At first glance,price-comparison websites are an example of capitalism at its best.But it has caused fierce competition on price and eviscerated profits.Towers Watson,a consultancy,said that "unnecessary" price competition following the rise of comparison sites in Britain had cost insurers ￡1 billion a year.
Consumers should celebrate that;the firms' losses are their gains.But there is a catch.Comparison sites introduce a new layer of costs,including their own advertising campaigns.In theory,competition in the market for comparison sites ought to keep those costs down.But David Ronayne of Warwick University argues that consumers often lose out from comparison sites.They earn a commission for each shopper who uses them for consumption such as buying insurance.That referral（委托）cost is included in the price the consumer ends up paying.If the increased costs outweigh the saving the comparison enables,consumers end up worse off.
These worries are not just theoretical.In 2014,Britain's competition regulator found that many comparison sites were using their contracts with retailers（零售商）to ban them from offering lower prices elsewhere.That weakened rivals' incentive（对手的动机）to cut fees,because prices on their site could not fall.By keeping prices similar,the contracts also reduced the incentive for consumers to search on multiple sites,thus helping sites retain their users.
Weaker incentives to lower commissions mean weaker incentives to lower costs,too.That might explain why comparison websites advertise so heavily,and sometimes offer free gifts to those who use them.In a recent paper,Ben Edelman of Harvard Business School and Julian Wright of the National University of Singapore argue that when a site knows that the prices merchants provide through it will always be the lowest available,it increases investment in attracting customers,safe in the knowledge that the merchants and at last consumers will bear the cost.
Is there any way to ensure the market for price comparison is competitive?Asking consumers to check multiple websites defeats the point of using them.One solution is to have only one site,but regulate it as a public utility（功用）. Alternatively,the governments could run the site itself.But creating good search and comparison sites may be too hard for them.It is much better to acknowledge that consumers will always have to do some comparison themselves to "keep the system honest".
Websites that compare the comparison sites can help,although it is easy to see how they could fall prey to the same problems.Any firm with captive users（被动用户）,be it a comparison site a search engine,or a social-media platform,can charge a high price for access to the eyes of its customers.For all their innovation,Internet middlemen are not unlike supermarkets.Shoppers would never imagine that a single store had the lowest price for all the items they need.
【小题1】According to the first two paragraphs,price-comparison websites______.| A．will offer smart consumers the best deals |
| B．will bring insurance firms increased profits |
| C．can help keep the costs of insurance firms down |
| D．may raise the price that consumers pay for their purchases |
| A．lowering commissions | B．contracting with retailers |
| C．attracting consumers | D．cutting operating costs |
| A．it's desirable to have only one comparison site and have it run by the government |
| B．it's advisable that comparison sites with captive users charge a high price for its service |
| C．consumers should check multiple comparison sites before making a purchasing decision |
| D．websites that compare the comparison websites can help to build a competitive market |
| A．create an effective channel for smart consumers |
| B．are competition's friends and enemies at the same time |
| C．offer win-win deals between consumers and retailers |
| D．have caused a new form of competition among retailers |
Singapor’s glory since its rebirth in 1965 has been a miracle, largely because of the light of Lee. By 1978, the transformation of Singapore into a modern city-state had become an inspiration for Deng Xiaoping, who having just emerged as the paramount leader of China was looking for a way to lead the country out of isolation and poverty. Drawing inspiration from Lee and the success story of Singapore, Deng visited the city-state in 1978 and met with Lee for the first time. Lee said that if Singaporeans can do it, China can also do it.
Soon after returning from Singapore, Deng launched a series of reforms in China. Over the subsequent decades, China has continued the reform and opening-up and it is now the second-largest economy in the world. Perhaps it could be said that part of the plan for China's great reform and transformation took shape in Singapore in 1978 during Deng's meetings with Lee. Ever since that fateful visit, China has learned from Singapore the finer points of governance, management and economic growth. No wonder, over the years China has sent many Party, government and corporate officials to receive training in Singapore.
In 1994, the Singapore Industrial Park in Suzhou, Jiangsu province (now renamed the Suzhou Industrial Park) was set up. Over the years, the industrial park has become a testing ground for many new reform programs in China, including those for social security, venture capital and private equity.
More recently, President Xi Jinping emphasized that China can still learn many things from Singapore.
Today, many people talk about the 21st century being the “Asian century” or the “Asia-Pacific century”, while others have started talking of the “Asian dream”. But Lee was one of the first Asians who truly stood out and demonstrated to the world that Asians can make a difference in terms of global growth and development. Lee’s legacy is based on a solid and healthy dosage of pragmatism, realism, innovation, and commitment to making a better tomorrow.
