Gretchen Altman is smiling, leaning back casually, a cup of coffee in hand — Hills Bros. Coffee, to be precise. It looks like a casual shot, but if you hit like, leave a comment, and tag a friend, you can get three different cups of coffee, for free.
Altman is part of a growing trend of "micro-influencers". She has a small following — around 6,000 on Instagram(社交平台). Her going rate is $300 to $800 to promote something. She does some posts in exchange for free goods, as long as it’s stuff she believes in.
As a micro-influencer she has a much closer relationship with her followers than a big social media star. "I’m just living a normal life and people relate to that," she says. "They just feel like I’m a friend of theirs."
But it worries consumer rights groups. Several recent studies have found that young audiences are largely unable to understand when something is sponsored content.
In some cases, it’s clear. When a big star takes to a social media to advertise Coca-Cola, for example, the assumption is that he or she’s probably getting paid to do so. And the posts are clearly labeled as ads, with the caption "advertisement" or "sponsored content".
But what happens when an everyday person with just a couple thousand followers takes to social media to extol(颂扬) the virtues of a product? The motivations are not so clear cut. The problem with these social media posts is that you don’t know whether it’s an ad or not.
Altman is diligent about using those hashtags(标签). She loves what she does and sees it as a business, but she doesn’t necessarily want to be a social media celebrity.
"With social media being so integrated into our everyday lives, we have this unique opportunity that I don’t think anyone has ever had before where we can each be our own brand," Altman says.
8.What does a micro-influencer do according to the passage?
A. Give enough likes. B. Post to promote sales.
C. Recommend some comments. D. Design advertisements.
9. What makes consumer rights groups feel worried?
A. Sponsored ads content.
B. Ads with caption on posts.
C. The unclear motivations of the posts.
D. The increasingly growing number of audiences.
10. How does Gretchen Altman feel about being a micro-influencer?
A. Annoyed. B. Delighted. C. Ambitious.   D. Depressed.
11. Which of the following can be the best title?
A. Instagram Advertising: Do You Know It, When You See It
B. To be a Micro-influencer or to be a Big Star
C. We Can Each Be Our Own Top Brand
D. Hills Bros. Coffee, Your Coffee
C
【语篇解读】这是一篇新闻报道，主题语境是人与社会。文章讲述了时下流行的微影响者以及由此可能会引发的问题。
8. B 【解析】细节理解题。联系文章前两段内容可知，微影响者主要是利用自己的粉丝发帖子促销，所以选B。
9. C 【解析】细节理解题。根据文章第四至六段信息综合可知，微影响者发帖子作广告，但不加任何说明，会导致年轻人不能有效辨别，所以这种意图不明的帖子会对浏览者造成困扰，这是消费者权益群体所担心的问题, 故选C。
10. B 【解析】推理判断题。根据最后两段对Altman的叙述和她的话的引述可判断出，她很乐意当微影响者，故选B。
11. A 【解析】标题选择题。根据整篇文章的内容可知，A项作为文章的标题最合适，故选A。