Question

【题目】If you think that Internet shopping on a Sunday gets you the best deals, then think again. Tuesday is actually the best day of the week if you want to grab a bargain according to an exhaustive analysis of on-line shopping. Thursday is the second best day followed by Friday—but Sunday is when you are least likely to make a saving.

The study also looked at months and found that the pre-Christmas rush in November is when there are most bargains around on the web—and not the January sales. US retailer(零售商) reporting service Sum All examined 3,000 companies and halt a billion transactions(交易) as part of its report. It worked out the average discount(折扣) offered to consumers on each day of the week and over different times of the year.

The best day of the week was Tuesday where savings were 4.81 percent, followed by Thursday on 4.80 percent. In third place was Friday at 4.615 percent, then Wednesday at 4.13 percent and Monday at 4.11 percent. Only the foolish would shop on a Saturday where the discounts were typically 3.84 percent—and Sunday was the worst with 3.37 percent.

The analysis by month is even more surprising as most people think that waiting until the post-Christmas sales would yield the biggest discounts. In fact, November is when you will get the largest savings at 5.99 percent on average. January came in second at 4.95 percent, followed by May at 4.50 percent.

The worst month to buy online was March where you could expect to save just 2.76 percent. Consumers and experts have been speculating for years about the best time to shop online.

Booking a flight has almost become a science with some claiming that buying six weeks before you travel guarantees you the best price. However, a recent analysis by the US Airlines Reporting Commission found that was not actually the case.

Not only did the six-week window fail to pile up, in some cases the best fares were on sale as long as 24 weeks before departure. The ARC said that booking well in advance is best advised for busy routes or long haul flights(长途航班), as the price only tends to go up.

【1】If a buyer wants to buy cheap goods online, he'd better go to the shop on ________.

A. Tuesday B. Thursday C. Friday D. Sunday

【2】Most web sellers often provide bargain on the web ________.

A. after New Year's Day B. during Valentine's Day

C. on Mother's Day D. before Christmas

【3】Which of the following statements is True according to the third paragraph?

A. The best day of the week was Tuesday where savings were 4.8 percent.

B. In third place was Thursday where savings were 4.65 percent.

C. Sunday where the discounts were 3.37 percent was the worst.

D. Customers can get the best savings on Saturday.

【4】What is the meaning of the underlined word “speculating” in the fifth paragraph?

A. Quarrelling. B. Objecting. C. Searching. D. Considering.

Answer 1

【答案】Sunday was the worst with 3.37 percentC项Sunday where the discounts were 3.37 percent was the worst.

【解析】试题分析：本文主要揭秘网购最佳时机：周二和十一月最实惠。一份调查报告显示如果想要买到便宜货，周二其实才是一周里网购最划算的一天，十一月圣诞节前的购物潮是你最可能从网上淘到便宜货的时节，而非一月份的特卖。

【1】细节理解题。根据第一段第二句Tuesday is actually the best day of the week if you want to grab a bargain, according to an exhaustive analysis of on-line shopping.可知，一份网上购物的详尽分析报告显示，如果你想买到便宜货，周二其实才是一周里网购最划算的一天。故选A。

【2】细节理解题。根据第二段首句The study also looked at months and found that the pre-Christmas rush in November is when there are most bargains around on the web-and not the January sales.可知，研究也发现十一月圣诞节前的购物潮是你最可能从网上淘到便宜货的时节，而非一月份的特卖。故选D。

【3】细节理解题。根据第三段尾句Only the foolish would shop on a Saturday where the discounts were typically 3.84 percent-and Sunday was the worst with 3.37 percent.可知，只有傻瓜才会周六上网购物，折扣率通常仅为3.84%，周日则是最糟的——3.37%。故选C。

【4】词句猜测题。根据下文Booking a flight has almost become a science with some claiming that buying six weeks before you travel guarantees you the best price.可知，订机票的学问几乎已经成为了一门科学，因此推断句子Consumers and experts have been speculating for years about the best time to shop online.的意思是：多年来，消费者和专家们一直在推测网购的最佳时机。故画线词speculating表示“推测”与C项意义相近。故选C。