单选题 For many years large supermarkets have been encouraging us to spend money by pumping the smell of freshly-baked bread into their stores. Now Dale Air, a leading firm of aroma (香气) consultants, has been approached by Barclays Bank to develop suitable artificial smells for their banks. Researchers have suggested that surrounding customers with the "smell of money" will encourage them to feel relaxed and optimistic and give them added confidence in the bank's security and professionalism.
But before a smell can be manufactured and introduced into banks' air conditioning systems, it must be identified and chemically analyzed, and this has proved to be difficult. The problem is that banknotes and coins tend to pick up the smell of their surroundings. So cash that has been sitting in a cash register at a fishmonger's (鱼贩) will smell of fish, and banknotes used to pay for meals in restaurants will tend to smell of food.
It may be a challenge, but aroma experts have little doubt that the use of artificial smells can be an effective form of subconscious advertising. Lunn Poly, a British travel company, introduced the smell of coconuts (椰子) into its travel agencies and saw a big increase in spending by holiday makers. Many cafes now have electric dispensers (自动售货机) that release the smell of freshly roasted coffee near their entrances, subtly encouraging customers to come in and have a drink or snack. Even prestigious car maker Rolls-Royce has been spraying the inside of its cars to enhance the smell of the leather seats.
"The sense of smell is probably the most basic and primitive of all human senses," explains researcher Jim O'Riordan. "There is a direct pathway from the olfactory (睡觉的) organs in the nose to the brain." It is certainly true that most people find certain smells incredibly strong, stringing memories and feelings in a way that few other stimulants (刺激物) can rival. It is a phenomenon marketing consultants have long recognized, but until recently have been unable to harness. "We're made great progress but the technology of odour production is still in its infancy," says O'Riordan, "Who knows where it will take us."
单选题 Artificial smells have NOT been used in ______.
  • A. cafes
  • B. banks
  • C. travel agencies
  • D. supermarkets
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第一段中间说到“to develop suitable artificial smells for their banks”,巴克莱银行在和一位香味咨询公司接洽开发适合它们银行的人造香味,所以选B。
单选题 Researchers believe that introducing the "smell of money" into banks will encourage people ______.
  • A. to spend money
  • B. to feel confident about banks
  • C. to earn more money
  • D. to withdraw money from banks
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 第一段后面说在银行喷洒“钱的味道”可以增加顾客对银行的安全及敬业精神的信心,即“give them added confidence”,所以答案B正确。
单选题 The difficulty of producing the "smell of money" lies in that ______.
  • A. people's attitudes toward money are different
  • B. it's hard to identify and analyze it
  • C. no technology can do it
  • D. experts have no motive
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 第二段开头谈到香味被调制出来并加入银行的空调系统前必须要进行识别和化学分析,而这样做非常困难,所以可知“钱的味道”相当难以调制和分析。
单选题 The word "harness" in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
  • A. see
  • B. study
  • C. control
  • D. understand
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 词汇理解题,“harness”的本意是理解,驾驭,从上下文可看出,此处的意思是“控制、利用”的意思,例如:In the future, man will be able to harness nuclear energy more safely.未来,人类将会更加安全地利用核能。
单选题 Researchers think ______.
  • A. artificial smells help to improve people's memory
  • B. the technology to produce artificial smells is in the early stage
  • C. artificial smells are harmful
  • D. the production of artificial smells is profitably
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 文章最后提到the technology of odour production is still in its infancy,人类生产香味的技术仍然处于初级阶段,所以选B。