阅读理解。 Economics has long been known as an unpleasant science. But is any eco
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阅读理解。 |
Economics has long been known as an unpleasant science. But is any economist so dull as to criticize Christmas? At first glance, the holiday season in western economies seems a treat for those who are concerned with such things as GDP growth. After all, everyone is spending; in America, sellers make 25 % of their yearly sales and 60 % of their profits between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even so, economists find something to worry about in the nature of the purchases being made. Much of the holiday spending is on gifts for others. At the simplest level, giving gifts involves the giver"s thinking of something that the receiver would like - he tries to guess her preferences, as economists say - and then buying the gift and delivering it. Yet this guessing of preferences is often done badly. Every year, ties go unworn and books unread. And even if a gift is enjoyed, it may not be what the receiver would have bought if they had spent the money themselves. Interested in this mismatch between wants and gifts, in 1993 Joel Waldfogel, then an economist at Yale University, attempted to estimate the disparity(差距) in dollar terms. He asked students two questions at the end of a holiday season: first, estimate the total amount paid (by the givers) for all the holiday gifts you received; second, apart from the emotional value of the items, if you did not have them, how much would you be willing to pay to get them? His results were unpleasant: on average, a gift was valued by the receiver well below the price paid by the giver. The most conservative(保守的) estimate put the average receiver"s valuation at 90% of the buying price. The missing 10% is what economists call a deadweight loss(无谓损失)because it"s a waste of resources that could be avoided without making anyone poorer. In other words, if the giver gave the cash value of the purchase instead of the gift itself, the receiver could then buy what he/she really wants and be better off for no extra cost. It suggests that in America, where givers spend $40 billion on Christmas gifts, $ 4 billion is being lost annually in the process of gift giving. Add in birthdays, weddings and non Christian occasions, and the figure would balloon. So should economists call for an end to gift giving, or at least press for money to become the gift of choice? |
1. Why do some people regard the holiday season in western economies a treat? |
A. Because the economic situation in US has been depressing. B. Because American sellers make a quarter of their yearly sales through holiday seasons. C. Because holiday spending can speed up GDP growth. D. Because sellers can make as much profit as 60 % every holiday season. |
2. What"s the main idea for the second paragraph? |
A. In many cases the gifts cannot meet the receivers" needs. B. The purchases made over holiday season are actually a waste of money. C. It"s really not easy to guess the others" preferences. D. Much of the holiday spending is on gifts for others. |
3. The purpose of Joel Waldfogel"s study is to _____. |
A. prove the mismatch between wants and gifts B. estimate the disparity (差距) between wants and gifts in economic terms C. spark new ideas of economic studies on holiday spending D. discover the exact cost of holiday spending on gift giving |
4. Economists think of the misusing 10% of holiday spending as a deadweight loss because_______. |
A. the cash value of the purchase is lower than the buying price B. it is actually a waste of resources in economic terms C. with the money the givers can be better off for no extra cost D. it makes many people even poorer for spending more on unwanted gifts |
5. According to the passage altogether how much money is wasted every year on gift giving? |
A. About $4 billion. B. About 10% of the total value. C. About $40 billion. D. Much more than $4 billion. |
答案
1-5: CABBD |
举一反三
阅读理解 |
