1 . Marketers assume the more choice they offer, the more likely customers will be able to find just the right thing. For instance, offering fifty styles of jeans instead of two increases the chances that shoppers will find a pair they really like. Nevertheless, research now shows when there is too much choice, consumers are less likely to buy anything at all, and if they do buy, they are less satisfied with their selection.
It all began with jam. In 2000, psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper published a remarkable study. On one day, shoppers saw a display table with 24 varieties of jam. Those sampling the jam received a coupon for $1 off any jam. On another day, shoppers saw a similar table, but only six varieties of jam were on display. The large display attracted more interest than the small one. But when the time for purchase came, people seeing the large display were one-tenth as likely to buy as people seeing the small one.
Other studies have confirmed this result that more choice is not always better. As the variety of snacks, soft drinks and beers offered at convenience stores increases, for instance, sales volume and customer satisfaction decrease. These results challenge our opinions about human nature and the determinants of well-being.
Choice is good for us, but its relationship to satisfaction appears to be more complicated than we assumed. What’s more, psychologists and business academics have largely ignored another outcome of choice: More of it requires increased time and effort and can lead to anxiety, regret, excessively high expectations and self-blame if the choice doesn’t work out.
Without doubt, having more options enables us, most of the time, to achieve better objective outcomes. Again, having fifty styles of jeans rather than two increases the likelihood that customers will find a pair that fits. But the subjective outcome may be that shoppers will feel dissatisfied, which creates a significant challenge for retailers and marketers. Choice can no longer be used to justify a marketing strategy. More isn’t always better, either for the customer or for the retailer.
1. How does the author mainly support the topic?| A．By quoting sayings. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By stating arguments. | D．By making comments. |
| A．It always wastes customers’ time. | B．It’s difficult to accept the bad results. |
| C．It may result in some negative feelings. | D．It makes the business more complicated. |
| A．More choice leads to shopping themselves. |
| B．Choice plays an important role in marketing strategies. |
| C．Having fifty styles of jeans is extremely better than two. |
| D．More choice causes the decline in consumption to some degree. |
| A．Less choice does harm | B．More isn’t always better |
| C．More purchase is better | D．Less choice favors consumption |
2 . You may hear the awful saying “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, which speaks to a common belief about older adulthood that it’s a time when we’ve become so set in our ways that we’re not likely to change.
Psychologists used to follow the same line of thinking: After young adulthood, people tend to become stabler as people age. However, more recent studies suggest that something unexpected happens to many people as they reach and pass their 60s: Their personality starts changing again. People’s personality can change in response to their circumstances, adapting to a changing life. These developments clarify personality is not a permanent state but an adaptive way of being.
We can’t say with certainty what factors are driving these shifts, but a few theories exist. One possibility is that personality is shaped by specific life events that tend to happen in older age: retirement, empty nesting or widowhood (丧偶). But such milestones aren’t very reliable sources of change. They affect some people deeply, but have no impact on others. Any one event could mean many different things, depending on its context. Jenny Wagner, a psychologist at the University of Hamburg, in Germany, gave an example. Losing a partner could be a great loss, but for some it could be a bit of a relief at the same time-say, for someone who’s been caring for their ill partner for years.
Granted, old-age personality changes don’t always result from a sense of helplessness or an endlessly shrinking life. Research has shown that when people get older, they commonly recalibrate their goals; though they might be doing less, they tend to prioritize what they find meaningful and really appreciate it. That may involve adjusting to what they can’t control, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re reacting to a bad life—just a different one.
At the same time, not all of the changes coming with old age are unavoidable. And if old adults had more support from their communities and society, perhaps they’d be better able to command their circumstances—rather than having to make up for factors slipping out of their grasp.
