Online shoppers would rather receive an offer for a product or service than make their own offer ₃ according to a study led by a Michigan State University scholar that has implications for the fast-growing e-commerce industry. The findings may come as a surprise given that shopping online is an anonymous(匿名的）process that seemingly can give consumers more confidence to drive a hard bargain_,said Don Conlon ，Professor of Management in MSU’s Broad College of Business.

But the study found that participants who made their own offers were less successful in sealing the deal and ，when they were successful_? worried they overpaid Many shoppers found the process of researching an offer to be a hassle. “ Americans are very busy，and it’s less time-consuming to be the one receiving the offer rather than the one proposing the offer  ” Conlon said. ^u People tend to be happier when they’re in the receiver role. ”

Online spending in the United States is expected to jump 45 percent in the next four years， from $ 226 billion this year to $ 327 billion in 2017，according to Forrester Research Inc. Nevertheless, researches into this prosperous market remain largely focused on the strategies of companies, rather than those o£ shoppers. Conlon^’s study is ，obviously, a rare exception.

Conlon got the idea for the study after considering the difference between two popular sites for hotels and airline flights, priceline.com, which takes bids, and hotwire.com ，which provides offers. Using these two models ，Conlon and his fellow researchers conducted a series of experiments with more than 850 people who were charged with booking a fictional hotel room and acquiring a fictional antique car. Not only did participants prefer to receive bids, Conlon said ，but they also secured more deals in that receiver role. Further ，when they had to make the bids ，they were left more mentally taxed and regretful.

From an industry perspective，putting customers in the receiver role may help fill more hotel rooms and airplane seats. “If you’re a business with a lot of products₃ ” Conlon said，“you may want to be the one making the offers. ” However, when selling single items, such as an antique car， accepting bids may be a better option since that typically drives up the price, he said.

1.What can we learn from Para. 1?

A．The result of the study gives customers more confidence.

B．Scholars aren’t surprised at the findings of the study.

C．Online shoppers don’t bargain as much as expected.

D．E-commerce industry drives more hard bargains.

2.It can be concluded from Conlon’s experiments that______.

A．online shopping is time-consuming

B．given prices help promote online sales

C．online businesses provide a lot of products

D．receiving offers makes online shoppers regretful

3.The underlined word “taxed” in Para. 4 probably means______.

A．burdened         B．numbed           C．relieved          D．challenged

4.The passage is mainly about______.

A．the big advantages of online shopping

B．the rapid development of online shopping

C．online shoppers’ preference for taking offers

D．online companies strategies to improve service

 

根据文章内容，从方框A-F选项中，选出每一段的小题或能概括主题思想的最佳选项，选项中有一项为多余选项。

A. The Introduction of Paris

B. The Culture of Paris

C. The Population Growth in Paris

D. The Production of Paris

E. The Education in Paris

F. The Industries in Paris

1._____________________

Paris, the capital and the largest city of the country, is in north central France. The Paris metropolitan area contains nearly 20% of the nation’s population and is the economic, cultural, and political center of France. The French government have historically favored the city as the site for all decision making, thus powerfully attracting nearly all of the nation’s activities.

2._____________________

Paris has grown steadily since it was chosen as the national capital in the late 10th century. With the introduction of the Industrial Revolution, a great number of people moved to the city from the country during the 19th century. The migration was especially stimulated by the construction of railroads, which provided easy access to the capital. After World War II more and more immigrants arrived.

3.____________________

The city is the centralized（中央集权） control point of most national radio and television broadcasting. It is a place of publication of the most prestigious(有威望的)newspapers and magazines and an international book publishing center. With more than 100 museums, Paris has truly one of the greatest concentrations of art treasures in the world. The Louvre, opened as a museum in 1793, is one of the largest museums in the world.

4.___________________

In the late 1980s about 4.1 million pupils annually attended about 47,000 elementary schools. In addition, about 5.4 million students attended some 11,200 secondary schools. Approximately 1.2 million students were enrolled（录取） annually at universities and colleges in France in the late 1980s. French centers of learning have served as academic models throughout the world.

