Question

Online shoppers would rather receive an offer for a product or service than make their own offer ₃ according to a study led by a Michigan State University scholar that has implications for the fast-growing e-commerce industry. The findings may come as a surprise given that shopping online is an anonymous(匿名的）process that seemingly can give consumers more confidence to drive a hard bargain_,said Don Conlon ，Professor of Management in MSU’s Broad College of Business.

But the study found that participants who made their own offers were less successful in sealing the deal and ，when they were successful_? worried they overpaid Many shoppers found the process of researching an offer to be a hassle. “ Americans are very busy，and it’s less time-consuming to be the one receiving the offer rather than the one proposing the offer  ” Conlon said. ^u People tend to be happier when they’re in the receiver role. ”

Online spending in the United States is expected to jump 45 percent in the next four years， from $ 226 billion this year to $ 327 billion in 2017，according to Forrester Research Inc. Nevertheless, researches into this prosperous market remain largely focused on the strategies of companies, rather than those o£ shoppers. Conlon^’s study is ，obviously, a rare exception.

Conlon got the idea for the study after considering the difference between two popular sites for hotels and airline flights, priceline.com, which takes bids, and hotwire.com ，which provides offers. Using these two models ，Conlon and his fellow researchers conducted a series of experiments with more than 850 people who were charged with booking a fictional hotel room and acquiring a fictional antique car. Not only did participants prefer to receive bids, Conlon said ，but they also secured more deals in that receiver role. Further ，when they had to make the bids ，they were left more mentally taxed and regretful.

From an industry perspective，putting customers in the receiver role may help fill more hotel rooms and airplane seats. “If you’re a business with a lot of products₃ ” Conlon said，“you may want to be the one making the offers. ” However, when selling single items, such as an antique car， accepting bids may be a better option since that typically drives up the price, he said.

1.What can we learn from Para. 1?

A．The result of the study gives customers more confidence.

B．Scholars aren’t surprised at the findings of the study.

C．Online shoppers don’t bargain as much as expected.

D．E-commerce industry drives more hard bargains.

2.It can be concluded from Conlon’s experiments that______.

A．online shopping is time-consuming

B．given prices help promote online sales

C．online businesses provide a lot of products

D．receiving offers makes online shoppers regretful

3.The underlined word “taxed” in Para. 4 probably means______.

A．burdened         B．numbed           C．relieved          D．challenged

4.The passage is mainly about______.

A．the big advantages of online shopping

B．the rapid development of online shopping

C．online shoppers’ preference for taking offers

D．online companies strategies to improve service

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：这篇文章讲的是网络购物者更喜欢接受价格。但研究人员指出：顾客给出价格可以帮助促进网络销售。

1.细节题：从第一段的句子：Online shoppers would rather receive an offer for a product or service than make their own offer 3可知网上购物的人并不像预料的那样讨价还价。选C

2.推理题：从文章最后一段的句子：when selling single items, such as an antique car， accepting bids may be a better option since that typically drives up the price, he said.

可知顾客给出价格可以帮助促进网络销售。选B

3.猜词题：从并列的形容词：regretful可知这个单词是有负担的，选A

4.主旨题：从第一段的句子：Online shoppers would rather receive an offer for a product or service than make their own offer 3 可知这篇文章讲的是网络购物者更喜欢接受价格。选C

考点：考查日常生活类短文

点评：这篇文章讲的是网络购物者更喜欢接受价格。但研究人员指出：顾客给出价格可以帮助促进网络销售。要求考生在仔细审题和研读选项的基础之上，到文章中寻找对应的语群，合理推断，做出选择。