As an old saying goes, we eat first with our eyes. And China’s version of TikTok is putting that adage to the test by using appetizing video clips to promote meal deliveries.

Over recent years the Douyin short-video service has been expanding into livestreaming , content creation and e-commerce. Now food delivery is on the menu. In a sign of its ambitions, the video-sharing platform has placed job ads for managers to run food delivery services on the recruitment website of parent, Beijing ByteDance Technology Co. Ltd. (BDNCE), which also owns TikTok.

With the latest venture , Douyin would be entering a market dominated by the shopping colossus  Meituan (3690.HK) (OTCPK:MPNGF, OTCPK:MPNGY). Shares in Meituan fell sharply on Feb. 8 after a report that Douyin would launch its food delivery service in March. The shares plunged 9% at one point and ended with a loss of 6.5%, wiping HK$65.6 billion ($8.4 billion) off Meituan’s market value in a single day.

An executive in charge of Douyin’s local life services unit later played down the talk of a March launch for food delivery services. However, Douyin has indeed been testing a feature in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu that enables restaurants to sell its users “group packages”, set meals consisting of several dishes on a standardized menu. If the pilot scheme goes well, it could be expanded to more cities.

Meituan, Ele.me (ELEME) and other companies developed independent platforms for takeout orders, but Douyin simply allows food merchants to promote meals in their short videos or livestreams. The audience can place orders through embedded links and have food delivered by third-party services such as Hangzhou SF Intra-city Industrial  (9699.HK), Dada Nexus (DADA) and FlashEx . The whole process is similar to shopping in Douyin’s livestreaming room.

1.What is Douyin’s new feature that puts it in direct competition with Meituan?

A A livestreaming service.

B A food delivery service.

C An e-commerce platform.

D A social networking site.

解析：选B。B 根据文章，抖音正在测试一种送餐功能，该功能允许餐馆通过短视频和直播中推广的标准化菜单销售几种菜肴的“团体套餐”。这使抖音与中国领先的送餐巨头美团展开了直接竞争。A选项是不正确的，因为文章提到抖音已经扩展到直播、内容创作和电子商务领域，但它的新功能是送餐服务，这使它与美团直接竞争；C选项是不正确的，因为尽管抖音一直在向电子商务扩张，但它与美团直接竞争的新功能是送餐服务；D选项是不正确的，因为抖音已经是一个社交网站了，文章特别提到了它正在测试送餐的一个新功能。故选B。

2.What impact did the news of Douyin's new feature have on Meituan's shares?

A Shares rose sharply.

B Shares fell sharply.

C Shares remained unchanged.

D The article does not mention Meituan’s shares.

解析：选B。B 文章称，抖音推出新送餐功能的消息传出后，美团股价大幅下跌。美团的市值在一天内损失了656亿港元（合84亿美元）。故选B。

3.How does Douyin's platform differ from Meituan and Ele.me?

A Douyin allows food merchants to promote meals in short videos and live streams, while Meituan and Ele.me do not.

B Douyin and Meituan both process orders, while Ele.me does not.

C Douyin and Meituan both have their own delivery services, while Ele.me relies on third-party services.

D Douyin and Meituan both offer group packages, while Ele.me does not.

解析：选A。A 文章提到，与美团和饿了么不同，抖音的平台不处理订单。相反，它允许商家在视频或直播中推广餐食，通过嵌入式链接下单，并由第三方服务提供。B选项是不正确的，因为文章提到抖音的平台不处理订单。相反，订单是通过嵌入式链接下单，并由第三方服务提供，这与美团和饿了么不同；C选项是不正确的，因为文章特别提到抖音上的订单是由第三方提供的，所以抖音不像美团那样有自己的快递服务；D选项是不正确的，因为文章提到美团和饿了么已经开发了独立的外卖订单平台，而抖音只是允许食品商家在短视频或直播中推广餐食。故选A。

4.What is the possible implication of Douyin's food delivery feature if the pilot scheme goes well?

A Douyin will expand its feature to other countries.

B Douyin will shut down its food delivery feature.

C Douyin’s feature could expand to more cities.

D The article does not mention any possible implications of Douyin’s food delivery feature.

解析：选C。C 文章指出：如果抖音送餐功能的试点计划进展顺利，它可能会扩展到更多的城市。这表明，这一功能有可能变得更加广泛，并可能对美团在送餐市场的主导地位构成威胁。A选项是不正确的，因为文章没有提到抖音将其送餐功能扩展到其它国家的任何计划；B选项是不正确的，因为文章没有建议抖音关闭送餐功能；D选项是不正确的，因为文章特别提到，如果抖音送菜功能的试点计划进展顺利，它可以扩展到更多的城市。故选C。