阅读理解
TEXT D
The first clue came when I got my hair cut．The stylist offered not just the usual coffee or tea but a complimentary nail—polish change while 1 waited for my hair to dry．Maybe she hoped this little amenity would slow the growing inclination of women to stretch each haircut to last four months while nursing our hair back to whatever natural colour we long ago forgot．
Then there was the appliance salesman who offered to carry my bags as we toured the microwave aisle．When I called my husband to ask him to check some specs online，the salesman offered a pre-emptive discount，lest the surfing turn up the same model cheaper in another store．That night，for the first time，I saw the Hyundai ad promising shoppers that if they buy a car and then lose their job in the next year，they can return it．
Suddenly everything’s on sale．The upside to the economic downturn is the immense incentive it gives retailers to treat you like a queen for a day．During the flush times．Salespeople were surly，waiters snobby．But now the customer rules，just for showing up．There’s more room to stretch out on the flight，even in a coach．The malls have that serene aura of undisturbed wilderness，with scarcely a shopper in sight．Every conversation with anyone selling anything is a pantomime of pain and bluff．Finger the scarf, then start to walk away, and its price floats silkily downward．When the mechanic calls to tell you that brakes and a timing belt and other services will run close to $2,000，it's time to break out the newly perfected art of the considered pause．You really don't even have to say anything pitiful before he'll offer to knock a few hundred dollars off．
Restaurants are also caught in a fit of ardent hospitality, especially around Wall Street：Trinity Place offers $3 drinks at happy hour any day the market goes down．with the slogan “Market tanked? Get tanked!”--which ensures a lively crowd for the closing bell．The "21" Club has decided that men no longer need to wear ties，so long as they bring their wallets．Food itself is friendlier：you notice more comfort food，a truce between chef and patron that is easier to enjoy now that you can get a table practically anywhere．New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni characterizes the new restaurant demeanor as "extreme solicitousness tinged with outright desperation．"“You need to hug the customer,”one owner told him．
There's a chance that eventually we'll return a11 this kindness with the extravagant spending that was once decried but now everyone is hoping will restart the economy．But human nature is funny that way．In dangerous times，we clench and squint at the deal that looks too good to miss，suspecting that it must be too good to be true．Is the store with the super cheap flat screens going to go bust and thus not be there to honour the "free" extended warranty? Is there something wrong with that free cheese? Store owners will tell you horror stories about shoppers with attitude，who walk in demanding discounts and flaunt their new power at every turn．These store owners wince as they sense bad habit forming：Will people expect discounts forever? Will their hard．won brand luster be forever cheapened，especially for items whose allure depends on their being ridiculously priced?
There will surely come a day when things go back to“normal”；retail sales even inched up in January after sinking for the previous six months．But 1 wonder what it will take for US to see those $545 Sigerson Morrison studded toe-ring sandals as reasonable? Bargain-hunting can be addictive regardless of the state of the markets，and haggling is a low-risk，high-value contact sport．Trauma digs deep into habit，like my 85-year—old mother still calling her canned-goods cabinet “the bomb shelter." The children of the First Depression were saving string and preaching sacrifice long after the skies cleared．They came to be called the “greatest generation." As we learn to be decent stewards of our resources，who knows what might come of it? We have lived in an age of wanton waste，and there is value in practicing conservation that goes far beyond our own bottom line．
单选题
According to the passage，what does“the first clue" suggest?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干中的the first clue定位到首段。
首段第2句提到“在我等头发变干的时候，发型师不仅像往常那样给我端来茶或咖啡，还免费为我涂指甲油”，此举无疑是店家为讨顾客欢心使尽手段的表现，故答案为C。注意，文中的complimentary使用的不是其常见义“恭维的，赞美的”，而是“免费赠送的”意思。
细节推断题。the first clue是作者作为顾客观察到的商家的变化，而A“女性倾向于不那么频繁修剪头发”和D“顾客停止冲动购物”讲的都是顾客的变化，可首先排除。B“大小商家都在大打折扣”不是首段可以直接推断出的，因为首段中店家增加的是免费服务，故排除D。
单选题
Which of the following best depicts the retailers now?