单选题 Are you a compulsive spender, or do you hold on to your money as long as possible? Are you a bargain hunter? Would you rather use charge accounts than pay cash.* Your answers to those questions will reflect your personality. According to psychologists, our individual money habits not only show our beliefs and values, but can also stem from past problems.
Experts in psychology believe that for many people, money is an important symbol of strength. In addition, many people consider money a symbol of love. They spend it on their family and friends to express love, or they buy themselves expensive presents because they need love.
People can abandon themselves to different things, for example, alcohol, drugs, certain foods, or even television. They must satisfy these needs to feel comfortable. In the same way, according to psychologists compulsive spenders must spend more money. For those who buy on credit, furthermore, charge accounts are even more exciting. In other words, these people feel that with credit, they can do anything. Their pleasure at spending enormous amounts is actually greater than the pleasure they get from the things they buy.
There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting. To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices, and discounts. Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things that they don't need just because they are cheap. They want to believe that they are helping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game: when they can buy something for less than other people, they are winning. Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior: a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason.
It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also business people. Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business. They consider people's needs for love, power or influence, as well as their basic values, beliefs and opinions, in their advertising and sales methods.
Psychologists often use a method called" behavior therapy to help individuals solve their personality problems. In the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems 'with money. They give them "assignments". If a person buys something in every store that he enters, for instance, a therapist might teach him self-discipline in this way. On the first day of his therapy, he must go into a store, stay for five minutes, and then leave. On the second day, he should stay for ten minutes and try something on. On the third day, he stays for fifteen minutes, asks the sales clerk a question, but does not buy anything. Soon he will learn that nothing bad will happen to him if he doesn't buy any thing, and he can solve the problem of his compulsive buying.
单选题 According to the text, why does money stand for love?
  • A. Because people can buy love with money.
  • B. Because people spend money to express love.
  • C. Because money is basic to love.
  • D. Because when people express love, they must use money.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】根据文章第二段第二句可知许多人认为金钱是爱的象征,因为人们给自己的家人和朋友花钱以示爱意,或者人们给自己买昂贵的礼物因为他们需要爱。[A]和[C]文章未提及。[D]与文意不符,文中提到花钱是表达爱意,但表达爱意并不必须要用钱。
单选题 What gives people who buy on credit more pleasure?
  • A. The cheapest price of the things they buy.
  • B. The great amount of money they spend.
  • C. The things they buy.
  • D. The good quality of the things they buy.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】文章第三段第四句指出对于那些用信用卡买东西的人来说购买更令人兴奋。换言之,这些人感觉他们能用信用卡做任何事情。花了很多钱给他们带来的快乐远远要多于他们所购买的东西给他们的快乐。[A]和[D]文章未提及。[C]与文意不符。
单选题 Which of the following statements is true about bargain hunters?
  • A. They save a lot of money in their daily budgets.
  • B. They are clever than other people because they buy something with less money.
  • C. They made unnecessary purchase because of the low price.
  • D. They feel unhappy after purchasing because they don't need what they buy.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】根据文章第四段第三句可知有买便宜货强迫症的人经常只是因为价格便宜而买一些不需要的东西。[A]与文意不符,本段第四句指出他们试图让自己相信他们节约了日常开支,但实际并没有。[B]与文意不符,本段第四句只是说当他们似比别人较少的价钱买到东西时他们感觉像赢得了比赛,并未说他们比别人聪明。[D]文章未提及。
单选题 We can infer from Paragraph 5 that
  • A. businessmen are as knowledgeable as scientists because they know the psychology of people's spending habits.
  • B. the advertising and sales methods developed by businessmen influence the psychology of spending habits.
  • C. businessmen take people's various needs and basic values into consideration, because they are considerate.
  • D. businessmen can earn more money by taking advantage of the psychology of people's spend ing habits.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】根据第五段可以推断出不仅科学家就连商人也了解人们的消费心理学,而且如果商人能够很好地利用人们的消费心理学;他们就能赚更多的钱。[A]与文意不符,商人了解人们的消费心理并不能说明他们的知识与科学家一样渊博。[B]与文意相反,本段最后一句指出商人在决定广告和销售策略时会考虑消费者的很多心理因素。消费心理因素决定广告和销售策略,而不是反之。[C]与文意不符,商人们考虑这些心理因素不是为了消费者全面考虑,而是了解了消费者心理需求就能赚更多的钱。
单选题 The assignment given is to
  • A. teach people how to control their behavior.
  • B. punish people who have some problems.
  • C. form a habit of saving money.
  • D. test their ability of bargaining.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】文章最后一段的前三句指出行为疗法可以帮助解决个人的某些个性问题,同样它也能帮助在处理金钱方面有问题的人们。这些人会被分派一些任务。接着,文中举了具体的例子,说明任务的目的是让他们学会控制自己的行为。[B]、[C]和[D]都与文意不符。