1. Why is the saying in paragraph 1 mentioned?| A．To lead in the topic. | B．To explain a reason. |
| C．To show an attitude. | D．To offer a suggestion. |
| A．They can’t be avoided or prevented. | B．They will happen to most old people. |
| C．They may vary from person to person. | D．They put elders in a terrible situation. |
| A．establish | B．adjust | C．pursue | D．reach |
| A．Give old people help and care. | B．Help communities and society. |
| C．Teach old people to adapt to such changes. | D．Study more about the change of circumstances. |
3 . Delivery workers will finally be able to charge their electric bicycles — and themselves — at new stations created out of repurposed news stands in New York City, Senator (参议员) Chuck Schumer announced on Monday.
The repurposed news stands, the first of their kind in the nation, will feature charging stations safe for e-bike batteries, bike parking, and a place for delivery workers to rest or ride out bad weather.
“You’ve been riding this bike a long time. You need a break. Maybe you’ve got to make a phone call. Maybe you have to take care of your personal needs, any of these things,” Schumer said. “They’re constantly out on the street, no place to rest, no shelter to protect them — imagine it’s pouring rain, or even snow and you still got to do this,” he said. “And so we’re going to take underutilized (未利用的) public space on our streets like this news stand right behind us. Very simple.”
And the stations, which will be designed by Manuel Mansylla, will not contain bathrooms — which were once a flashpoint (焦点) for delivery workers who were banned from using the restrooms at some of the very restaurants from which they were delivering food.
But thanks to new city laws that went into effect at the start of this year, including requiring restaurants to allow delivery workers to use their restrooms, that’s thankfully not the main concern anymore, said Gustavo Ajche, a delivery worker. “The bathroom is different. There’s no problem with that any more what we need here is more parking spaces,” he said.
Not everyone loves the idea of news stands being repurposed for e-bike charging stations. “After car chargers on the sidewalk, this is another facility of the city taking pedestrian (行人) space to create charging stations,” said Christine Berthet of CHEKPEDS, the pedestrian advocacy group that has long called for the creation of more public space for pedestrians.
1. What service can delivery workers expect from the repurposed news stands?| A．Charging their phones. | B．Selling them e-bike batteries. |
| C．Repairing their bikes. | D．Offering them shelter. |
| A．They are underutilized. | B．They are necessary. |
| C．They are simple to construct. | D．They are gaining popularity. |
| A．They get more parking spaces. | B．They can use car chargers on the sidewalk. |
| C．They can use restaurant bathrooms. | D．They get extra pay for working in bad weather. |
| A．Critical. | B．Unclear. | C．Tolerant. | D．Favorable. |
4 . Wal-Mart is not just the world’s largest retailer. It’s the world’s largest company, which sells in three months what number-two retailer Home Depot sells in a year.
Wal-Mart exercises its power for just one purpose: to bring the lowest possible prices to its customers. At Wal-Mart, that goal is never reached. The retailer has a clear policy for suppliers: On basic products that don’t change, the price Wal-Mart will pay, and will charge shoppers, must drop year after year. But what almost no one outside the world of Wal-Mart and none of its 21,000 suppliers know is the high cost of those low prices. To survive in the face of its pricing demands, makers of everything from bikes to jeans have had to close US plants in favor of obtaining products from abroad.
Indeed, the real story of Wal-Mart, the story that never gets told, is the story of the pressure the biggest retailer constantly applies to its suppliers in the name of bringing us “every day low prices”.
The giant retailer’s low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart’s pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line? Of course, US companies have been moving jobs offshore for decades, long before Wal-Mart was a retailing power. But there is no question that the chain is helping accelerate the loss of American jobs to low-wage countries such as Thailand.
People ask, “How can it be bad for things to come into the US cheaply?” Sure, it’s great to have bargains. But you can’t buy anything if you’re not employed.
There is no question that Wal-Mart’s drive to squeeze out cost has benefited consumers. By now, it is accepted wisdom that Wal-Mart makes the companies it does business with more efficient and focused. Wal-Mart itself is known for continuous improvement in its ability to handle, move, and track goods. It is legendary for forcing its suppliers to redesign everything from their packaging to their computer systems. It is also legendary for quite straight forwardly telling them what it will pay for their goods.
