Since 1972 Americans have watched more than 9，000 episodes of "The Price is Right"，a game show with an economic twist.After being selected from the audience by the famous phrase—"come on down"—contestants must guess the exact price of prizes，ranging from guitars to garden furniture.If they guess too high，they are disqualified.In a recent paper，Jonathan Hartley of Harvard Kennedy School points out an interesting trend.Contestants have got a lot worse at guessing prices.
Technology may play a role.Reaching for a smartphone is easier than recalling a fact from memory.Who remembers phone numbers any more？People may just fall out of the habit of recalling prices.Still，the rise of the smartphone is a recent phenomenon --it cannot explain why contestants became worse guessers during the 1970s，1980s and 1990s.
Economic changes may be a better explanation.A paper published in 2001 suggested that higher GDP growth raised "price-recall error".Like the famous politician who thinks a gallon of milk costs ﹩15，as people get richer they worry less about budgeting（預(yù)算）.
A related trend is that Americans devote a decreasing share of their household spending to goods--which tend to appear on "The Price Is Right"，and a rising share to services，such as dining and childcare.Contestants might be pretty good at guessing the price of a gym class or a babysitter.
Perhaps the most interesting explanation，however，relates to globalization.In the early 1970s，consumers had a relatively limited selection of products to choose from.Around the time that "The Price Is Right" first aired，sales catalogues were hundreds of pages long.But a search on Amazon brings up nearly1，000 results just for the word "toaster".Firms offer a huge range of differentiated products at wildly different prices，allowing consumers to satisfy their special wants.The result is that guessing prices is trickier.
The rise of online shopping adds further confusion.Online retailers（零售商）respond instantly to fluctuations in supply and demand.Alberto Cavallo of Harvard Business School finds that some large retailers now change their prices，both upwards and downwards，twice as frequently as they did a decade ago.All of this suggests that contestants' guesses may yet get worse.
（1）What does Jonathan Hartley find out from" The Price Is Right"？ CC
A．Guessing prices has become a growing trend.
B．Technology makes it easier to guess prices.
C．People are becoming less price-sensitive.
D．It's necessary to have the habit of guessing prices.
（2）Why does the author mention "the price of a gallon of milk" in Paragraph 3？ AA
A．To show a good economy makes people less concerned about prices.
B．To complain "Price-recall error" is common among politicians.
C．To reveal Americans are spending more on services than goods.
D．To present "The Price Is Right" tends to focus on daily goods.
（3）In which way does globalization make guessing prices difficult？ CC
A．It has caused frequent price wars.
B．It directs people's attention to online shopping.
C．It has brought a wealth of products.
D．It leads to huge price differences among retailers.
（4）The underlined word "fluctuations" in the last paragraph means DD.
A．Goals.
B．Examples.
C．Charges.
D．Changes.
【答案】C；A；C；D
【解答】
【點(diǎn)評(píng)】
聲明：本試題解析著作權(quán)屬菁優(yōu)網(wǎng)所有，未經(jīng)書面同意，不得復(fù)制發(fā)布。
發(fā)布：2024/5/27 14:0:0組卷：5引用：1難度：0.5
相似題
-
1．A mother was asked to attend his son's school's first teacher-parent meeting．To the little boy's disappointment，she said she（1）
go．This was the first time（2）his classmates and teacher（3）his mother and he felt（4）of her appearance．Although she was a beautiful woman，there was a severe scar （疤痕） that（5）nearly the entire right side of her face．The boy never wanted to（6）why or how she got the scar．
The people at the meeting were（7）by the kindness and natural beauty of his mother（8）the scar，but the little boy was still embarrassed （尷尬） and（9）himself from everyone．However，he could（10）a conversation between his mother and his teacher．
The teacher asked（11）， "How did you get the scar on your face？"
The mother replied， "（12）my son was a baby，he was in a room that caught fire．Everyone was（13）afraid to go in because the fire was（14），so I went in．As I was running toward his bed，I saw a long piece of wood coming down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him．I was knocked（15）but fortunately，a fireman came in and saved both of us．" She（16）the burned side of her face．" This scar will be（17），but to this day，I have never（18）what I did．"
Hearing this ，the little boy came out running toward his mother with tears in his eyes．He held her in his arms and felt a great（19）of the sacrifice （犧牲） that his mother had made for him．He held her hand（20）for the rest of the day．（1） A．may B．would C．could D．will （2） A．that B．which C．whether D．when （3） A．had noticed B．had greeted C．had accepted D．had met （4） A．sick B．a(chǎn)shamed（羞恥） C．a(chǎn)fraid D．tired （5） A．included B．passed C．covered D．shaded （6） A．talk about B．think about C．care about D．hear about （7） A．impressed B．surprised C．excited D．comforted （8） A．in sight of B．by means of C．by way of D．In spite of（盡管） （9） A．hid B．protected C．separated D．escaped （10） A．understand B．remind C．hear D．learn （11） A．carefully B．seriously C．nervously D．a(chǎn)nxiously （12） A．As B．When C．Since D．While （13） A．so B．much C．quite D．too （14） A．out of control B．under control C．in control D．over control （15） A．helpless B．hopeless C．senseless D．useless （16） A．pointed B．showed C．wiped D．touched （17） A．ugly B．lasting C．serious D．frightening （18） A．forgot B．recognized C．considered D．regretted （19） A．honor B．sense C．happiness D．pride （20） A．quietly B．slightly C．tightly D．Suddenly 發(fā)布：2025/1/1 18:0:1組卷：8引用：2難度：0.2 -
2．Your child is unique，but what all children have in common is natural curiosity and an ability to learn they are born with.Our brains are active all the time，and a baby's brain is the busiest of all.Research has shown that babies begin to understand language about twice as fast as they actually speak it.By showing children other languages at an early age，you are giving them the opportunity to make use of their natural ability to hear and recognize between the sounds of other languages，and their ability to make sense of what they are hearing.
