单选题

How to Use the Sense of Smell

Our sense of smell, which we normally take for granted, is nowadays being increasingly used for purposes which might surprise us if we aware of them. One area in which smells are created to achieve particular results is marketing. For some time manufacturers have taken advantage of our sense of smell with regard to household goods. Millions of dollars are spent on product research in the hunt for the right smell as it is believed perfume influnences the way consumers perceive a brand. In a survey in the United States, when people were asked what was the most important factor in their choice of detergent (洗衣粉) , smell was rated highly, above ingredients and price.
Now stores are becoming even more direct in their use of smell. The smell of fresh bread in a supermarket tends to encourage people to buy, and people selling their houses are recommended to have coffee being heated when potential buyers arrive. Suddenly smell is becoming big business. One company specializing in the use of smells to attract customers now has many large stores on its own list of customers. They find that when pleasant smells are filtered through a store's air condition system, people tend to spend longer in the store and buy more.
Reserch shows that smells can increase people's view of the value of a product. In a test, people looked at the same types of shoes in two rooms--one filled with purified air, the other with a smell of mixed flowers, of the people preferred the shoes in the room with the smell of flowers. In fact, many said they would be prepared to pay up to US$10 more for a pair.
Smells also have other potential uses. Some companies are experimenting with different smells to produce different effects in their workers according to the time of day. For example, early in the morning they might put the smell of lemon in the air conditioning system to wake people up. In the middle of the morning, when the atmosphere tends to become more tense, the smell of wood could be used to calm people down. Before lunchtime the smell of melting butter would encourage people to go to lunch on time . After lunch, when people often begin to lose concentration, the smell of mint (薄荷) would increase their alertness.

单选题 Which is the most appropriate title for the passage?

A、 How to avoide being affected by smells.
B、 Using smells to influence people.
C、 The power of our sense of smell.
D、 New smells in supermarkets.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题是主旨题。本文主要讲了我们的嗅觉已经用于一些令我们感到吃惊的用途中。主要是各个公司利用人们的嗅觉来生产、销售产品。也就是利用气味来影响人们购买产品。故答案为B。

单选题 In the survey, when selecting detergent, people considered smell ______.

A、 not important
B、 as important as price
C、 less important than ingredients
D、 more important than price

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】本题是细节题。由“In a survey in the United States, when people were asked what was the most important factor in their choice of detergent.(洗衣粉)，smell was rated highly, above ingredients and price.”可知，在美国的一项调查中显示，当人们被问及选择洗衣粉的最重要的因素时，气味超过了成分和价格，位列第一。故答案为D。

单选题 To attract more customers, some large stores ______.

A、 employ a company specializing in the use of smells
B、 provide free coffee for them
C、 filter purified air through air conditioning
D、 decorate themselves with fresh flowers

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】本题是推理题。由“One company specializing in the use of smells to attract customers now has many large stores on its own list of customers.”可知，一家公司专门利用气味吸引顾客，现在它的顾客名单表里已经有许多大型百货店。所以为了吸引更多的顾客，一些大百货店会雇用专门利用气味的公司。故答案为A。

单选题 The majority of people in the test (Par

A、 3) preferred ______.A. the smell of shoes to that of flowersB. the smell of flowers to that of shoesC. the shoes in the room with purified airD. the shoes in the room with appealing smells

【正确答案】

【答案解析】本题是细节题。由“one filled with purified at the other with a smell of mixed flowers, 84% of the people preferred the shoes in the room with the smell of flowers.”可知，测试中的大部分人会选择摆在充满花香房间中的鞋，也就是喜欢房间中有吸引人的味道的鞋。故答案为D。

单选题 To produce a calming effect, some companies use the smell of ______.

A、 lemon
B、 wood
C、 melting butter
D、 mint

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题是细节题。由“In the middle of the morning, when the atmosphere tends to become more tense, the smell of wood could be used to calm people down.”可知，为了达到镇定效果，一些公司会使用木头的味道。故答案为B。