Online shoppers would rather receive an offer for a product or service than make their own offer ₃ according to a study led by a Michigan State University scholar that has implications for the fast-growing e-commerce industry. The findings may come as a surprise given that shopping online is an anonymous(匿名的）process that seemingly can give consumers more confidence to drive a hard bargain_,said Don Conlon ，Professor of Management in MSU’s Broad College of Business.
But the study found that participants who made their own offers were less successful in sealing the deal and ，when they were successful_? worried they overpaid Many shoppers found the process of researching an offer to be a hassle. “ Americans are very busy，and it’s less time-consuming to be the one receiving the offer rather than the one proposing the offer  ” Conlon said. ^u People tend to be happier when they’re in the receiver role. ”
Online spending in the United States is expected to jump 45 percent in the next four years， from $ 226 billion this year to $ 327 billion in 2017，according to Forrester Research Inc. Nevertheless, researches into this prosperous market remain largely focused on the strategies of companies, rather than those o£ shoppers. Conlon^’s study is ，obviously, a rare exception.
Conlon got the idea for the study after considering the difference between two popular sites for hotels and airline flights, priceline.com, which takes bids, and hotwire.com ，which provides offers. Using these two models ，Conlon and his fellow researchers conducted a series of experiments with more than 850 people who were charged with booking a fictional hotel room and acquiring a fictional antique car. Not only did participants prefer to receive bids, Conlon said ，but they also secured more deals in that receiver role. Further ，when they had to make the bids ，they were left more mentally taxed and regretful.
From an industry perspective，putting customers in the receiver role may help fill more hotel rooms and airplane seats. “If you’re a business with a lot of products₃ ” Conlon said，“you may want to be the one making the offers. ” However, when selling single items, such as an antique car， accepting bids may be a better option since that typically drives up the price, he said.
【小题1】What can we learn from Para. 1?

U.S. Bottled Water Sales Are Booming Again Despite Opposition

Despite organized anti-bottled-water campaigns across the country and a noisy debate about bottled water’s environmental impact, Americans are buying more bottled water than ever.

Why do so many people seem to think they should have any input on what other American’s choose to buy or do?

If they want to buy bottled water, let them.

If they want to eat fast food, let them.

If they want to smoke pot, let them.

— Barackalypse

People just get tired of paying for others’ bad behavior. If many people eat excessive fast food, you pay higher insurance premiums. If many people frequently buy bottled water, your trash bills go up and landfills fill up quickly.www.zxxk.com

It’s about personal responsibility, which really should be a cornerstone of libertarianism.

                                                                            — Bdbr

So? This is the price you pay to live in a free society. You want to control the life of another just so you can save a few bucks? What would you say when someone do the same to you?

                                                                                                                         — Norman619

Defend selfish pricks all you like; I’m just glad there are still people who still believe personal responsibility is a good and decent thing. We make your life cheaper and less bothersome.

                                                                                 — Yoyo

What a waste of money! It’s fine when you’re on the road and you need a cold drink, but people who buy cases of bottled water for home are completely crazy.

                                                                          — Agmlauncher

I wish we all can find a way to improve things and benefit from this. The environment needs a lot of help but businesses will always work on what people would need and demand. Is this part of the balance? Hope we can find better ways.

— Skipweis

1.What can we know about bottled water in America?

A. Americans are consuming more bottled water than tap.

B. US bottled water sales have increased for the first time.

C. Activists in several regions have been fighting against it.

D. Some people worry about its bad effect on the environment.

2.Who would agree with Barackalypse on this matter?

A. Bdbr.             B. Norman619.           C. Yoyo.                        D. Agmlauncher.

3.According to the text, Agmlauncher is _____ bottled water.

A. partly supportive of                                   B. extremely against

C. strongly in favor of                                     D. not concerned about

4.Which of the following statements goes with Skipweis’ opinion?

A. The environment is emphasized too much.

B. It’s impossible for people to find a better way.

C. Business is not totally responsible for the problem.

D. At present we can’t benefit from bottled water at all. 

（B）

The U．S．birthrate began to decline in the middle 1950’s, resulting in a smaller college age population starting in the middle 1970’s．Something else happened in the 1970’s: the price of oil increased greatly, driving up the price of almost everything and making Americans aware that their large automobiles used a lot of gasoline．At the same time, foreign car manufacturers had begun to produce small fuel efficient cars in large quantities for the export market．Suddenly, the large, gas guzzling American cars were no longer attractive to American buyers, who began buying foreign cars by the thousands．The American automobile industry went into a recession．Thousands of automotive workers were laid off, as were thousands of people in industries indirectly connected with the auto industry．

People who are laid off tend to keep what money they have for necessities, like food and housing．They do not have the extra money needed to send their children to college．Their children cannot pay their own college costs, because during a recession they cannot find jobs．High unemployment means that more state funds must be used for social service-----unemployment benefits, and to aid dependent children, for example-----than during more prosperous times．It also means, that the states have fewer funds than usual, because people are paying fewer taxes．Institutions of higher education depend on two major sources of income to keep them functioning: tuition from students and funds from the states．At the present time, there are fewer students than in the past and fewer state funds available for higher education．The colleges and universities are in trouble．

60．What is the main idea of this passage??

