【题目】A bargain is something offered at a low and advantageous price. A more recent definition is: a bargain is a dirty trick to force money out of the pockets of silly and innocent people.
The cost of producing a new-for example - toothpaste would make 80p the proper price for it, so we will market it at £1.20. It is not a bad toothpaste, and as people like to try new things it will sell well to start with; but the attraction of novelty soon fades, so sales will fall. When that happens we will reduce the price to £1.15. And we will turn it into a bargain by printing 5p OFF all over it.
Sometimes it is not 5p OFF but 1p OFF. What breathtaking rudeness to advertise 1p OFF your soap or washing powder or whatever! Even the poorest old-age pensioner ought to regard this as an insult(侮辱), but he doesn't. A bargain must not be missed. People say one has to have washing powder (or whatever) and one might as well buy it a penny cheaper.
The real danger starts when unnecessary things become ‘bargains’. Many people just cannot resist bargains. Provided they think they are getting a bargain they will buy clothes they will never wear or furniture they have no space for. once I heard of a man who bought an electric saw as a bargain and cut off two of his fingers the next day. But he had no regrets: the saw had been truly cheap.
Quite a few people actually believe that they make money on such bargains. A lady once told me: “I’ve had a lucky day today. I bought a dress for £120, reduced from £400; and l bought a beautiful Persian carpet for £600, reduced from £900.” It will never occur to her that she has actually wasted £720. She feels as though she had made £580. She also feels, I am sure, that if she had more time for shopping, she could make a living out of it.
Some people buy in large quantities because it is cheaper. once a couple bought enough sugar for their lifetime and the lifetime of their children and grandchildren. They thought it a bargain not to be missed. When the sugar arrived they didn't know where to store it - until they realized that their toilet was a very spacious one. So that was where they piled up their sugar. Not only did their guests feel rather strange whenever they were offered sugar to put into their coffee, but the toilet became extremely sticky.
To offer bargains is a commercial trick to make the poor poorer. When greedy fools fall for this trick, it serves them right.
【1】Which word best describes the language style of the passage?
A. Polite. B. Foolish.
C. Humorous. D. Serious.
【2】What does the underlined word “novelty” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. Good quality. B. Low price.
C. Curiosity. D. Newness.
【3】How does the author feel about 1p OFF a product?
A. It’s a gift for poor people.
B. It’s an offense to shoppers.
C. It’s a bargain worth trying.
D. It’s a real reduction in price.
【4】Which statement will the author probably agree with?
A. Bargains are things people don’t really need.
B. Bargains are often real cheap products.
C. Bargains help people make a living.
D. Bargains play tricks on people.
【答案】
【1】 C
【2】 D
【3】 B
【4】 D
【解析】
本文为议论文。文章论述了人们购物时盲目追求折扣却有可能造成不理性消费的问题。
【1】推理判断题。根据文章内容可知，作者从另外一个角度分析了廉价商品的本质，语言比较幽默，如第一段的句子a bargain is a dirty trick to force money out of the pockets of silly and innocent(涉世不深的)people.（讨价还价是把钱从愚蠢和无辜的人的口袋中压出的卑鄙伎俩）。故C选项正确。
【2】词义猜测题。根据文章第二段的句子as people like to try new things it will sell well to start with（人们喜欢尝试新的东西，它一开始卖得很好），接下来说：but the attraction of novelty soon fades（……的吸引力很快就消失了），可推知novelty意为“新奇的事物，好奇心”。故D选项正确。
【3】细节理解题。根据文章第三段的句子Even the poorest old-age pensioner ought to regard this as an insult (侮辱), but he doesn’t.可知，作者认为一折的产品对消费者是一种冒犯。故B选项正确。
【4】推理判断题。根据文章最后一段的句子To offer bargains is a commercial(商业的)trick to make the poor poorer.可知，作者认为廉价商品是在愚弄人们。故D选项正确。
依据逻辑推理猜测词义：运用逻辑推理猜测词义是使用最广考查最多也最易失分的猜词方式。要求考生具备整合分散、复杂信息的能力，充分利用上下文中相关的词汇并结合具体的语境，从形式和内容上把握语言之间的内在联系，理顺语言之间的逻辑关系，进而达到猜词的目的。在第2小题中，考生可以根据该划线词所在的上下文语境来推测其指代对象。根据文章第二段的句子as people like to try new things it will sell well to start with（因为人们喜欢尝试新的东西，它一开始卖得很好）可知，人们对新鲜事物有着很强的好奇心，接下来说：but the attraction of novelty soon fades（但是……的吸引力很快就消失了），可推知novelty意为“新奇的事物，好奇心”。对比选项：A. Good quality高质量；B. Low price低价格；C. Curiosity好奇；D. Newness崭新。很明显，该画线词就是指“Curiosity”。由此可知，正确答案。