1. What does the underline word offshore in the passage mean?| A．in abroad. | B．in the ocean. |
| C．on the beach. | D．on an island not far from shore. |
| A．more high-paying jobs. | B．better designed packages. |
| C．bigger profit of its partners. | D．more jobless American workers. |
| A．Still more quality goods will be provided. |
| B．The food you get at Wal-Mart costs least. |
| C．The value of Wal-Mart is over assessed. |
| D．Wal-Mart is a very demanding company. |
| A．The Fortune Wal-Mart Makes | B．The Wal-Mart you don’t know |
| C．The Biggest Retailer—Wal-Mart | D．The Money-saving Tip in Wal-Mart |
5 . The road to a Nobel Prize, the most respected scientific award in the world, is growing ever longer, with almost half of winners now waiting more than 20 years from making a Nobel-worthy discovery to receiving the prize.
One analysis shows that the average time between publishing the work and receiving one of the science prizes has nearly doubled in the past 60 years. Across the three science prizes, chemistry now has the longest “Nobel lag”—an average of 30 years over the past decade—and physiology or medicine has the shortest, at 26 years.
Alfred Nobel’s will stated that the prizes should be awarded “to those who, during the previous year, shall have given the greatest benefit to mankind.” In reality this has only happened a few times. But in the first half of the twentieth century, it was common for Nobel prize winners to be in their 30s -and that is unheard of now, says Santo Fortunato, now a computational social scientist at Indiana University.
There are a number of possible reasons for this, says Yian Yin, a computational social scientist at Cornell University. It could be that the overall number of breakthroughs is increasing each year, so awards cannot keep up with the number of people who deserve to be recognized, he says. It is also the case that the importance of some works, which Yin describes as “sleeping beauties” are only realized years or decades later. Besides, the lengthening gap could be a sign that there has been a decrease in “disruptive” science - important studies or discoveries that change the paradigm (范式) of their field. This could be causing the Nobel committees to focus more on the past.
Fortunato points out that, if the gap continues to grow, outstanding scientists could miss out on the award owing to the Nobel Committee’s rule banning posthumous prizes (追授奖项). “It has to stop at some point,” he says, adding that a rethink of the posthumous-awarding ban would allow more people’s work to get the recognition that it deserves.
1. Why does the writer mention the numbers in the first two paragraphs?| A．To explain a rule. | B．To present a fact. |
| C．To clarify a concept. | D．To make a prediction. |
| A．None of them are in their 30s nowadays. | B．Their names are unheard of by the public. |
| C．None of them receive the prizes several times. | D．They must make contributions the year before. |
| A．The change in standards. | B．The requirement of the award. |
| C．The increase in breakthroughs. | D．The tradition of the committees. |
| A．Reconsidering the current rule. | B．Establishing a better committee. |
| C．Stopping the award presentation. | D．Recognizing more people’s work. |
6 . Tips to help you overcome people-pleasing
Considering other people’s feelings and treating them with kindness is something we strive to do.
When this happens, people-pleasing has crossed the line from kind and generous to self-abandonment — not being the authentic self because we’re afraid others will disapprove, criticize, or reject us. Here are tips for you to overcome such behaviors.
Self-care is a necessity, not a luxury. It’s not something you do if you have time or if you deserve it. Taking care of your emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical needs keeps you healthy. Without it, you’ll get sick, stressed, and irritable. Try putting self-care activities (exercise, socializing, hobbies, etc.) on your calendar to ensure that self-care is a priority.
Not everyone’s opinion matters.One big mistake people-pleasers make is acting as if everyone’s opinion matters equally. You don’t differentiate whose opinion matters more. Generally, the closer the relationship, the more you’ll value their opinion and want to please them. Thus, it’s natural to want to do things to make your loved ones happy.