5.___________________

Paris is the leading industrial center of France, with about one quarter of the nation’s manufacturing concentrated in the metropolitan area. Industries of consumers goods have always been drawn to Paris by the enormous market of the big population; and modern, high-technology industries also have become numerous since World War II. Chief manufactures are machinery, automobiles, chemicals and electrical equipment.

 

Jerry stood up and looked at the crowd of people making their way through the station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he    36  , the girl with the    37  . The story had begun twelve months before in a    38  . Taking a book off the shelf he found himself    39   by the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting    40   a thoughtful soul and an insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the    41   owner’s name, Rosanna.

During the next year the two grew to know each other through the    42   . Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. The day finally came for their first    43   - 7:00 PM at the station.

A beautiful young woman was coming toward me, her    44  tall and slim. I started to walk toward her with delight, entirely forgetting to    45   that she was not wearing a rose. I    46  made one step closer to her, and then I saw Rosanna, a short and fat woman well past 40, was standing almost directly    47   the girl. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away.

I felt   48   I was split in two, and there she stood. My fingers gripped the worn leather copy of the    49   that was to identify me to her. I knew this would not be     50  , something perhaps even better than love. I felt choked by the bitterness of my     51  . “I’m Jerry, and you must be Rosanna. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to    52  ?”

The woman’s face broadened into a big smile. “I don't know what this is about, son,” she answered,” but the young lady in the green suit who just    53   begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said    54  you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big   55 across the street. She said it was some kind of test!”

1.                A．hadn’t        B．wouldn’t       C．couldn’t D．didn't

 

2.                A．rose           B．flower          C．book D．notes

 

3.                A．restaurant      B．meeting room    C．library    D．station

 

4.                A．absorbed       B．surrounded      C．interested D．burdened

 

5.                A．reacted        B．reflected        C．responded    D．repeated

 

6.                A．previous        B．nice           C．thoughtful D．beautiful

 

7.                A．phone         B．telegram        C．book D．e-mail

 

8.                A．dining          B．meeting        C．walking   D．talking

 

9.                A．legs           B．face           C．figure    D．hair

 

10.               A．observe        B．conclude       C．notice     D．say

 

11.               A．carefully        B．eagerly         C．luckily D．easily

 

12.               A．behind         B．past           C．over  D．before

 

13.               A．as long as       B．even though     C．no matter how  D．as though

 

14.               A．newspaper      B．book           C．magazine  D．note

 

15.               A．a meeting       B．happiness       C．love D．a dinner

 

16.               A．relief          B．sorrow         C．disappointment D．unwillingness

 

17.               A．a walk          B．your home      C．a party    D．dinner

 

18.               A．went by        B．called me       C．came here D．dropped in

 

19.               A．when          B．supposing       C．unless D．since

 

20.               A．market         B．restaurant       C．building   D．library

 

 

阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息，请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。

在中学生夏令营中，以下同学以其观点组织各自的讨论和交流组。

A． Cao A'min, 18

Xuanhua No 1 High School, Hebei

Keeping pace with teachers is a good way to study．Teachers are experienced and their plans are systematic．But remember to work m a way that suits you．It's also important to team from past mistakes．Keep a notebook to make a record of the mistakes you make - it'll help you avoid making the same ones later．

B．Zhang Zilu, 17

Xinyu No 1 High School, Jiangxi

This time of life may be hard, but you're not alone．You may be busy studying, but you can show your care by calling yow friends or sending a short message．Don't let your friendships die．Some boys and girls in my class were in love, but I'd advise against a relationship at this stage．

C. Zhan Yu, 17

Huanggang High School, Hubei

It’s as important to live well as it is to study well, I think. I went to bed no later than 11:30 pm. It put me in the right mood for the next day. I didn’t follow a special diet (饮食), but I did make sure I ate a nutritious  breakfast each day.

