单选题
The Smell of Money

For many years large supermarkets have been encouraging us to spend money by pumping the smell of freshly-baked bread into their stories. Now Dale Air, a leading firm of aroma (香气) consultants, has been approached by Barclay"s 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"Rordan. "There is a direct pathway from the olfactory (嗅觉的) 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"ve 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 ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据第一段第二句话“Now Dale Air, a leading firm of aroma (香气) consultants, has been approached by Barclay"s Bank to develop suitable artificial smells for their banks.”可知,Dale Air是一家重要的香气顾问公司,已经被英国巴克莱银行要求开发适合其银行的人造气味,据此可知,人造气味还未用于银行中,所以答案为B。
单选题 Researchers believe that introducing the "smell of money" into banks will encourage people ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据第一段最后一句话可知,研究人员发现,顾客闻到钱的味道时,会觉得放松,乐观,增加对银行安全和专业性的信任。
单选题 The difficulty of producing the "smell of money" lies in that ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据第二段第一句话和第二句话可知,在把钱的味道生产并引入银行的空调系统前,必须首先辨别和分析味道,但这一点很难证明。
单选题 The word "harness" in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 根据最后一段倒数第二句话可知,这是一种现象,即营销顾问已经辨认出很长时间了,但直到最近还是不能控制,四个选项:see“看见”;study“学习,研究”;control“控制”;understand“理解,明白”。
单选题 Researchers think ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据最后一段最后一句话“We"ve made great progress but the technology of odour production is still in its infancy”可知,我们已经取得了很大的进步,但是气味生产的技术仍处于初级阶段。