Most people worry that painful conflicts will destroy relationships.
| A．Be aware of your inner needs. |
| B．Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish. |
| C．This indicates that we’re People-Pleasers. |
| D．It’s understandable and common to want to avoid them. |
| E．But sacrificing our wellbeing to make others happy is not. |
| F．However, you don’t need to please acquaintances in the same way. |
| G．It results in greater understanding and ultimately strengthens the relationship. |
7 . There’s a song in your head. You keep hearing it repeatedly. You can’t make it stop, and it’s driving you crazy! Has this happened to you? Maybe you have suffered from an earworm, which is a memory of a song.
Earworms are common. A study showed that 90 percent of people experience them. Why do we get earworms? According to neurologist Oliver Sacks, music affects us whether we pay attention to it or not. We’re surrounded by music all the time in our everyday lives. Sacks wonders if there is a higher incidence of earworms today because of all this music in our environment.
Research on the primary auditory cortex supports Sack’s ideas. The auditory cortex is the part of the brain that processes sound. It’s a short-term storage system for small amounts of auditory information. Some of this auditory information is forgotten, and some of it goes into long-term memory. However, songs appear to stay in the auditory cortex for a long time.
James Kellaris, a professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati, thinks that only certain types of songs become earworms. These songs are repetitive, simple, and incongruous — something unexpected such as uneven rhythm. Your brain pays a lot of attention to a song like this, Kellaris says. Because it is repetitive and unusual, it stays longer in the auditory cortex. At that point, Kellaris believes, it becomes an annoying earworm.
Advertisers often use jingles — short songs that are easy to remember to promote sales. Advertisers want jingles to stick in people’s minds to keep them thinking about their products. It seems that advertisers have learned what Kellaris has found out in his research.
Is there any way to get rid of an earworm? Here are some tips Kellaris collected: replace the earworm song with another song, try to distract yourself by doing an intense activity such as exercising, or tell someone about your earworm. What if none of these strategies work? Then perhaps you should just sit back and try to enjoy the music in your head!
1. How does the author lead to the topic?| A．By giving a definition. | B．By describing a phenomenon. |
| C．By drawing a conclusion. | D．By clarifying a question. |
| A．The mechanism of earworms. | B．The lasting effect of memory. |
| C．The necessity of the research. | D．The significance of music. |
| A．Paragraph 2. | B．Paragraph 3. | C．Paragraph 4. | D．Paragraph 5. |
| A．Earworms — the Songs in Your Head | B．Jingles — the Typical Earworms |
| C．How Do Earworms Change Our Life? | D．How Do We Live with Earworms? |
8 . Angus Neish dared to hope that his fine-looking cattle, bred at Rodmead Farm in Wilt-shire, would nab a prize at the Royal Bath and West Show last month. The annual fair, held near Shepton Mallet, in Somerset, is England’s oldest and grandest. As well as a fiercely competitive livestock parade, it features Morris dancing, sheep-shearing and a vintage fairground. Its pony-chariot races are second to none. Many contestants performed vigorously before a large crowd. 100,000 turned out for some of the three-day show.
Britons love a fair. No one is sure exactly how many shows there are across the country, but at least 400 days of such rural events happen annually across the country. Roughly one in ten Britons attend them each year. It appears their popularity is rising.
In late June, it was the turn of the Royal Highland Show, near Edinburgh, where 217,000 people—breaking a record set in 2019—rolled up. It is estimated that the event last year boosted nearby businesses by almost £40m ($51m).
Why do people go? Nostalgia (怀旧) is evidently a draw. At Bath and West, as colored flags flapped, visitors formed queues, bought cream teas and listened as a military band played wartime hits. Rural shows also have a purpose. Many fairs were founded to spread the knowledge of new farming technology among rural populations. Some of that mission lives on.
A secondary goal is to better educate those who flood in from towns and cities—urban folk make up a decent share of those who pack the grounds. Some consumers also come armed with powerful knowledge of food supply chains—as well as sometimes picky personal preferences for organic, local, animal-friendly and environmentally sound products. Laura Williams, of the Royal Welsh Show, notes that visitors are “much more invested in farming and interested in where their food comes from” than in years past.
