To be honest, I’ve been missing the online shopping experience in China since I moved to the US four years ago. So when I noticed Shein becoming mainstream in the US over the past few years, I thought, Great! I finally have a Taobao replacement! So I went on my first Shein journey in August 2022.

But somewhere along the way, I started questioning why I enjoy this particular kind of shopping, and also what it means for an e-commerce platform to offer endless deals.

To be fair, there are Shein purchases that I’ve really enjoyed, like a $2 nylon watchband that feels better than my original Apple Watch band. I also think people should be able to choose quantity and price over quality, because the idea of demanding that people only buy premium products feels unrealistic.

But as it turns out, I’ve finally started to see through the illusion (错觉) of Shein-like platforms. To get these occasional incredible deals, you are encouraged to shop much more than is necessary or even reasonable. This illusion has worked for a long time and for a lot of people, including me! But it’s become harder and harder to ignore the environmental consequences of my purchases, and the ways in which platforms trick people into buying more and more.

And I don’t think I’m the only one experiencing that awakening. Broadly speaking, I think society is slowly but surely shifting toward recognizing the climate impact of mass-produced cheap goods. While these conversations have yet to happen as widely and furiously in China, companies like Taobao and Shein will inevitably have to answer the question of whether their business model is sustainable for everyone or only for themselves. So where are they heading from here? There’s certainly a lot of soul-searching for the industry to do.

And I’m doing some soul-searching of my own.

【小题1】Why does the author mention a “$2 nylon watchband”?

A．To compare it with her original band.	B．To persuade readers to buy it.
C．To show her satisfaction with Shein.	D．To show its cheapness.

【小题2】What does the underlined word “premium” mean in the third paragraph?

A．High-quantity

B．Expensive.

C．High-quality.

D．Original.

【小题3】What do the customers tend to do with the illusion of Shein-like platforms?

A．They get incredible products on sale.

B．They often buy much more than what they need.

C．They ignore the environmental impacts.

D．They are tricked into buying more and more reasonable products.

【小题4】What is a consequence of endless deals in e-commerce platforms mentioned in the passage?

A．Serious environmental damage.	B．Decline in physical shopping.
C．Severe energy shortage.	D．Disturbing moral dilemma.