grown as decorative plants, prized for their cheerfully bright colour and tiny white flowers, and occasionally used as medicinal herbs. During China’s last imperial period, a stringent system that taxed salt forced peasants in Guizhou province to look for an alternative to the condiment. They chose chillies, which produce several crops a year and take up little land. From there, a new flavour was unlocked. The pepper steadily spread to other rural regions of China, but its pungent, overpowering flavour barred it from getting near the tables of imperial or upper-class families. For a long time, la was used to describe vicious-natured people, and the few urbanites who enjoyed chillies did not trumpettheir taste. But the Communist revolution revolutionised the kitchen. The chefs of nobles were out of favour, and their traditions discontinued. The new leader, Mao Zedong, was the son of a peasant and a fan of chillies. Mao made Russian envoys eat sweat-inducing dishes and laughed when they could not handle the heat. “You can’t be a revolutionary if you don’t eat chillies,” he said. What was once a poor man’s food became a symbol of China’s working class. Industrialisation after Mao created the largest migration in human history. Hundreds of millions of migrants poured into big cities, bringing with them the spicy flavours of home. Chillies are now incorporated intostreet food, fine dining and snacks in regions with little tradition of heat. Cao Yu, a food writer and author of “The History of EatingLa”, argues that part of the chilli’s charm also comes from its social function. “If we’ve had spicy food together, we’ve endured pain together,” he says. “It’s just like drinking, it brings us closer to one another.” ■ 1. Why did chillies initially struggle to gain popularity in China? A. They were difficult to grow in the Chinese climate. B. They were not native to China and were brought over from the Americas. C. They were considered too spicy for the Chinese palate. D. They were primarily used as decorative plants and medicinal herbs. 2. How did Mao Zedong influence the popularity of chillies in China? A. He banned the use of chillies in cooking. B. He promoted the consumption of chillies as a symbol of the working class. C. He discouraged the use of chillies in fine dining establishments. D. He only allowed chillies to be grown in rural regions. 3. What role did industrialization play in the spread of chillies in China? A. It led to a decrease in the popularity of spicy food. B. It created a migration of people from rural regions to big cities, bringing spicy flavors with them. C. It restricted the use of chillies to street food vendors. D. It resulted in the disappearance of chillies from Chinese cuisine. 4. According to food writer Cao Yu, what social function do chillies serve in Chinese culture? A. They are used as a symbol of wealth and status. B. They are a way to show off one's culinary skills. C. They bring people closer together by sharing the experience of eating spicy food. D. They are a way to differentiate between different social classes. 5. What is the main idea of the article? A. The history of chilli peppers in China and their rise in popularity. B. The health benefits of eating spicy food. C. The economic impact of the chilli pepper industry in China. D. The different ways chillies are used in Chinese cuisine. 答案与解析： 1. B. 解析：文章中提到，辣椒最初并不受欢迎是因为它们不是中国的本土植物，是在16世纪由葡萄牙和荷兰探险家从美洲带到中国的。 2. B. 解析：文章中提到，毛泽东是辣椒的粉丝，他推动俄罗斯使节吃辣椒，认为如果不吃辣椒就不能成为革命者，将辣椒作为中国工人阶级的象征。 3. B. 解析：文章指出，工业化导致人类历史上最大规模的迁徙，数以亿计的移民涌入大城市，带来了家乡的辛辣风味。 4. C. 解析：文章中食品作家曹宇认为，辣椒的魅力部分来源于其社会功能，共同吃辣食可以让人们共同承受痛苦，拉近彼此的关系。 5. A. 解析：文章主要讲述了辣椒在中国的历史以及它如何在中国变得越来越受欢迎。 