A．The rising of oil price drove up the price of everything．

B．There were many reasons why higher education was in trouble in the 1970’s．

C．Birthrate began to decline in the USA in 1950’s．

D．High unemployment caused a lot of social problems．

61．American cars were not popular in their domestic markets because they were____．

A．small              B．gas consuming             

C．fuel efficient          D．not attractive

62．The colleges and universities were in trouble because of the following reasons except that ____．

A．they couldn’t get enough income to keep them running

B．young people couldn’t afford the tuition fees

C．keeping them running at the same level would cost much more

D．social services need more state funds because of the recession

63．All of the following statements are true EXCEPT ____．

A．young people couldn’t afford their own tuition in the 1970’s

B．it’s difficult for graduates from colleges to find a job in the 1970’s

C．fewer parents could afford to send their children to college because of the recession in 1970’s

D．Birthrate dropped in the 1970’s because of the recession

Online shoppers would rather receive an offer for a product or service than make their own offer ₃ according to a study led by a Michigan State University scholar that has implications for the fast-growing e-commerce industry. The findings may come as a surprise given that shopping online is an anonymous(匿名的）process that seemingly can give consumers more confidence to drive a hard bargain_,said Don Conlon ，Professor of Management in MSU’s Broad College of Business.

But the study found that participants who made their own offers were less successful in sealing the deal and ，when they were successful_? worried they overpaid Many shoppers found the process of researching an offer to be a hassle. “ Americans are very busy，and it’s less time-consuming to be the one receiving the offer rather than the one proposing the offer  ” Conlon said. ^u People tend to be happier when they’re in the receiver role. ”

Online spending in the United States is expected to jump 45 percent in the next four years， from $ 226 billion this year to $ 327 billion in 2017，according to Forrester Research Inc. Nevertheless, researches into this prosperous market remain largely focused on the strategies of companies, rather than those o£ shoppers. Conlon^’s study is ，obviously, a rare exception.

Conlon got the idea for the study after considering the difference between two popular sites for hotels and airline flights, priceline.com, which takes bids, and hotwire.com ，which provides offers. Using these two models ，Conlon and his fellow researchers conducted a series of experiments with more than 850 people who were charged with booking a fictional hotel room and acquiring a fictional antique car. Not only did participants prefer to receive bids, Conlon said ，but they also secured more deals in that receiver role. Further ，when they had to make the bids ，they were left more mentally taxed and regretful.

From an industry perspective，putting customers in the receiver role may help fill more hotel rooms and airplane seats. “If you’re a business with a lot of products₃ ” Conlon said，“you may want to be the one making the offers. ” However, when selling single items, such as an antique car， accepting bids may be a better option since that typically drives up the price, he said.

1.What can we learn from Para. 1?

A．The result of the study gives customers more confidence.

B．Scholars aren’t surprised at the findings of the study.

C．Online shoppers don’t bargain as much as expected.

D．E-commerce industry drives more hard bargains.

2.It can be concluded from Conlon’s experiments that______.

A．online shopping is time-consuming

B．given prices help promote online sales

C．online businesses provide a lot of products

D．receiving offers makes online shoppers regretful

3.The underlined word “taxed” in Para. 4 probably means______.

A．burdened         B．numbed           C．relieved          D．challenged

4.The passage is mainly about______.

A．the big advantages of online shopping

B．the rapid development of online shopping

C．online shoppers’ preference for taking offers

D．online companies strategies to improve service

（B）
The U．S．birthrate began to decline in the middle 1950’s, resulting in a smaller college age population starting in the middle 1970’s．Something else happened in the 1970’s: the price of oil increased greatly, driving up the price of almost everything and making Americans aware that their large automobiles used a lot of gasoline．At the same time, foreign car manufacturers had begun to produce small fuel efficient cars in large quantities for the export market．Suddenly, the large, gas guzzling American cars were no longer attractive to American buyers, who began buying foreign cars by the thousands．The American automobile industry went into a recession．Thousands of automotive workers were laid off, as were thousands of people in industries indirectly connected with the auto industry．
People who are laid off tend to keep what money they have for necessities, like food and housing．They do not have the extra money needed to send their children to college．Their children cannot pay their own college costs, because during a recession they cannot find jobs．High unemployment means that more state funds must be used for social service-----unemployment benefits, and to aid dependent children, for example-----than during more prosperous times．It also means, that the states have fewer funds than usual, because people are paying fewer taxes．Institutions of higher education depend on two major sources of income to keep them functioning: tuition from students and funds from the states．At the present time, there are fewer students than in the past and fewer state funds available for higher education．The colleges and universities are in trouble．
60．What is the main idea of this passage??
A．The rising of oil price drove up the price of everything．
B．There were many reasons why higher education was in trouble in the 1970’s．
C．Birthrate began to decline in the USA in 1950’s．
D．High unemployment caused a lot of social problems．
61．American cars were not popular in their domestic markets because they were____．
A．small              B．gas consuming             
C．fuel efficient          D．not attractive
62．The colleges and universities were in trouble because of the following reasons except that ____．
A．they couldn’t get enough income to keep them running
B．young people couldn’t afford the tuition fees
C．keeping them running at the same level would cost much more
D．social services need more state funds because of the recession
63．All of the following statements are true EXCEPT ____．
A．young people couldn’t afford their own tuition in the 1970’s
B．it’s difficult for graduates from colleges to find a job in the 1970’s
C．fewer parents could afford to send their children to college because of the recession in 1970’s
D．Birthrate dropped in the 1970’s because of the recession