Question

What is the first thing you notice when you walk into a shop? The products displayed at the entrance? Or the soft background music?

But have you ever noticed the smell? Unless it is bad, the answer is likely to be no. But while a shop’s scent may not be outstanding compared with sights and sounds, it is certainly there. And it is proving to be an increasingly powerful tool in encouraging people to purchase.

A brand store has become famous for its distinctive scent which floats through the fairly dark hall and out to the entrance, via scent machines. A smell may be attractive but it may not just be used for freshening air. One sports goods company once reported that when it first introduced scent into stores, customers’ intention to purchase increased by 80 percent.

When it comes to the best shopping streets in Paris, scent is just as important to a brand’s success as the quality of its window displays and goods on sale. This is mainly because shopping is a very different experience to what it used to be.

Some years ago, the focus for brand name shopping was on a few people with sales assistants’ disproving attitude and don’t-touch-what-you-can’t-afford displays. Now the rise of electronic commerce (e-commerce) has opened up famous brands to a wider audience. But while e-shops can use sights and sounds, only bricks-and-mortar shops (实体店) can offer a full experience from the minute customers step through the door to the moment they leave. Another brand store seeks to be much more than a shop, but rather a destination. And scent is just one way to achieve this.

Now, a famous store uses complex man-made smell to make sure that the soft scent of baby powder floats through the kid department, and coconut scent in the swimsuit section. A department store has even opened a new lab, inviting customers on a journey into the store’s windows to smell books, pots and drawers, in search of their perfect scent.

1.According to the passage, what is an increasingly powerful tool in the success of some brand stores?

A. Friendly assistance.

B. Unique scent.

C. Soft background music .

D. Attractive window display.

2.E-shops are mentioned in the passage to ________.

A. show the advantages of brick-and-mortar stores

B. urge shop assistants to change their attitude

C. push stores to use sights and sounds

D. introduce the rise of e-commerce

3.What does the underlined word “destination” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A. A platform that exhibits goods.

B. A spot where travelers like to stay.

C. A place where customers love to go.

D. A target that a store expects to meet.

4.Which statement would the writer agree with?

A. Put different scents on the products on display.

B. Ask every shop assistant to wear light perfume.

C. Place fragrant flowers in the shop.

D. Expose some coffee bean to air inside a coffee shop.

5.The main purpose of the passage is to ________.

A. compare and evaluate B. examine and assess

C. inform and explain D. argue and discuss

 

Answer 1

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.D

5.C

【解析】

试题分析：当你走进一家商店的时候，你首先注意到的是什么？入口处陈列的商品，还是柔和的背景音乐？文章介绍了现在很多商店都在使用的一种吸引顾客的方法--用味道来吸引顾客。

1.But while a shop’s scent...And it is proving to be an increasingly powerful tool in encouraging people to purchase.”可知，it指代的是“scent”，一个商店的味道能够激发人们的购买欲望，故选B。

2.But while e-shops can use sights and sounds, only bricks-and-mortar shops (实体店) can offer a full experience from the minute customers step through the door to the moment they leave.”可知，网店使用视觉或声音来吸引顾客，而只有实体店能够为顾客提供从他们进店到离开的完整购物体验，说明文章提到网店是为了突出实体店的优势，故选A。

3.Another brand store seeks to be much more than a shop, but rather a destination”可知，另外一个品牌店不仅仅是一个商店，它更是一个顾客经常光顾的地方，故选C。

4.a famous store uses complex man-made smell to make sure that the soft scent of baby powder floats through the kid department, and coconut scent in the swimsuit section.”可知，一家知名的百货公司使用各种各样的人工香味来吸引顾客，由此可知，咖啡店里散发出的咖啡豆的味道有利于吸引顾客，故选D。

5.And it is proving to be an increasingly powerful tool in encouraging people to purchase.”和第三段的例子，及倒数第二段最后一句“And scent is just one way to achieve this.”和最后一段的例子可知，文章使用的写作手法是列举事实，并通过例子来进行解释，故选C。

考点：生活类短文阅读