第四篇：The world’s insatiable appetite for Canada’s maple syrup Production is booming, but climate change is making output more erratic Hammer a tubecalled a spile into the bark of a maple tree and its translucent yellow sap will start flowing out; the tree has been tapped (pictured). This gloop drips from some 55m Canadian maple trees today, raw material for the tangygolden syrup which is one of the country’s proudest exports. Poring over the numbers reveals that maple-syrup production reached new heights in 2022. Some 79m litres were produced, 54% more than in 2021. Production has grown seven-fold in the past 50 years. But a warming climate is making output erratic. Ice storms helped to reduce syrup flow by 40% in 2023 compared with 2022. Industry representatives expect a return to growth this year. Canada produces 78% of the world’s maple syrup, 92% of it from the province of Quebec. Strong recent production helps to replenish Canada’s International Strategic Reserve. This stockpile is at its lowest level for 16 years. Yet the price of the golden goo won’t fall even if there are more record-setting years to come. Perversely, the syrup’s price is tightly controlled by a handful of large wholesalers, who every year negotiate a minimum price at which the product must be sold in bulk to domestic and international buyers. The industry operates in this way with the approval of the government “so that maple producers can have a predictable and sufficient income to earn a good living”, says Joël Vaudeville of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers. Consumers pay the price. The 2024 season is showing that a warmer climate is a boon to production. Temperatures near zero help the sap to run. Production is beginning earlier than in the past, says Mr Vaudeville. But climate change may also be putting the industry in a sticky situation. More frequent ice storms and strong winds can wreak havoc on maple groves, and pests thrive in warmer weather too. Mr Vaudeville says it is too early for the industry to draw conclusions about the overall impact. But producers in Quebec are talking to forestry engineers about planting new groves in northern regions where they weren’t previously viable. They also want to create a kind of industry-specific insurance against weather as dodgy as it was in 2023. Forest management is becoming more important. Canada suffered the worst fire season on record last year. Loss of tree cover increased five-fold between 2022 and 2023. The leaves of deciduous trees like maples hold more moisture than pine needles and are therefore less flammable. Prioritising them might be good both for big maple and for Canada’s forests.■ 1. What is the main reason for the increase in maple syrup production in Canada according to the article? A) Strong recent production helping to replenish Canada’s International Strategic Reserve B) The warming climate making sap run more easily C) Negotiation of a minimum price by large wholesalers D) Prioritizing maple trees for forest management 2. Where is 92% of Canada's maple syrup produced? A) Ontario B) British Columbia C) Quebec D) Alberta 3. Why won't the price of maple syrup fall even if there are more record-setting production years? A) Due to the approval of the government for tightly controlled pricing by wholesalers B) Because of the decline in tree cover in Canada C) As a result of the unpredictability of weather conditions D) Because of the increase in pests thriving in warmer weather 4. How is the maple syrup industry planning to adapt to the impact of climate change according to the article? A) By negotiating a higher minimum price for maple syrup B) By planting new groves in northern regions and creating industry-specific insurance C) By increasing production to replenish Canada’s International Strategic Reserve D) By prioritizing the production of maple syrup over other products 5. Why are deciduous trees like maples being prioritized for forest management in Canada? A) Because they are less flammable compared to pine trees B) Because they produce more sap for maple syrup production C) Because they are more resilient to climate change D) Because they are preferred by consumers for their aesthetics 答案与解析： 1. 答案：B. 解析：文章提到，枫糖浆生产增加的主要原因是气候变暖使得树液更容易流动。 2. 答案：C. 解析：文章提到，加拿大92%的枫糖浆产自魁北克省。 3. 答案：A. 解析：文章提到，尽管生产创纪录，但枫糖浆的价格不会下降，因为价格受到少数大型批发商严格控制，并且每年会谈判一个最低价格。 4. 答案：B. 解析：文章提到，枫糖浆行业计划通过在北部地区种植新树林，并创建行业特定的保险来适应气候变化的影响。 5. 答案：A. 解析：文章提到，像枫树这样的落叶树在林业管理中被优先考虑，因为它们与松树相比更不易燃烧。 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $$