The holiday shopping season got off to a flying start over the Thanksgiving (感恩节) weekend in the U.S. Retailers (零售商) attracted discount-hungry consumers with specials (特价商品) of televisions, DVD players and other gifts. Discounters like Wal-Mart and Target had the greatest success, offering customers early bird specials, while major department stores and clothing chains only met modest sales goals. Online sales were also strong. "It was as expected. It wasn't source of great prosperity, but it was a good start," said Nevill, a man in a U.S. retail consulting firm. He said, "One thing we often heard was that only things marked down (降价) were selling. Consumers want a bargain, especially around the holiday." Shoppers did seem to like the many markdowns. A lady in the State of Connecticut said, "I've never seen so many sales. I feel like a kid in a candy store.'' Nevill estimated that discounters had a 4% gain over last year's Thanksgiving figure, while sales at department stores and mall-based clothing chains were up 2% for the weekend. However, the Thanksgiving weekend is not necessarily a good way to judge how retailers will be successful for the season. Over the past few years, the weekend accounted for less than 10% of sales. Online merchants also had a good weekend. Sales were up 61% last Friday, compared to the day after Thanksgiving a year ago.
单选题 Over the Thanksgiving weekend, people bought a lot more than usual because ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析：根据题目中的over the Thanksgiving weekend定位到第一段。该段第一、二句告诉我们，商家以特价商品(specials)吸引热爱打折商品的消费者。D项中的special discounts与文中的specials意思一致，是正确选项。
单选题 Retailers have the experience that consumers seem to______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析：根据题目中的Retailers和consumers定位到第一段第二句。该句中的复合词discount-hungry中hungry在此意为“渴望的”，与A项中的feel eager意思相近，故答案为A项。
单选题 From the context we know that Wal-Mart and Target are the names of two ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析：根据题目中的Wal-Mart and Target定位到第一段倒数第二句。根据该段第二句可知，零售商(Retailers)以特价打折商品吸引消费者，接着第三句指出沃尔玛和塔吉特提供先到先得的特价商品，由此可推测他们是零售商。故B项正确。
单选题 By saying "I feel like a kid in a candy store," the lady in Connecticut probably means that ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析：根据题目中引述的话语定位到第二段最后一句。本题询问康涅狄格州一位女士所说：“我觉得自己仿佛是身处糖果店的小孩”的意思。根据前面一句“我从没见过这么多打折商品(never seen so many sales)”，可知她在惊叹商品种类太多，反而觉得难以挑选。故A项正确。
单选题 Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析：此类题需要准确把握文章细节。文中第三段第一句谈到，奈维尔估计折扣店感恩节期间的赢利比去年增长4％(a 4％gain)……，这说明零售商的销售业绩得到了增长。这与D项的表述一致。