Question

17．A bargain is something offered at a low and advantageous price．A more recent definition is：a bargain is a dirty trick to force money out of the pockets of silly and innocent people．
 The cost of producing a new-for example-toothpaste would make 80p the proper price for it，so we will market it at£1.20．It is not a bad toothpaste，and as people like to try new things it will sell well to start with； but the attraction of novelty soon fades，so sales will fall．When that happens we will reduce the price to£1.15．And we will turn it into a bargain by printing 5p OFF all over it．
 Sometimes it is not 5p OFF but 1p OFF．What breathtaking rudeness to advertise 1p OFF your soap or washing powder or whatever!Even the poorest old-age pensioner ought to regard this as an insult（侮辱），but he doesn't．A bargain must not be missed．People say one has to have washing powder （or whatever） and one might as well buy it a penny cheaper．
The real danger starts when unnecessary things become‘bargains'．Many people just cannot resist bargains．Provided they think they are getting a bargain they will buy clothes they will never wear or furniture they have no space for．Once I heard of a man who bought an electric saw as a bargain and cut off two of his fingers the next day．But he had no regrets：the saw had been truly cheap．
 Quite a few people actually believe that they make money on such bargains．A lady once told me："I've had a lucky day today．I bought a dress for£120，reduced from£400； and I bought a beautiful Persian carpet for£600，reduced from£900．"It will never occur to her that she has actually wasted£720．She feels as though she had made£580．She also feels，I am sure，that if she had more time for shopping，she could make a living out of it．
 Some people buy in large quantities because it is cheaper．Once a couple bought enough sugar for their lifetime and the lifetime of their children and grandchildren．They thought it a bargain not to be missed．When the sugar arrived they didn't know where to store it-until they realized that their toilet was a very spacious one．So that was where they piled up their sugar．Not only did their guests feel rather strange whenever they were offered sugar to put into their coffee，but the toilet became extremely sticky．
 To offer bargains is a commercial trick to make the poor poorer．When greedy fools fall for this trick，it serves them right．

63．Which word best describes the language style of the passage？C
A．Polite．B．Foolish．C．Humorous．D．Serious．
64．What does the underlined word"novelty"in Paragraph 2 probably mean？C
A．Good quality．B．Low price．C．Newness．D．Curiosity．
65．How does the author feel about 1p OFF a product？B
A．It's a gift for poor people．
B．It's an offense to shoppers．
C．It's a bargain worth trying．
D．It's a real reduction in price．
66．Which statement will the author probably agree with？D
A．Bargains are things people don't really need．
B．Bargains are often real cheap products．
C．Bargains help people make a living．
D．Bargains play tricks on people．

Answer 1

分析 本文属于议论文阅读，作者通过这篇文章主要向我们讲述了人们购物时盲目追求折扣却有可能造成不理性消费的现象，作者旨在以此告诫读者要适度消费，理性消费．

解答 63．C．推理判断题．根据文章第四段"Once I heard of a man who bought an electric saw as a bargain and cut off two of his fingers the next day"买锯结果把自己锯了，倒数第二段的"Not only did their guests feel rather strange whenever they were offered sugar to put into their coffee，but the toilet became extremely sticky．"买糖结果放卫生间了等都能看出这是一种幽默的笔法，故选C．
64．C．词义推断题．根据文章第二段的，and as people like to try new things it will sell well to start with推断出novelty为新鲜事物，故选C．
65．B．细节理解题．根据文章第三段的Even the poorest old-age pensioner ought to regard this as an insult（侮辱），but he doesn't．即使是最贫穷的老年退休金应该认为这是一种侮辱（侮辱），但他不会讨价还价，一定不能错过，故选B．
66．D．细节理解题．根据文章最后的一段的To offer bargains is a commercial trick to make the poor poorer．中的关键词commercial判断便宜销售就是商家玩地把戏．故选D．

点评 考察学生的细节理解和推理判断能力，做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句，和题干进行比较，再做出正确的选择．在做推理判断题不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实，要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断．