14．Many people today do not enjoy grocery shopping，but the experience we have is still
many times better than that of the past．
Gone are the days when consumers paid higher prices for the advantage of a painfully
slow shopping experience．In addition to lower prices，supermarkets also offer shoppers added convenience and much quicker service．
In the old days，grocery shopping was quite a bit troublesome．Consumer-sized
packages did not exist，so a clerk had to measure out the exact amount you needed for
everything you bought．This system cost much labor and therefore was rather expensive．
On top of that，the entire experience was extremely time-consuming as，much like buying meat at a butcher shop，the number of shoppers that a store could serve at the same time was limited by the size of its staff．The high labor costs and poor efficiency （效率） were quite a problem for both the industry and its public．
The supermarket is a large departmentalized retail store，offering"one-stop shop"
convenience with housewares，magazines，beauty products，and much more in addition to
the food items sold by traditional stores．Need soap to go with your newspaper and bread？
The supermarket saves you time by providing all three items under one roof．Along with added convenience comes added efficiency．
Shoppers can now fetch what they want from shelves instead of waiting for service．
This in turn reduces the need for additional staff，helping owners to cut costs greatly and to pass the savings back to the consumer．In fact，supermarkets pass so much of the savings back that their margins are razor-thin-only l to 3percent-so to make a profit，they must rely on extremely high turnover rates and keeping operating expenses low，for example，by not offering delivery for one．The result is a quick and painless shopping experience with very reasonable prices．
24．Which of the following is listed as a disadvantage of traditional grocery stores？D
A．Fewer staff members．
B．Less shopping time．
C．Smaller trading profits．
D．Higher operating costs．
25．The underlined word"margins"meansC．
A．savings B．prices C，profits D．expenses
26．Supermarkets don't offer delivery for one becauseA．
A．they want to keep costs down
B．it isn't a good way to attract consumers
C．there is no demand for such a service
D．it's the major cause of low efficiency
27．The passage mainly aims to．D
A．introduce the origin of the supermarket
B．discuss the disadvantages of traditional grocery stores
C．explain why the general public hate grocery shopping
D，outline the advantages of supermarkets over traditional groceries．
分析 本文属于说明文阅读，作者通过这篇文章向我们介绍了传统超市的优点以及缺点，同时介绍了他们获得更高利润的方法．
解答 24．D 细节理解题，根据第四段The high labor costs and poor efficiency （效率） were quite a problem for both the industry and its public．可知传统的杂货店有更高的运营成本，故选D．
25．C 词义猜测题，根据最后一段In fact，supermarkets pass so much of the savings back that their margins are razor-thin-only l to 3percent-so to make a profit，they must rely on extremely high turnover rates and keeping operating expenses low可知超市的利润非常微薄，仅有3%，因此他们需要想办法提高利润，故选C．
26．A 细节理解题，根据最后一段for example，by not offering delivery for one．The result is a quick and painless shopping experience with very reasonable prices．可知超市不提供送货是因为他们想降低成本，故选A．
27．D 主旨大意题，通读全文可知本文中作者主要向我们介绍了传统超市的优点以及缺点，故选D．
点评 考查学生的细节理解和推理判断能力．做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句，和题干进行比较，再做出正确选择．在做推理判断题时不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实，要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断．
