Question

閱讀理解

閱讀下面短文，從每題所給的四個選項中，選出最佳選項。

　　Economics has long been known as the dismal(凄涼的)science. But is any economist so dreary(沉悶的) as to criticize Christmas? At first glance, the holiday season in western economies seems a treat for those concerned with such vagaries(奇想、異想天開) as GDP growth. After all, everyone is spending; in America, retailers make 25％ of their yearly sales and 60％ of their profits between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even so, economists find something to worry about in the nature of the purchases being made.

　　Much of the holiday spending is on gifts for others. At the simplest level, giving gifts involves the giver thinking of something that the recipient would like-he tries to guess her preferences, as economists say-and then buying the gift and delivering it. Yet this guessing of preferences is no mean feat; indeed, it is often done badly. Every year, ties go unworn and books unread. And even if a gift is enjoyed, it may not be what the recipient would have bought had they spent the money themselves. Intrigued(激起……興趣) by this mismatch between wants and gifts.

　　In 1993 Joel Waldfogel, then an economist at Yale University, sought to estimate the disparity(不一致) in dollar terms. In a paper that has proved seminal(開創性的) in the literature on the issue, he asked students two questions at the end of a holiday season: first, estimate the total amount paid (by the givers) for all the holiday gifts you received; second, apart from the sentimental value of the items, if you did not have them, how much would you be willing to pay to get them? His results were gloomy: on average, a gift was valued by the recipient well below the price paid by the giver.

　　The most conservative estimate put the average receiver's valuation at 90％ of the buying price. The missing 10％ is what economists call a deadweight loss: a waste of resources that could be averted without making anyone worse off. In other words, if the giver gave the cash value of the purchase instead of the gift itself, the recipient could then buy what she really wants, and be better off for no extra cost.

　　If the results are generalized(無顯著特點的), a waste of one dollar in ten represents a huge aggregate(總計) loss to society. It suggests that in America, where givers spend $ 40 billion on Christmas gifts, $ 4 billion is being lost annually in the process of gift giving. Add in birthdays, weddings and non-Christian occasions, and the figure would balloon. So should economists advocate an end to gift giving, or at least press for money to become the gift of choice?

1．Why do some people regard the holiday season in western economies a treat?

[　　]

A．Because the economic situation in US has been gloomy.

B．Because holiday spending can stimulate GDP growth.

C．Because American retailers make a quarter of their yearly sales through holiday season.

D．Because retailers can make as much profit as 60％ over holiday season.

2．The purpose of Joel Waldfogel's study is to ________.

[　　]

A．prove the mismatch between wants and gifts

B．spark new ideas of economic studies on holiday spending

C．evaluate the disparity between wants and gifts in economic terms

D．discover the exact cost of holiday spending on gift giving

3．Economists think of the missing 10％ of holiday spending a deadweight loss because ________.

[　　]

A．the cash value of the purchase is lower than the buying price

B．it makes many people even worse off for spending more on unwanted gifts

C．with the money the recipients can be better off for no extra cost

D．it is actually a waste of resources in economic terms

4．According to the passage altogether how much money is wasted every year on gift-giving?

[　　]

A．About $ 40 billion.

B．About $ 4 billion.

C．About 10％ of the total value.

D．Much more than $ 4 billion.

Answer 1

答案：B;C;D;D
解析：

1．B　　文章第一段指出，對于那些非常關心GDP(國內生產總值)的人，假日消費帶來一種特殊的樂趣。因為過節的時候人們要花許多錢購買禮物，從而刺激消費，刺激經濟的增長。因此正確答案為B。選項C、D在文中是具體的事例，用以說明假日消費對美國經濟的重大影響。 　　2．C　　第三段開頭便交待了經濟學家Joel Waldfogel從經濟學的角度研究由于禮物不能滿足被贈與人的實際需要所帶來的經濟后果(…sought to estimate the disparity in dollar terms)。因此正確答案為C。 　　3．D　　根據第四段第二句：The missing 10％ is what economists call a deadweight loss: a waste of resources that…可知正確答案為D。本題中選項C是個似是而非的答案。在這里考生需認真理解句與句之間的關系。文中冒號后的部分是對經濟學家看法的解釋。in other words后的部分則是用淺顯的語言來解釋前面提及的深刻道理。 　　4．D　　文章最后一段談及每年過節的時候由于送禮而造成的經濟損失。圣誕節期間浪費的金錢總額累計達到40億美元。再算上一年當中各種各樣的節日，浪費的數額將大大增加(Add in birthdays, weddings and non-Christian occasions, and the figure would balloon.)本段中bal一詞意為“激增，飛漲，迅速增長或上升”。