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】

试题分析：发生在长春的盗车杀婴案在全国范围内引起了轰动，然而，在人们还沉浸在悲伤的情绪中时，别克和现代却用此次事件进行产品的宣传，这种突破道德底线的行为引起了人们的愤怒。

1.

2.the infant was choked to death and buried in snow by the thief”可知A错；根据第六段“But screenshots saved by users continued to be posted and the negative impact on both brands persists.”可知C项错误；第七段“but they really made a big mistake sinking below the moral bottom line. They certainly ruined their own brand images.”指的是它们借此进行的宣传，并非出售被盗车辆，D错；根据第七段“The two brands probably didn’t expect such a firestorm of fury from the Internet community”可知，两个汽车制造商的行为引起了网友的愤怒和批评，故选B。

3. Some online commentators said it is “marketing at the cost of lives” and “extremely despicable.”一些评论家称，它们是在牺牲他人的生命进行宣传，这样做是很不道德的，A不道德的；B重要的；C卓越的；D相当大的，故选A。

4.an entry made after the child was known to have died”可知，现代在知道婴儿死亡的消息之后，却发表微博进行产品宣传，这样的行为等于往家属和网友伤口上撒盐，故选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，作者建议人们三思后行，不要突破尊重生命和同情他人的道德底线，故选A。

考点：社会类短文阅读