A last purpose, naturally, is for farmers to excel against their rivals in friendly competition. In this respect, Mr. Neish enjoyed an utterly successful day. In a first for Bath and West, his cattle scooped all four of the top prizes on offer in their categories. Such victories do not bring immediate, large financial rewards, but should boost the reputation of his breeding program.
1. What do we know about the fair last month?| A．It saw high attendances. |
| B．It was a monthly show. |
| C．It was a fierce art competition. |
| D．It conveyed British moral values. |
| A．To narrow the urban-rural gap. |
| B．To promote wartime hit records. |
| C．To offer an insight into farming. |
| D．To erase competition among farmers. |
| A．An instant profit. |
| B．Marketing strategies. |
| C．A chance to advertise. |
| D．An academic reputation. |
| A．Rural shows: Victors’ stage |
| B．Masses of farmers: True winners |
| C．Farm products: Sweeping British |
| D．Fun of the fair: Gaining popularity |
9 . We humans are comparison creatures.
It used to be that our primary reference of comparison was our local communities, primarily neighbors and co-workers. Because we tend to gather around those similar to ourselves in terms of educational level, work income, and shared interests, the range of differences when we compared ourselves to others was fairly small. Unfortunately, with the emergence of the Internet, we can now compare ourselves to literally anyone in the world.
These harmful comparisons also damage our emotional lives. When we feel lacking, we experience a variety of unpleasant and unhealthy emotions. We feel jealousy and envy for what others have and what we lack.
It’s one thing to realize that you compare yourself to others. It’s another thing to recognize that social comparison is often corrosive (逐步侵蚀的) to you in so many ways psychologically and emotionally. It’s an entirely other thing to stop yourself from comparing yourself to others.
| A．We are constantly measuring ourselves against other people. |
| B．Yet it is possible, and it is worth the effort for your mental health. |
| C．Thus, we are now exposed to groups that are quite different from us. |
| D．We believe that there is something wrong with us compared to others. |
| E．We can even feel bitterness and anger at others for the unfairness of it all. |
| F．Comparing ourselves to others has the potential to increase our life experience. |
| G．This new level of comparison has huge implications for our psychological lives. |
10 . Children seem to care so much about their names. A study shows that most of young people wish their parents had given them a different name.
Some people choose to change their names when they grow up. Many people in show business don’t use the names their parents gave them. Have you ever listened to Joanne? No? The answer could be “yes” if we call her stage name instead! You may never heard of Margaret. But if we tell you her stage name, you might know her as a famous dancer.
In many cultures, there are special ideas about how to choose a name. For example, many people choose a name that has been in their family for many years. It tells the child where he or she comes from.
Choosing a good name isn’t easy. Many parents search books that tell them the meanings of names. They could choose a name that carries a message. For example, Edith means “valuable gift”. Amanda means “love”. And Fara means “joy”.
Names like these tell family and friends how happy they are with their new baby. Other names can say something about the events during the birth of the child. In Africa, a first born son may have the name Mosi and the name Ama means “born on Saturday”.
Is every boy called Curitis polite? And is every girl called Mahira quick and full of energy? No parents can tell what kind of person their child will grow up to be. Just because parents name a boy Fahim, it doesn’t mean he will be clever. All they can do is hope.
1. What can we know about the study?| A．Young kids don’t care about their future. |
| B．Most of young people care about their names. |
| C．Most girls want to change their names. |
| D．Most parents want to rename by themselves. |
| A．To prove some people hope to be renamed. |
| B．To introduce a famous dancer to readers. |
| C．To introduce her true name. |
| D．To tell the benefit of name. |
| A．Kids always want to rename. |
| B．It is hard to change kids’ names. |
| C．Parents aren’t sure if their kids will like the name. |
| D．Parents want to choose a meaningful name. |
| A．Names can never influence our lives | B．Your parents’ wish is behind names |
| C．Love your parents, love your name | D．Methods to choose a suitable name |
