Micro-blog is no longer simply a platform for self-expression, gossip and networking, as it is becoming an increasingly fierce battlefield for businesses wanting to promote their products and services. Over the last year, micro-blogging has become wildly popular in China, with some 65 million China based micro-blog accounts registered by the end of 2010 and the number is growing by more than 10 million each month, according to Data Center of the China Internet (DCCI). At present, China's largest web portal Sina claims to have 5,000 company micro-blog users, including Starbucks, Channel, and IKEA. On the micro-blog pages of the companies, visitors can not only view advertisements, but also see consumer feedback and even commentaries on hot social issues. E-commerce expert Lu Bowang says micro-blogging has opened a whole new dimension of marketing. Through micro-blogs, companies can quickly grasp the attention of potential consumers and interact with them on a regular basis so to develop a friendly link with consumers, Lu said. An Internet surfer nicknamed Xiaoben posted on his micro-blog page that he enjoyed drinking Puer tea, and within 10 minutes, a micro-blogger who owned an online shop selling Puer tea recommended his shop to Xiaoben. "It is a little bit like magic. I just make a wish, and then I get a micro-blog response." However, with more and more people micro-blogging to make money, experts warn that marketing via micro-blog could be a double-edged sword. Huang Heshui, professor from Xiamen University says micro-blogging is highly personal and private, and that too many advertising messages can annoy micro-blog users leading them to dislike certain brands. Further, a brand can be as easily damaged as established through micro-blogging, as consumers' negative feedback about a certain product or company can be very quickly spread in the micro-blog community, Huang added. The micro-blog managers should set up some rules and regulation to supervise micro-blog marketing, and at the same time, business... Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? A) Micro-Blog: A Double-Edged Sword B) Business Online C) A Fierce Battlefield D) Micro-Blog Makes its Way to Business
D
(Question)
BEIJING -Starting today,all indoor public places and many outdoor public places in Beijing are required to be 100-percent smoke-free, including primary and middle schools,seating areas of sports stadiums and hospitals that treat women or children. Those who break the law will face fines of up to 200 yuan( $32),and owners of the establishment will be fined up to 10,000 yuan. The Beijing government is training several thousand inspectors to be responsible for inspecting and issuing fines,and thousands of community volunteers will also come to help. But it would he difficult to carry out the law in some areas where smoking is common,such as nightclubs "Relying on punishment to control smoking is not enough. We hope that more cookers are willing to quit not because of strict rules, but because of their awareness of the harm caused by smoking"said Wang Benjin, deputy director of the Beijing Health Inspection Bureau. China has more than 300 million smokers,and more than I million people die each year due to smoking-related diseases. Beijing is home to about 4. 2 million smokers, accounting for 23. 4 percent of people. _ smoke an average of 14.6 cigarettes per day, according to a survey conducted by the Beijing Center for Disease Control last year. Just ahead of the regulation taking effect,Beijing MTR Corporation put up tobacco control posters on all trains on Subway Line 4 as part of the smoke-free campaign by the WHO "Beijing was honored with the World No Tohacco Day Award for its leadership in adopting a tough new tobacco control law. The award is a wonderful gift to people of Beijing and a wonderful gift to children of Beijing on International Children's Day-the gift of air free from secondhand smoke,"said Shin Young-soo, regional director for the WHO. We can probably read this passage in _ A) a textbook B) a newspaper C) a travel magazine D) a personal journal
(Answer)
B
It could happen just about any time you step out in public. You get onto an almost-empty bus, but the next passenger in decides to ignore dozens of empty seats to sit right next to you. While you're waiting in line at a supermarket, the next customer insists on standing only two inches behind you and shouting into his cell-phone. You go into a public restroom, and the next person to enter decides to use the next stall. Transgressions like these don't just make us feel uncomfortable; we often feel anxious, alarmed; and violated . It is the attack of the personal-space invaders. In any society, shared definitions of personal space govern how we interact with other people. People living in densely populated cities like Mumbai, Beijing, or Mexico City tend to require less personal space than people living in sparsely populated places within the country. In America, New Yorkers often have smaller requirements than residents of western states, like Montana, Shenandoah and Wyoming. Because everyone has different standards, gestures that are innocent in one place can be interpreted as opposite in another, especially in Britain. As the British etiquette website Debrett puts it, as a British person, somebody standing too close may make you "focus less on what somebody is saying than on how close they are to you". Simple acts like putting an arm around someone you don't know may seem friendly in China, but they can make us very uncomfortable. People from many European countries such as France and Spain kiss each other on the cheek when they meet, yet to British person, this seems too friendly and "touch-freely". The website explains! "The British are not backslappers and generally do not show affection in public". Are British people unfriendly? Far from it. The website adds that they are not as " _ ' as they may seem, but very friendly and helpful to foreigners. However, remember not to be too close. If you are going to come closer than an arm's length, please let them know. According to the passage, who tend to require more personal space? A) People living in Beijing and people living in Mexico City. B) People living in Mumbai and people living in Shenandoah. C) People living in Wyoming and people living in New York. D) People living in Wyoming and people living in Montana.
D