D. Ju Shuntian, 18

Yantai Economic and Technological Development Zone Senior High School, Shandong

The person who plays well, studies well. Having a lot of schoolwork doesn’t mean having to give up on every other activity. I played basketball or took a walk to relax when I felt tired. Time out is not a waste of time but helps you study more efficiently.

E. Zhang Qingzhou, 17

　　Dongtai High School, Jiangsu

Besides taking the big exam, you have other choices for college. I took the independent enrollment (自主招生) exam held by Peking University and some other students even prepared to study abroad. Pay attention to any relevant information you can find, whether it’s from school, the news media or another source.

F. Wu Dandan, 18

Liaocheng No. 1 High School, Shandong

Besides learning from the textbooks, students can also learn a lot from traveling from place to place. In different places you will see different things, meet different people and have different experiences. If you are curious enough, you can explore deeper into the area and obtain more useful information, which serves as your new knowledge.

下面同学各自感兴趣的内容或需要解决的问题，请配对他们最适合参加的讨论组。

1.Zhang Xu is an active and energetic boy who enjoys many sports like swimming, football, badminton, cycling and jogging. He has a lot of friends at school and they often spend a lot of time on rivers, fields and mountains. Is it good to spend so little time in the library? How to allocate time between academic lectures and outing? That's his problem.

2.Xiao Lili has much difficulty m catching up with her classmates m chemistry and physics. But her superiority lies in music and English, so she is dreaming of becoming a professional singer. She hopes that her strong points can help pave her way to future success. "Can I go to a musical college without taking NMET?" she wonders.

3.Guo Jie is a hardworking boy but, unfortunately, he gets low marks in every test. He is always busy with his own study plan. When he didn’t finish his work the earlier day, he will bury his mind in his work to fulfill his plan, ignoring the teacher’s lectures. “How can I raise my marks?” he is puzzled.

4.Song Siwei is a slim and pretty girl, who works hard at all her lessons. But she was so absorbed in her studeies that she is even unwilling to tear herself off at meal times. She is always the last to leave the classroom and the first to arrive. She starts to feel dizzy and have headaches. “What might happen to me?” she wonders.

5.Zhang Lan is a charming girl who is active both in the classroom and on the sports field. She is kind to all her classmates. Some boys in her class tend to talk to her at every possible opportunity and even invite her to meals. That makes her pleased but costs her quite some time. She doesn’t know whether it is right to accept kindness from the boys.

 

About twenty of us had been fortunate enough to receive invitations to a film-studio(影棚)to take part in a crowd-scene. Although our "act" would last only for a short time, we could see quite a number of interesting things.

We all stood at the far end of the studio as workmen prepared the scene, setting up trees at the edge of a winding path. Very soon, bright lights were turned on and the big movie-camera was

wheeled into position. The director shouted something to the camera operator and then went to speak to the two famous actors nearby. Since it was hot in the studio, it came as a surprise to us to see one of the actors put on a heavy overcoat and start walking along the path. A big fan began blowing tiny white feathers down on him, and soon the trees were covered in "snow". Two more fans were turned on, and a "strong wind" blew through the trees. The picture looked so real that it made us feel cold.

The next scene was a complete contrast (对比). The way it was filmed was quite unusual. Pictures in front taken on an island in the Pacific were shown on a glass screen (幕). An actor and actress stood of the scene so that they looked as if they were at the water’s edge on an island. By a simple trick like this, palm trees, sandy beaches, and blue, clear skies had been brought into the studio!

Since it was our turn next, we were left wondering what scene would be prepared for us. For a full three minutes in our lives we would be experiencing the excitement of being film "stars"!

1.Who is the author?

A．A cameraman.

B．A film director.

C．A crowd-scene actor.

D．A workman for scene setting.

2.What made the author feel cold?

A．The heavy snowfall.

B．The man-made scene.

C．The low temperature.

D．The film being shown.

3.What would happen in the "three minutes" mentioned in the last paragraph?

A．A new scene would be filmed.

B．More stars would act in the film.

C．The author would leave the studio.

D．The next scene would be prepared.