单选题

Passage 1

A scientist who wants to predict the way in which consumers (消费者) will spend their money must study consumer behavior. He must obtain data both on the resources of consumers and on the motives that tend to encourage or discourage money spending.
If an economist were asked which of three groups borrow most —people with rising incomes, Stable incomes, or decreasing incomes—he would probably answer, those with decreasing incomes. Actually years 1947—1950, the answer was: people with rising incomes.
People with decreasing incomes were next and people with stable incomes borrowed the least. This shows us that traditional assumptions(假设) about earning and spending are not always reliable. Another traditional assumption is that if people who have money expect prices to go up they will hasten to buy. If they expect prices to go down, they will postpone buying. But research surveys have shown that this is not always true. The expectations of price increases may not stimulate buying.
One typical attitude was expresser by the wife of a mechanic in an interview at a time of rising prices.“In a few months,” she said,“we’ll have pay more for meat and milk; we’ll have less to spend on other things. “Her family had been planning to buy a new car but they postponed this purchase. Furthermore, the rise in prices that has already taken place may be disliked and buyer’s resistance may be produced. This is shown by the following typical comment: “I just don’t pay these prices; they are too high.”
The investigations mentioned above were carried out in America; condition most helpful to spending appears to be price stability. If prices have been stable and people consider that they are reasonable, they are likely to buy. Thus, it appears that the common business policy of maintaining stable prices is based on a correct understanding of consumer psychology(心理学).

单选题 According to the passage, if one wants to predict the way spend their money, he should _______

A、 rely on traditional assumptions about earning and spending
B、 try to encourage or discourage consumers to spend money
C、 carry out investigations on consumer behavior and get data on consumers incomes and money spending motives
D、 do researches in consumer psychology in a laboratory.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】第一段讲道一个科学家想要预测消费者如何花钱就必须研究消费者行为。他应该获取两方面的数据，一者是消费者收入，一者是消费动机。从答案看，C答案的意思符合原文。注意：原文中的resources of consumers是消费者的财力的意思。

单选题 According to paragraph 2, one traditional assumption is that people with ________ incomes borrow most.

A、 average
B、 stable
C、 decreasing
D、 rising

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】第2段说道经济学家会回答收入逐渐减少的人们会借最多的钱，但在下文中又说传统的假设并不总是可信的。而经济学家在没有调查时往往是根据传统假设来回答的。所以选C stable“稳定的”

单选题 According to paragraph 2, research surveys have proved that _________

A、 price increases always stimulate people to hasten to buy things
B、 rising prices may make people put off their purchase of certain things
C、 women are more sensitive to the rising in prices than men
D、 the expectations of price increases often make buyers feel angry.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】在这一段中被访者说原本要买车，但是考虑到逐渐上升的物价会使他们在肉类和牛奶上花费更多，就延迟了该项消费。所以比较答案可以发现B的意思于原文相符。文中的postpone和答案中的put off意思相同都是“延迟，推迟”之意。

单选题 From the results of the surveys, the writer of this article _________

A、 concludes that the saving and spending patterns in Great Britain are better than those in America
B、 concludes that the consumers always expect prices to remain stable
C、 concludes that maintaining stable prices is a correct business policy
D、 does not draw any conclusion

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】答案在最后一段中，作者写道：Thus, it appears that the common business policy of maintaining stable prices is based on a correct understanding of consumer psychology(心理学).意思是：因此，保持物价稳定的商业政策看来是建立在对消费者心理正确理解的基础上的。可见作者的结论就是保持物价稳定的商业政策是正确的。所以选C

单选题 Which of the following statements is always TRUE according to the surveys mentioned in the passage?

A、 Consumers will put off buying things if they expect prices to decrease.
B、 Consumers will spend their money quickly if they expect prices to increase
C、 The price condition has an influence on consumer behavior
D、 Traditional assumptions about earning and spending are reliabl

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】改题要求选择正确的陈述。可以选择排除法。A和B答案可以根据第3题分析予以排除；D答案根据第3段中第2句话予以排除；只有C答案符合原文意思，意思是物价状况会影响消费者行为。这也是全文在讨论的问题。所以选C