Question

It’s really a tough job for automakers doing marketing and sales in China, where competition is acute and customers have little loyalty. They have tried a range of tricks in recent years.

But there should be a moral bottom line. Unfortunately, a Buick dealership used the tragedy of a two-month-old infant to advertise its cars last week on Weibo – Micro blog. And Hyundai Motor followed suit.

On March 4, an SUV was stolen with the infant left inside alone in the northeastern city of Changchun. The news spread widely on Weibo after the baby’s father called the local police and radio station for help. The next day it was revealed that the infant was choked to death and buried in snow by the thief. The online community expressed its deeply felt sympathy and condolences.

The Buick dealership posted a photo of the baby and two of its cars on its official Weibo account to advertise its GPS system that can locate the stolen car. “A few thoughts on the Changchun stolen car and baby incident: when buying a car it’s entirely OK to choose a brand with advanced technology,” said the post. Though the post was made before tragic fate of the infant was known, the action generated a storm of outrage on Weibo. Some online commentators said it is “marketing at the cost of lives” and “extremely despicable.”

Worse was the post on Hyundai’s official Weibo account that advertised the anti – theft system on its new SUV Santa Fe, an entry made after the child was known to have died. The action also enraged micro bloggers.

Both posts were soon deleted. The Buick dealership made an apology on Weibo to the family of the victim and the public. But screenshots saved by users continued to be posted and the negative impact on both brands persists.

The two brands probably didn’t expect such a firestorm of fury from the Internet community, but they really made a big mistake sinking below the moral bottom line. They certainly ruined their own brand images.

The Chinese have the same proverb as the English language – a little leak will sink a great ship. It takes decades to build the great ship of a respectable brand but it can take just a moment of negligence to make it fail completely.

For those in corporate marketing, two lessons should be learned: first, be careful in the era of social media when one wrong can be easily magnified and have disastrous impacts in just a few clicks.

Second and more importantly, think with your brain and heart. Never break the moral bonds of respect for human life and sympathy for our fellow man.

1.Who is to blame for the tragedy of Changchun infant according to the passage________?

A. The baby’s father B. Buick and Hyundai dealership

C. Weibo D. Not clear

2.Which of the following statements is correct________?

A. The missing infant was found alive in the stolen car.

B. Micro blog marketing of tragic infant death fuels firestorm of criticism.

C. People can’t see the two posts any more because they were deleted.

D. The two car brands mentioned in the passage spoiled their own reputation by selling the stolen car.

3.What does the underlined word – “despicable” in paragraph 4 mean________?

A. Immoral B. Important C. Distinguished D. Considerable

4.The reason why Hyundai’s post was worse than Buick’s is that _________.

A. Hyundai dealership didn’t make an apology on Weibo

B. Buick dealership expressed its deeply sympathy and condolences

C. Hyundai’s post was made after people knew the infant had died

D. Buick’s car was more advanced on its GPS system

5.In the last paragraph, the author encourages people __________.

A. not to sink below the moral bottom line

B. not to sympathize our fellow man

C. to think twice before making decision

D. to magnify the mistakes people make

 

Answer 1

1.D

2.B

3.A

4.C

5.A

【解析】

試題分析：發(fā)生在長春的盜車殺嬰案在全國范圍內(nèi)引起了轟動，然而，在人們還沉浸在悲傷的情緒中時，別克和現(xiàn)代卻用此次事件進(jìn)行產(chǎn)品的宣傳，這種突破道德底線的行為引起了人們的憤怒。

1.

2.the infant was choked to death and buried in snow by the thief”可知A錯；根據(jù)第六段“But screenshots saved by users continued to be posted and the negative impact on both brands persists.”可知C項錯誤；第七段“but they really made a big mistake sinking below the moral bottom line. They certainly ruined their own brand images.”指的是它們借此進(jìn)行的宣傳，并非出售被盜車輛，D錯；根據(jù)第七段“The two brands probably didn’t expect such a firestorm of fury from the Internet community”可知，兩個汽車制造商的行為引起了網(wǎng)友的憤怒和批評，故選B。

3. Some online commentators said it is “marketing at the cost of lives” and “extremely despicable.”一些評論家稱，它們是在犧牲他人的生命進(jìn)行宣傳，這樣做是很不道德的，A不道德的；B重要的；C卓越的；D相當(dāng)大的，故選A。

4.an entry made after the child was known to have died”可知，現(xiàn)代在知道嬰兒死亡的消息之后，卻發(fā)表微博進(jìn)行產(chǎn)品宣傳，這樣的行為等于往家屬和網(wǎng)友傷口上撒鹽，故選C。

5.think with your brain and heart. Never break the moral bonds of respect for human life and sympathy for our fellow man.”可知，作者建議人們?nèi)�思后行，不要突破尊重生命和同情他人的道德底線，故選A。

考點：社會類短文閱讀