After 50 years of constant innovation and ceaseless efforts, Singapore is the most developed country among the 10 ASEAN member states, one of the most developed countries in Asia and one of the most successful economies in the world. Rather than being caught up in the day-to-day travails, Lee always chose to stand on the top of the mountain and look beyond the horizon to see deep into the future, which made him a leader of wisdom, courage and vision.
【小题1】According to the passage, we can know ___________.
| A．Few people know the true meaning of “ Kuan Yew” in the world |
| B．The transformation of Singapore started in 1978 |
| C．Deng xiaoping paid a visit to Singapore in 1978 because of the good relationship |
| D．Deng Xiaoping had never met with Lee Kuan Yew before 1978 |
| A．the successful experience of Singapore has greatly influenced china’s reform and transformation |
| B．the Suzhou Industrial Park has tried many new reform programs in China |
| C．the Asians made few contributions to the global growth and development |
| D．constant innovation and ceaseless efforts make Singapore one of the most developed countries in Asia |
①Distinguished
②wise
③easy-going
④brave
⑤creative
⑥visionary
| A．①②④⑥ | B．②③⑤⑥ |
| C．①③⑤⑥ | D．②③④⑤ |
| A．the contributions of Lee Kuan Yew made to china |
| B．the story of a great leader--- Lee Kuan Yew |
| C．the relationship between Lee Kuan Yew and Chinese leaders |
| D．“Light and glory” of Asia example to world |
Forcing waiters and waitresses to survive on tips from customers rather than normal wages is a pointless, crude, and unique American custom that, in the past several years, a handful of progressive restaurant owners have attempted to do away with. Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, is about to join their ranks and has announced that he plans to gradually stop tipping at the company’s 13 restaurants.
What, exactly, is wrong with tipping? As Brian Palmer has explained, more or less it’s everything. To start, leaving a waiter’s pay in the hands of customers has a feeling of classism (阶级歧视)．And in theory, handing restaurant customers the power to tip is at least supposed to motivate better service. This fails in practice because humans turn out to be pretty arbitrary (随意的) about their tipping behavior. Research has shown that the amount diners tip has very little to do with their level of satisfaction. All of this doesn’t encourage waiters and waitresses to do anything but turn over as many tables as possible.
Tipping is also very unfair to kitchen staff. The law allows restaurants to divide tips between front-of-the-house workers like waiters, hosts, hostesses, and bartenders (调酒师), but not cooks. This creates a system in which the people serving the food in a restaurant can earn more than the people preparing it．
One of the most fascinating parts of Meyer’s move is that, unlike some restaurant owners who have taken an anti-tipping stand, he won’t simply add a standard extra charge to diners’ bills. Rather, Union Square Hospitality Group means to raise menu prices enough to fully cover the cost of a meal. If Meyer manages to move away from tipping at all without hurting his profits, it would almost certainly set the stage for others to follow suit.
【小题1】What’s Danny Meyer’s attitude towards stopping tipping?| A．Negative. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Objective. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．Tipping may disturb the restaurants’ management. |
| B．Tipping will guarantee diners high quality service. |
| C．Tipping can arouse the staff’s enthusiasm for work． |
| D．Tipping will bring customers a sense of satisfaction. |
| A．Brian Palmer is in charge of it now. |
| B．Its cooks earn much more than its servers. |
| C．Restaurant tipping has been totally banned there. |
| D．Diners will be charged more for the dishes there. |
| A．Restaurants’ getting rid of tipping. |
| B．Difficulties that restaurants are faced with. |
| C．The popularity of no-tipping restaurants. |
| D．Tips on running restaurants successfully. |
Singapore, a country with a great population, produces only about 10 percent of its own food needs. Only 1 percent of Singapore’s 724 square kilometers is currently used for agriculture.
Singapore has announced new measures designed to quickly increase local food production in the next ten years, including rooftop farming.
This plan includes efforts to find new farming spaces, such as industrial areas and empty building spaces.
The plan were announced as the worldwide spread of COVID-19 has caused shortages of many products, including food in some areas. Limitations on population movements around the world have weaken supply chains and raised concern about worsening shortages and price increases.
But it has decided to speed up the process of increasing local production to begin within the next six months.
| A．The rising prices are hitting customers hard as well. |
| B．Singapore’s Food Agency says its goal is specific. |
| C．Climate change has great influence on food production. |
| D．And production costs there are higher than the rest of Southeast Asia. |
| E．It also calls for adding new technologies to improve farming methods. |
| F．Singapore stated that it has enough food to get through the COVID-19 crisis(危机). |
| G．It wants to meet 30% of nutritional needs with locally produced food by 2030. |
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