During the past few years,scientists the world over have suddenly found themselves productively engaged in the task they once spent their lives avoiding-writing,any kind of writing,and particularly letter writing.Encouraged by electronic mail"s surprisingly high speed,convenience and economy,people who never before touched the stuff are regularly,skillfully,even cheerfully tapping out a great deal of correspondence. Electronic networks,woven into the fabric of scientific communication these days are the route to colleagues in distant countries to share data,bulletin boards and electronic journals.Anyone with personal computer,a modem and the software to link computers over telephone lines can sign on.An estimated five million scientists have done so with more joining every day,most of them communicating through bundle of interconnected domestic and foreign routes known collectively as the Internet,or net. E-mail is starting to edge out the fax,the telephone,over-night mail,and of course,land mail.It shrinks time and distance between scientific collaborators,in part because it is conveniently asynchronous (writers can type while their colleagues across time zones sleep;their message will be waiting).If it is not yet speeding discoveries,it is certainly accelerating communication. Jeremy Bernstei,the physicist and science writer,once called E-mail the physicist"s umbilical cord (生命线).Lately other people,too,have been discovering its connective virtues.Physicists are using it;college students are using it;everybody is using it,and as a sign that it has come of age,the New Yorker has celebrated its liberating presence with a cartoon-an appreciative dog seated at a keyboard,saying happily,"On the Internet nobody knows you"re a dog." |
1.The reasons given below about the popularity of E-mail can be found in the passage except . |
A.direct and convenient B.time-saving in delivery C.money-saving D.available around the clock |
2.How is the Internet or net explained in the passage? |
A.Electronic routes used to fax or correspond overnight. B.Electronic routes used to read home and international journals. C.Electronic routes waiting for correspondence while one is sleeping. D.Electronic routes connected among millions of users home and abroad. |
3.Which statement is the closest in meaning to the underlined sentence in the third paragraph? |
A.It shrinks time for communication and accelerates discoveries. B.Although it does not speed up correspondence,it helps make discoveries. C.It quickens communication even if it does not accelerate discoveries. D.The quick speed of correspondence may have ill effects on discoveries. |
4.The writer mainly tells that in the last paragraph. |
A. E-mail is nowadays becoming a trend B. E-mail can sometimes be unreliable C. the presence of E-mail deserves a discussion D. E-mail users often ignore its disadvantages |
阅读理解。 |
Tickets for the World Expo (世博会) 2010 will go on sale for groups on March 27, and for the public on July 1, 2009. The basic ticket price will be 160 yuan. Foreigners will be able to buy tickets from overseas outlets authorized by the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination (BSWEC) From March 27 to June 30, group bookings can be made for organizations, institutions and enterprises.The public can buy tickets from July 1. Peak day admission tickets will cost 200 yuan and will cover 17 days including Chinese Labor Day holiday (May 1-3), National Day holiday (October 1-7), and the last week before closing (October 25-31). Tickets will be discounted from 10 to 30 yuan for those who buy before the Expo opens on May 1, 2010.People going to the Expo after 5pm (apart from the peak days) can get tickets for 90 yuan but only during Expo.Three-day passes will cost 400 yuan and seven-day passes 900 yuan. At least 62 million tickets will be available. Discounts will also be offered to the disabled, senior citizens, students with valid IDs and Chinese servicemen and women. Children under 1.2 meters will not have to pay. he basic price is "affordable" for the majority of people. It was common practice to set ticket prices within the 1 to 3 percent range of the host country"s per-capita disposable income (人均可支配收入). The Expo organizer will encourage people to reserve tickets in advance or buy group tickets in an attempt to control visitor flow. The organizer is expecting 70 million visitors, 5 percent of whom will be from overseas. The organizer will appoint domestic and overseas agencies to sell tickets and there will be 3,200 sales outlets in China. People will be able to purchase tickets at branches of China Mobile, China Telecom, Bank of Communications <http://www.bankcomm.com/jh/en/index.jsp> and China Post. Online and hotline channels will also be opened. The first domestic and overseas ticket sales agencies will sign contracts with the organizer on March 2.During Expo, visitors will be able to buy tickets on site or at kiosks(电话亭). The Expo Bureau will appoint travel agents to organize group tours.
