Question

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Economics has long been known as the dismal(凄凉的)science. But is any economist so dreary(沉闷的) as to criticize Christmas? At first glance, the holiday season in western economies seems a treat for those concerned with such vagaries(奇想、异想天开) as GDP growth. After all, everyone is spending; in America, retailers 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 thinking of something that the recipient 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 no mean feat; indeed, it 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 recipient would have bought had they spent the money themselves. Intrigued(激起……兴趣) by this mismatch between wants and gifts.

　　In 1993 Joel Waldfogel, then an economist at Yale University, sought to estimate the disparity(不一致) in dollar terms. In a paper that has proved seminal(开创性的) in the literature on the issue, 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 sentimental value of the items, if you did not have them, how much would you be willing to pay to get them? His results were gloomy: on average, a gift was valued by the recipient well below the price paid by the giver.

　　The most conservative estimate put the average receiver's valuation at 90％ of the buying price. The missing 10％ is what economists call a deadweight loss: a waste of resources that could be averted without making anyone worse off. In other words, if the giver gave the cash value of the purchase instead of the gift itself, the recipient could then buy what she really wants, and be better off for no extra cost.

　　If the results are generalized(无显著特点的), a waste of one dollar in ten represents a huge aggregate(总计) loss to society. 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 advocate 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 gloomy.

B．Because holiday spending can stimulate GDP growth.

C．Because American retailers make a quarter of their yearly sales through holiday season.

D．Because retailers can make as much profit as 60％ over holiday season.

2．The purpose of Joel Waldfogel's study is to ________.

[　　]

A．prove the mismatch between wants and gifts

B．spark new ideas of economic studies on holiday spending

C．evaluate the disparity between wants and gifts in economic terms

D．discover the exact cost of holiday spending on gift giving

3．Economists think of the missing 10％ of holiday spending a deadweight loss because ________.

[　　]

A．the cash value of the purchase is lower than the buying price

B．it makes many people even worse off for spending more on unwanted gifts

C．with the money the recipients can be better off for no extra cost

D．it is actually a waste of resources in economic terms

4．According to the passage altogether how much money is wasted every year on gift-giving?

[　　]

A．About $ 40 billion.

B．About $ 4 billion.

C．About 10％ of the total value.

D．Much more than $ 4 billion.

Answer 1

答案：B;C;D;D
解析：

1．B　　文章第一段指出，对于那些非常关心GDP(国内生产总值)的人，假日消费带来一种特殊的乐趣。因为过节的时候人们要花许多钱购买礼物，从而刺激消费，刺激经济的增长。因此正确答案为B。选项C、D在文中是具体的事例，用以说明假日消费对美国经济的重大影响。 　　2．C　　第三段开头便交待了经济学家Joel Waldfogel从经济学的角度研究由于礼物不能满足被赠与人的实际需要所带来的经济后果(…sought to estimate the disparity in dollar terms)。因此正确答案为C。 　　3．D　　根据第四段第二句：The missing 10％ is what economists call a deadweight loss: a waste of resources that…可知正确答案为D。本题中选项C是个似是而非的答案。在这里考生需认真理解句与句之间的关系。文中冒号后的部分是对经济学家看法的解释。in other words后的部分则是用浅显的语言来解释前面提及的深刻道理。 　　4．D　　文章最后一段谈及每年过节的时候由于送礼而造成的经济损失。圣诞节期间浪费的金钱总额累计达到40亿美元。再算上一年当中各种各样的节日，浪费的数额将大大增加(Add in birthdays, weddings and non-Christian occasions, and the figure would balloon.)本段中bal一词意为“激增，飞涨，迅速增长或上升”。