Communication is something that children do to help them achieve something else，and they are unaware of the large amount of learning taking place.They take everything in through their senses，making connections between what they hear，see，smell，taste and touch.As long as we provide the right conditions，their learning and development will take place in a natural way.
In your child's early years，the emotional environment is just as important as the physical environment.Children learn when they feel safe，happy，valued and listened to.This is central to any learning experience in a child's early years，including learning an additional language.Your child has a trial-and-error approach to its development，and making mistakes is a valuable part of the learning process.When children learn an additional language at an early age，they get the benefits of experimenting with that language as a natural part of their development.Their progress isn't prevented by a fear of getting it wrong，and very young children are simply working their way towards getting it right.
The long-term benefits of learning another language go beyond being able to communicate with others.Studies suggest that children learning an additional language tend to score better on standardized tests because learning languages develops listening，observation，problem-solving and critical （批判性的） thinking skills.These are skills that are of life-long benefit，both personally and professionally.Encouraging in children a love of language at an early age prepares them well for school and for life.
（1）What do we know about Children according to Paragraph 1？
A．Children are busy playing.
B．Children are born to speak.
C．Children are good at speaking native language.
D．Children have a better ability to learn other languages.
（2）While learning a language，children.
A．speak to themselves
B．need to have language classes
C．make use of their different senses
D．notice how much they have learned
（3）Children learn when they.
A．a(chǎn)re in bad emotion
B．do not make mistakes
C．learn from their mistakes
D．a(chǎn)re taught by their teachers
（4）In fact learning another language helps children to.
A．take more tests
B．have a good time
C．encourage themselves
D．develop life-long skills發(fā)布：2025/1/1 17:30:2組卷：4引用：3難度：0.5 -
3．A few weeks ago，I sat with a California farmer named Dave Ribeiro．I asked him what he wished to know about farmers．He smiled and said， "That we walk among you．We look like you and talk like you．We have advanced degrees and hobbies，just like you．"
Take Dave for example：He's a young man with a music degree．And if you walked past him on the street，you'd never think， "There goes a farmer．"
Is someone like Dave who you picture when you think of a farmer？Probably not．I think that most people would picture a man in his overalls（工作服）．I can tell you，that does not represent Dave or any of the many other farmers I have gotten to know．
Not only do we have to throw out our previous impression of farmers，but farming as a whole doesn't look much like it used to either．We recently sent a team out to see what modern farming looks like，and they found farmers to be completely different from our usual ideas about them and also came across them in some unexpected places．
In a parking lot in a neighborhood of Brooklyn，they met a new crop of young farmers who were trying to bring fresh greens closer to eaters in the city by growing them in high-tech indoor vertical（垂直的） farms．In a Florida field under the fight path of an airport，they discovered farmers with university degrees growing plants that might someday fuel our cars．And in a modern farm in California，they observed how farmers were using technology to take the best possible care of their animals．
These farmers all spend their days in very different ways-none of them looks like the previous farmer we have in our mind-but they're all working on new ways to feed our planet．Not only do we need to change our idea of what farming looks like，but we also need to change our view of where solutions can come from．Feeding all of us is going to take all of us working together．
（1）How does Dave describe today's farmers？
A．They often walk on the street．
B．They are leading a very busy life．
C．They are similar to ordinary people．
D．They have little time to make friends．
（2）How does the author think most people see farmers？
A．They usually wear overalls．
B．They have interesting hobbies．
C．They are skilled at growing crops．
D．They know modern farming practices．
（3）What was the purpose of the team？
A．To deepen connections among farmers．
B．To study different technologies in farming．
C．To find the new developments of modern farming．
D．To encourage farmers to use new farming method．
（4）What do the farmers mentioned in Paragraph 5 have in common？
A．They all work in the city．
B．They all use high technology．
C．They all do hard physical work．
D．They all work with universities．發(fā)布：2025/1/1 18:0:1組卷：26引用：5難度：0.7
把好題分享給你的好友吧~~