A
(2021·宁波模拟)
With Chinese consumers hit by quarantine(隔离期)and travel restrictions as well as just cautious about going out to the shops due to the coronavirus epidemic(流行病), companies in China are experimenting with new tricks to make sales.
Oil giant Sinopec—keen to get customers back in their cars and help farmers due to roadblocks—launched a new project last month called “zerotouch” vegetable sales at its 6, 000 gas stations in 147 Chinese cities. Consumers place and pay for orders on the app and when they drive up, gas station employees put the vegetables into their car trunk, eliminating any need for human-to-human contact.
“The coronavirus outbreak has made it difficult for people to shop as before, ” said Li Hong, vice president of Sinopec’s convenience store sales division. “Travel demand has been falling, but demand for food is pretty rigid. ”
Mengniu Dairy, China’s dairy producer, is racing to add more vending machines to the 10, 000 it currently has, saying the epidemic has driven unexpectedly strong demand for the sales channel. Its system allows customers to order products like milk and yoghurt online which can then be picked up from their local vending machine. “The virus outbreak has decreased consumption for dairy products as people are unwilling to go to the supermarket, ” said Meng Fanjie, head of the company’s Communist Party committee.
Luckin Coffee, a competitive rival to Starbucks, now also offers the sanitizer (消毒剂) products (e. g. hand soap) besides coffee. Liu Xingliang, an independent retail analyst, said, however, that Luckin’s strategy would have only a modest impact. “At best some users will place an order when they buy coffee, but nobody is deliberately choosing the Luckin app just to buy sanitizer. ”
【文章大意】本文是新闻报道, 文章讲述了由于冠状病毒的流行人们对外出购物持谨慎态度, 一些中国企业正在尝试“无接触”模式的新销售手段。
1. According to the passage, why did some companies adopt new selling methods?
A. Citizens were not allowed to go out.
B. The demand for travel and food declined sharply.
C. The coronavirus epidemic changed people’s way of life.
D. Companies desired to grasp the chance to defeat their competitors.
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据第一段的With Chinese consumers hit by quarantine and travel restrictions as well as just cautious about going out to the shops due to the coronavirus epidemic, companies in China are experimenting with new tricks to make sales. 可知, 是因为冠状病毒的流行改变了人们的生活方式, 企业才采用新的销售手段。故选C。
2. What does the underlined word “eliminating” in Paragraph 2 most probably refer to?
A. meeting B. removing
C. decreasing D. limiting
【解析】选B。词义猜测题。根据第二段可知中石化启动了“零接触”蔬菜销售的新项目, 所以是eliminating (消除)了人与人的接触, 可用removing (去掉)代替。故选B。
3. The passage is written mainly to_________.
A. illustrate the difficulty caused by the coronavirus epidemic
B. explain the changes made by some companies in the epidemic
C. describe the challenges some companies met during the epidemic
D. reveal the intelligence people showed in the coronavirus epidemic
【解析】选B。主旨大意题。文章第一段点明文章大意, 由于冠状病毒的流行人们对外出购物持谨慎态度, 中国企业正在尝试“无接触”模式的新销售手段; 第二至四段进行举例说明, 第二、三段讲中石化因疫情采取“零接触”蔬菜销售的新项目; 第四段讲蒙牛也因疫情采取了网上订购产品, 然后顾客从当地的自动售货机上取货的新销售模式; 所以本文主要讲一些公司在疫情期间所做的改变。故选B。
