2021届高考英语原汁原味外刊热点话题 地摊经济：文明城市里温暖的烟火气（解析版）.docVIP

备战2021高考英语原汁原味外刊热点话题阅读特辑 day8: Street economy: The warm glow of a civilized city 地摊经济：文明城市里温暖的烟火气 课前导读： “夜市直至三更尽，才五更又复开张。如耍闹去处，通晓不绝。”这是宋代的孟元老在其著作《东京梦华录》中记载的夜市场景，繁华之象可见一斑。中国的夜市文化由来已久，在小摊小贩们搭起的一方天地里，不论是从前还是现在，也不论是文人墨客还是市井之家，都能在其中一睹纷繁世相，一品那人间烟火。 Market traders and street vendors（小贩）are making a comeback across China, and this time they find themselves equipped with a new set of digital skills essential to directing the vast consumer market. To make mom-and-pop retail stands active, the country’s leading e-commerce platforms are lending a helping hand, offering a series of services from inventory support to accessible financing backed by technologies to finally promote domestic（国内的）spending and employment. Domestic wholesale site 1688.com is among the first group of tech players with such offerings. At the heart of the action plan is an effort to link street vendors directly with factories, effectively avoiding middlemen and saving time and costs. “The large number of small-scale merchants on the site has managed to gain the upper hand in price negotiations, while manufacturers are more willing to mass-produce goods as the economy of scale serves to reduce costs, thus creating a win-win situation,” general manager Wang Hai said. On the financial front, 1688’s parent Alibaba Group is offering interest-free loans worth a total of 70 billion yuan ($9.8 billion), with which qualified merchants can purchase goods in quantity. Risk assessment for each applicant is conducted by sister service Mybank. Meanwhile, e-commerce giant JD.com has promised to secure quality goods worth more than 50 billion yuan and is offering each stall keeper up to 100,000 yuan worth of interest-free loans for the purpose of filling their inventory. To stabilize employment, JD decided to add a number of job positions that either require flexible working hours, allow working from home or are designed to promote startup businesses. For posts related to logistics, delivery, warehouse management and p