Question

We’ve considered several ways of paying to cut in line: hiring line standers, buying tickets from scalpers (票贩子), or purchasing line-cutting privileges directly from, say, an airline or an amusement park. Each of these deals replaces the morals of the queue (waiting your turn) with the morals of the market (paying a price for faster service).

Markets and queues—paying and waiting—are two different ways of allocating things, and each is appropriate to different activities. The morals of the queue, “ First come, first served,冶 have an egalitarian (平等主义的）appeal. They tell us to ignore privilege, power, and deep pockets.

The principle seems right on playgrounds and at bus stops. But the morals of the queue do not govern all occasions. If I put my house up for sale, I have no duty to accept the first offer that comes along, simply because it’s the first. Selling my house and waiting for a bus are different activities, properly governed by different standards.

Sometimes standards change, and it is unclear which principle should apply. Think of the recorded message you hear, played over and over, as you wait on hold when calling your bank: “Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received•” This is essential for the morals of the queue. It’s as if the company is trying to ease our impatience with fairness.

But don’t take the recorded message too seriously. Today, some people’s calls are answered faster than others. Call center technology enables companies to “score” incoming calls and to give faster service to those that come from rich places. You might call this telephonic queue jumping.

Of course, markets and queues are not the only ways of allocating things. Some goods we distribute by merit, others by need, still others by chance. However, the tendency of markets to replace queues, and other non-market ways of allocating goods is so common in modern life that we scarcely notice it anymore. It is striking that most of the paid queue-jumping schemes we，ve considered—at airports and amusement parks, in call centers, doctors’ offices, and national parks—are recent developments, scarcely imaginable three decades ago. The disappearance of the queues in these places may seem an unusual concern, but these are not the only places that markets have entered.

58. According to the author, which of the following seems governed by the principle “First come, first served”?

A. Taking buses.                                    B. Buying houses.

C. Flying with an airline.                         D. Visiting amusement parks.

59. The example of the recorded message in Paragraphs 4 and 5 illustrates ______.

A. the necessity of patience in queuing

B. the advantage of modern technology

C. the uncertainty of allocation principle

D. the fairness of telephonic services

60. The passage is meant to ______.

A. justify paying for faster services         B. discuss the morals of allocating things

C. analyze the reason for standing in line       D. criticize the behavior of queue jumping

Answer 1

【语篇解读】本文是一篇议论文，题材是生活中购物买票等的插队问题。作者通过举例、道理分析来解读道德和市场的平衡问题，要想得到快速的服务，就要额外付出更多的费用，由此对在道德和市场竞争之间产生的矛盾进行探讨。

段落	关键词、句	大意推测
第一部分（Para. 1）	ways of paying to cut in line；replaces the morals of the queue；with the morals of the market；	举例提出论点：想出许多通过付费来解决排队等候的问题，市场代替排队问题。
第二部分（Para. 2-3）	Markets and queues; ways of allocating things; morals of the queue,  ignore privilege, power, and deep pockets，seems right，But ，not govern，different standards	分析论点：市场和排队是分配事务的俩种方式，排队的道德问题的不同运用场合。
第三部分（Para. 4-5）	Sometimes standards change; unclear; the recorded message; essential;  too seriously; enables; queue jumping	举例论证：有时评价标准也是变化的，以记录的消息为例进行论证说明。
第三部分（Para. 6）	not the only ways；However；so common； striking；scarcely imaginable；but	其他标准原则：市场的介入给我们的生活带来的巨大变化。

【解析】

58.A。细节理解题。难度：中等。题干关键词为“First come, first served”，定位第二、三段。第二段描述的是排队的道德问题，又根据The principle seems right on playgrounds and at bus stops. Selling my house and waiting for a bus are different activities, properly governed by different standards.（卖房和等公交车是不同的活动，受不同标准的制约。）可知等公交车受到“先到先得”这一标准制约的，而卖房不在此列。

干扰项排除：由上面的分析课排除B项卖房的问题；再根据第一段第一句可知，直接从航空公司和游乐园购买票的专利权可以避免排队等候的问题，可以排除C和D两项。

59.C。细节理解题。难度：中等。题干关键词为illustrates ，定位于第四五段。第四段第一句话Sometimes standards change, and it is unclear which principle should apply.说明了适用规则的不确定性，第五段第一句话But don’t take the recorded message too seriously. 又说不要太把这个事例当回事，也说明了这一点。

干扰项排除：A项排队耐心等待的必要性与这两段的描述内容不符，可排除；B项现代科技的优势不是作者叙述的重点，只是一个举例论证方法；D项电话服务业的公平性也不对，应该说是其时效性和优质的服务性等。

60. B。主旨大意题。难度：中等。题干关键词为is meant to，定位于全篇文章。第二段和第六段的第一句都多次表明了这篇文章的一个核心话题就是分配事务的道德问题的探讨。

解题思路：找出文中多次出现的复现句，反复讨论的话题大多就是文章的主旨。

干扰项排除：A项说快速支付服务的证明，这样的总结过于片面；C项是对第一段内容的据不理解；D项批评插队行为也是过于狭隘，不能从整体上把握全篇的主旨。

【难句学习】

1. If I put my house up for sale, I have no duty to accept the first offer that comes along, simply because it’s the first.

翻译：如果我卖房子，我没有义务接受第一个提出购房的客户的条件，不会仅仅因为他是第一个出资人。

分析：本句是一个主从复合句。其主干是I have no duty to accept the first offer。分句是if引导条件状语从句，主句中包含一个that引导的定语从句修饰先行词the first offer；同时主句中还包含了一个because引导的原因状语从句。

1.        Sometimes standards change, and it is unclear which principle should apply.

翻译：有时标准也是会发生变化的，而且到底适用那一条原则也不明确。

分析：本句是一个并列句。And后面的分句中含有一个名词性从句，it为形式主语，真正的主语是which principle should apply这一个主语从句。