3 . More and more online shopping platforms now offer consumers a detailed look into products’ historical prices. But how does this information influence buying decisions?

To explore this question, we conducted a series of experiments with a total of more than 5,000 business school students and working adults. We measured the impact of different kinds of price shifts on people’s interest in purchasing products and identified several consistent trends:

First, when consumers saw that the price today was lower than it had been in the past, they were more likely to buy now, because the current price seemed like a good deal.

However, the picture gets more complicated when you consider the frequency of historical price shifts: In our studies, we found that if consumers were shown at least three changes in the same direction, they were likely to assume the price would continue to move in the same direction. While if they were only shown one or two changes in the same direction, they expected the price to change in the opposite direction.

So what does this mean for sellers? It may be tempting to slowly lower the price over time. However, our data shows that this can lead consumers to assume that the price will continue to fall, making them hesitant to buy. But if they just see a single price drop, they ‘re more likely to expect a reversal in the near future, pushing them to buy the product now.

Our findings can also help buyers make more informed decisions about whether and when they choose to make a purchase. As with any irrational bias (非理性的偏见), awareness of the natural tendency to expect trends to continue and single large changes to reverse can help consumers question this assumption before acting on it. Instead of letting this arbitrary (武断的) expectation guide buying decisions, consumers may benefit by doing a bit more research around the underlying factors driving price shifts. Buyers may also benefit from learning more about a product’s longer-term price history, fluctuations (波动), and typical industry-wide price ranges, to avoid being disproportionately influenced by near-term price changes. It’s also always a good idea to think about both how urgent your need for a given product is, and your own risk tolerance for a potential price increase, as this can affect whether it’s worth it for you to wait and see if the price falls.

Of course, there are countless factors that influence both consumers’ decisions around whether and when to buy and sellers’ decisions around how to price their products. But it’s important for both sides to recognize the key role that expectations play in influencing these decisions.

1. Which of the following is true about the experiment?

A．It proves that people’s interest in the product drives the purchasing behavior.

B．E-commerce platforms turn to it to connect with customers and boost sales.

C．It’s designed to figure out the purchasing decision process based on pricing.

D．Business school students make up the whole control group for comparison.

2. Which of the following price trends might tempt consumers to buy on May 8^th?

A．	B．
C．	D．

3. Consumers are advised to      .

A．decide on the assumptions that long-term price trend will continue

B．research longer-term price history, price ranges and hidden factors

C．put off the purchase for better deals because of the unsustainable market

D．cooperate with sellers while putting aside the personal risk and urgency

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．How do price changes influence buying decisions?

B．Why should products’ historical prices be shown?

C．When is the best time for consumers to purchase?

D．What do businesses need to price their products?

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Which ping-pong bat will the woman buy?

A．The blue one.

B．The red one.

C．The pink one.

2. What does the man think of the pink bat?

A．It looks good.

B．It is suitable for games.

C．It feels hard.

3. How much is the tax on the bat?

A．Eight yuan

B．Sixty yuan.

C．Sixty-eight yuan.

4. How will the woman pay for the bat?

A．By credit card.

B．In cash

C．By check.

6 . Best devices for students 2023

External hard drive

Price: about £50

The last thing you want is for your laptop to break (or get stolen) and to lose all of your work as a result. An external hard drive like this one from Western Digital can store a backup copy of pretty much your entire laptop.

Amazon Kindle

Price: about £130

Even if you’re a die-hard fan of physical books, the pain of carrying university textbooks around every day might change you.

The latest model of the Kindle Paper white comes with Bluetooth and a front-lit screen that has an adjustable warm light and, as is the case with most e-readers, the battery can last for weeks on a single charge.

Tile Mate key finder

Price: about £20

If you’re the kind of person who’s always losing stuff — particularly your phone or keys — then this little device could be a lifesaver.

Attach your Tile Mate key ring to your set of keys, and you can use the Tile Mate app to locate them if you happen to lose them.

And best of all, if you’ve got your keys but can’t find your phone, hitting the button on the Tile Mate key ring will make your phone ring — even when it’s on silent.Genius.

WiFi range extender

Price: about £35

All too often, the routers supplied by broadband companies aren’t quite up to the job.

We’ve used this WiFi range extender from NETGEAR and can confirm that it does a great job of improving the WiFi signal around the house. It plugs straight into the wall, and although you might need to trial a couple of different locations before finding the perfect position, you should notice the difference straight away.

1. What is the price of an external hard drive?

A．About £20.	B．About £35.
C．About £50.	D．About £130.

2. What is the most striking feature of the Tile Mate key finder?

A．It can be attached to your keys.

B．It can be located very easily.

C．It can save your life in time of emergency.

D．It can make your phone ring — even when it’s on silent.

3. What is most needed by someone whose flat receives very poor broadband signal?

A．External hard drive.	B．Amazon Kindle.
C．Tile Mate key finder.	D．WiFi range extender.

7 . How much is Jack’s new jacket?

A．$100.

B．$130.

C．$140.