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1. If you want to visit Expo at 9 a.m. on May 2, 2010, you will have to pay ______ for the ticket. |
A. 200 yuan B. 90 yuan C. 160 yuan D. 190 yuan |
2. To control visitor flow, the Expo organizer will ________ . |
A. sign contracts with the sales agencies B. appoint travel agents to organize group tours C. appoint domestic and overseas agencies to sell tickets D. encourage people to book tickets ahead of time or buy group tickets |
3. The main idea of this passage is _________. |
A. where people can buy Shanghai Expo tickets B. that Shanghai World Expo will be held on 2010 C. that Shanghai World Expo tickets will set to go on sale D. how people can buy tickets to visit Shanghai World Expo |
阅读理解。 |
"But I just paid 1. 69 for this bottle of wine last week. How is it that the price is 2.25?" There are at least three things going on that have caused the price of wine to rise. All have to do with the supply and demand factors of economics. The first factor is that people are drinking more wine than ever before. This demand formore wine has increased wine sales in America at the rate of 15 percent a year. The second factor is that the supply of wine has stayed relatively the same, which meansthat the same number of bottles is produced each year. Wine producers are trying to open upnew land to grow more grapes. But in at least three wine producing areas of the world-France,Germany, and California - new vineyards (葡萄园)will not be useable in the near future. Wines are produced in other countries, such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal, as well as Argentine,Australia, Austria, and Chile. And these wines will be seen more often on the American market. But none of these countries will be able to fill the good wines. The third factor is that costs of wine production are soaring. The workers who make wine are asking for more money, and the machinery needed to press the grapes is becoming more expensive. When the demand for something is greater than the supply, prices go up. When productioncosts, meaning the price of labor and machinery rise, the producer adds this increase to the price of the wine. For these reasons, that bottle of wine now costs 2. 25 instead of 1. 69. |
1. What is the main idea of this passage? |
A. Every year people drink more wine. B. Countries won"t be able to fill the demand for good wines. C. The prices of things go up when the demand for them is greater than the supply. D. The supply of wine will always be less than demand. |
2. This passage is written to. |
A. describe where wine is produced B. persuade people drink more beer C. explain why the price of wine is rising D. describe why wine is a favorite drink to many Americans |
3. The underlined word "soaring" means". |
A. adding quickly B. reducing fast C. demanding badly D. increasing fast |
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。 No. 1 Will the economic climate improve this year? I don"t think we will see too much improvement this year, but of course I hope so. No. 2 How important is an MBA compared to experience? I won"t say a degree isn"t important. 一 1 . When I look at potential employees, I look at what they have done in the past that I can use to help me tomorrow. No. 3 How can you ensure your job is safe with the economy so shaky? No job is safe. Never will it be. The half-life of any particular skill set is, at most, five years. And that"s on the long side. 2__Be curious, be willing to learn, have a moral compass and know what gives your life meaning. No. 4 When the job market is this bad, how can you distinguish yourself as a andidate? Know the company, its competitive position, recent announcements, stock-price history. Do a Google or Yahoo search on the person you"ll be meeting with and you should be able tofind something about him or her. Then develop an "outsider"s view" of their key needs and opportunities. 3___ No. 5 I"m graduating from business school this spring. 4___ If you haven"t already secured an internship (职业院校证)within your chosen field, do sonow. Take any internship; forget about being paid. 5___ the experience in your field and the opportunity to check out onto a possible employee. Your connections, and your connections connections, will be the hot ticket to get you in the door for job interviews. A. You are after two things. B. Do all you can to be the solution to someone else"s problem. C. Will technology create more jobs? D. Any job advice? E. But nothing beats experience. F. What will keep you alive? G. Different jobs needs different skills. |
阅读理解 |
Raymond Schneider politely made his way through crowds of customers as he made for the candy bins at Dylan"s Candy Bar in Manhattan. Since he was out of employment, Mr. Schneider, a 33-year-old designer, says he has become a person who always buys a lot of sweets every time he shops for groceries. "Sugar is comforting," he said. "There"s nothing more stressful than growing financial insecurity (不安 全感) everywhere." The recession (经济衰退) seems to have a sweet tooth. As unemployment has risen, Americans, particularly adults, have been consuming (消费) growing amounts of candy. Theories vary on exactly why. For many, sugar lifts spirits dragged low by the economy. For others, candy also reminds them of better times. And not importantly, it is relatively cheap. At Candyality, a store in Chicago, business has jumped by nearly 80 percent and the owner, Terese McDonald, said she was struggling to keep up with the demand for Bit-O-Honeys, and Sour Balls. Many big candy makers are also reporting rising sales and big profits (利润). "It"s not surprising." said Peter Liebhold, chairman of the Smithsonian Institution"s work and industry division. "During the Great Depression in the 1930"s, candy companies stayed in business." |
1. Raymond Schneider was set as an example to show ________. |
A. many Americans were jobless in the recession B. lots of Americans like candies C. many Americans in the recession like sweets which are comforting D. Americans are suffering much in the recession |
2. What does the underlined sentence mean? |
A. Candy consuming rises while people are suffering bad effects of the recession. B. The recession doesn"t affect Americans. C. Americans are optimistic even though they are out of employment. D. Candy companies stayed in business during the Great Depression. |
3. Which is NOT the reason why people in the recession like sugar? |
A. It is relatively cheap. B. It is comforting and can make a lot of profits. C. It raises people"s spirits up. D. It calls up people"s good memories. |
4. The best title of the passage is ________. |
A. Sugar Is Comforting B. Candy Companies Has a Bright Future C. Americans Have a Sweet Tooth D. Sugar Sales Rise in the Recession |
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