“Even those born poor fear the heat.” This slogan， printed on a lemonade from Mixue， a drinks-and-ice-cream chain， says a lot about Chinese consumption. The beverage has been a wild success during a heatwave sweeping the country， less for its tart， refreshing properties than for its price. A cup sells for as little as 3.6 yuan （$0.50）， compared with 15 yuan for milk tea. Its popularity， bloggers speculate， reflects darkening consumer sentiment and growing stinginess（節(jié)儉傾向）.

The bitter truth is that consumer confidence has continued to weaken this year， instead of recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Even Shanghai， China’s consumption capital， witnessed retail spending fall by 2.3% year on year in the first half of 2024. Much of this is linked to the moribund housing maIzY5nMeh3yaMmJZMp2Tp8w==rket， by far the biggest destination for household investment.

Hence why downgrading is becoming a fact of life， as documented by writers across China. One food-industry author has tracked high-end eateries going out of business in Beijing. These include a Michelin-starred restaurant from Umberto Bombana， an Italian chef， Others have noted the rise of bargains. A blogger counted over 5，000 new restaurants that offer buffet-style deals. Such restaurants， writes another blogger， show “involution” intense， self-harming competition taking hold.

Many youngsters are happy to flaunt their tightfistedness. Some have started carrying the plastic bags in which milk tea is delivered in place of designer holdalls. Far fewer genuine luxury bags are being bought.

Near-expiry-date make-up shops have grabbed attention on social media. Many clearance stores now sell snacks and lipstick at less than half price.

But the government appears flummoxed. On August 3rd， the State Council released a 20-point plan to support consumption in areas such as child and elderly care， education， sports and tourism. But the guidelines focus on the long-term cultivation of markets， not “one-off helicopter money to households”， as analysts at HSBC a bank， noted. Indeed， Mr. Xi has been resistant to handouts. He has instead told China’s youth to persevere through the tough times— or “eat bitterness” as the Chinese saying goes. Many will suck it down with a straw this summer.

（材料選自The Economist，有刪改）

1.What is the author’s main point of view when using the example of Mixue？

A.The price of lemonade from Mixue is lower than that of milk tea.

B.The lemonade from Mixue is more popular than milk tea.

C.Customers are gradually experiencing consumer sentiment and growing stinginess.

D.The ultra-low price of Mixue has affected the interests of policymakers， and the interests of the business community.

2.Which of the following phenomena is not a decrease in people’s consumption confidence？

A.Shanghai， the consumer capital of China， saw a year on year decrease of 2.3% in retail spending in the first half of this year.

B.High-end eateries going out of business in Beijing， including the Michelin starred restaurant run by Italian chef Umberto Bambana， have all closed down.

C.Some young people have started carrying the plastic bags in which milk tea is delivered in place of designer holdalls.

D.Many clearance stores now sell snacks and lipstick at less than one-third price.

3.What does the bold and underlined sentence in the fourth paragraph indicate？

A.It means that more and more young people like to show off their luxury goods.

B.It means that many young people like to compare who buys things with cost-effectiveness.

C.It means that many young people show off their stinginess to others.

D.It means that many young people are living a poor and unhappy life.

4.What is the main topic of this article？

A.How Chinese shoppers downgraded their ambitious.

B.People are becoming increasingly frugal， even trying not to consume as much as possible.

C.The rise of discount stores has led to a decrease in China’s consumption level.

D.A significant reduction in high-end restaurants.

1.C。解析：細節(jié)理解題。材料第一段的最后一句提到“一杯檸檬水售價僅3.6元（約0.50美元），而相比之下，一杯奶茶的價格高達15元。博主們推測，這種現(xiàn)象反映了消費者情緒的低迷和日益增長的節(jié)儉傾向”，C選項與材料內容相符，故選C。

2.D。解析：細節(jié)理解題。材料第五段的第二句提到“許多清倉商店現(xiàn)在以不到一半的價格出售零食和口紅”。D選項“許多清倉商店現(xiàn)在以不到三分之一的價格出售零食和口紅”與材料內容不符，故選D。

3.C。解析：推理判斷題。材料第四段畫線部分的意思是“許多年輕人樂于炫耀他們的吝嗇”。A選項“這意味著越來越多的年輕人喜歡炫耀他們的奢侈品”，B選項“這意味著許多年輕人喜歡比較誰買的東西性價比更高”，D選項“這意味著許多年輕人過著貧窮和不幸福的生活”均與材料內容不符，不選。C選項“這意味著許多年輕人向別人炫耀他們的吝嗇”與材料內容相符，故選C。

4.A。解析：主旨大意題。根據(jù)材料內容可知文章主題是“中國消費者降低了消費期望”，A選項符合題意；而B、C、D選項分別是中國消費者降低了消費期望的3個表現(xiàn)，與題意不符，不選。