Many firms give away small quantities of their productions as so that people can try them before buying.A.signsB.signalsC.examplesD.samples 题目和参考答案——青夏教育精英家教网—

“When a customer enters my store, forget me. He is King, ’’said John Wanamaker, who in l876 turned an abandoned railway station in Philadelphia into one of me world’s first department stores. This revolutionary concept __21__ the face of retailing (零售业) and led to the development of advertising and marketing as we know it today.

But convincing as that slogan was, __22__ the shopper was cheated out of the crown. Although manufacturing efficiency increased the variety of goods and lowered prices, people still relied on __23__ to get most information about products. Through much of the past century, ads spoke to an audience restricted to just a few radio or television channels or a __24__ number of publications. Now media choice, has __25__ too, and consumers select what they want from a far greater variety of sources—especially with a few clicks of a computer mouse. _26__ the internet, the consumer is finally seizing power.

As our survey shows, __27__ has great implications for companies, because it is changing the way the world shops. Many firms already claim to be “customer-driven” or “consumer-centered”. Now their _28__ will be tested as never before. Taking advantage of shoppers’ __29__ will no longer be possible: people will know—and soon tell others, even those without the internet—that prices in the next town are cheaper or that certain goods are inferior. The internet is working wonders in __30__ standards. Good and honest firms should benefit most.

21. A. changed B. maintained C. restored D. rescued

22. A. in time B. in truth C. in case D. in theory

23. A. radio B. TV C. firms D. advertisements

24. A. 1imited B. minimum C. sufficient D. great

25. A. disappeared B. existed C. exploded D. survived

26. A. According to B. Thanks to C. But for D. Apart from

27. A. consumer power B. product quality

C. purchasing habit D.manufacturing efficiency

28. A. information B. investment C. claims D. shops

29. A. generosity B. knowledge C. curiosity D. ignorance

30. A. raising B. lowering C. abandoning D. carrying

“When a customer enters my store, forget me. He is King, ’’said John Wanamaker, who in l876 turned an abandoned railway station in Philadelphia into one of me world’s first department stores. This revolutionary concept __21__ the face of retailing (零售业) and led to the development of advertising and marketing as we know it today.

But convincing as that slogan was, __22__ the shopper was cheated out of the crown. Although manufacturing efficiency increased the variety of goods and lowered prices, people still relied on __23__ to get most information about products. Through much of the past century, ads spoke to an audience restricted to just a few radio or television channels or a __24__ number of publications. Now media choice, has __25__ too, and consumers select what they want from a far greater variety of sources—especially with a few clicks of a computer mouse. _26__ the internet, the consumer is finally seizing power.

As our survey shows, __27__ has great implications for companies, because it is changing the way the world shops. Many firms already claim to be “customer-driven” or “consumer-centered”. Now their _28__ will be tested as never before. Taking advantage of shoppers’ __29__ will no longer be possible: people will know—and soon tell others, even those without the internet—that prices in the next town are cheaper or that certain goods are inferior. The internet is working wonders in __30__ standards. Good and honest firms should benefit most.

21. A. changed B. maintained C. restored D. rescued

22. A. in time B. in truth C. in case D. in theory

23. A. radio B. TV C. firms D. advertisements

24. A. 1imited B. minimum C. sufficient D. great

25. A. disappeared B. existed C. exploded D. survived

26. A. According to B. Thanks to C. But for D. Apart from

27. A. consumer power B. product quality

C. purchasing habit D. manufacturing efficiency

28. A. information B. investment C. claims D. shops

29. A. generosity B. knowledge C. curiosity D. ignorance

30. A. raising B. lowering C. abandoning D. carrying

Many firms give away small quantities of their productions as _______ so that people can try them before buying.

Age has its special advantage in America. And one of the more impressive of them is the senior citizen discount. Anyone who has reached a certain age—in some cases as low as 55－is automatically entitled to plenty of price reductions at nearly every level of commercial life. Eligibility（资格）is determined not by one’s need but by the date on one’s birth certificate. Practically the discounts have become a routine part of many businesses-as common as color televisions in motel rooms and free coffee on airliners.
People with gray hair often are given the discounts without even asking for them；yet, millions of Americans above age 60 are healthy and solvent（有支付能力的）. Businesses that would never dare offer discounts to college students or anyone under 30 freely offer them to older Americans. The practice is acceptable because of the widespread belief that “elderly” and “needy” are synonymous（同义的）. Perhaps that once was true, but today, to be sure, there is economic variety within the elderly, and most of them aren’t poor.
It is impossible to determine the effect of the discounts on individual companies. For many firms, they are a stimulus to income. But in other cases the discounts are given at the expense, directly or indirectly, of younger Americans. Moreover, they directly annoy some politicians and scholars who consider it a coming conflict between the generations.
Generational tensions are being fueled by continuing debate over Social Security benefits, which mostly involves a transfer of resources from the young to the old. Employment is another point. Supported by laws and court decisions, more and more older Americans are refusing the retirement dinner in favor of staying on the job-thereby lessening employment and promotion opportunities for younger workers. Far from a kind of charity they once were, senior citizen discounts have become a powerful economic privilege（特权）to a group with millions of members who don’t need them.
It no longer makes sense to treat the elderly as a single group whose economic needs deserve priority over those of others. Senior citizen discounts only enrich the myth that older people can’t take care of themselves and need special treatment；and they threaten the creation of a new myth, that the elderly ale ungrateful and taking for themselves at the expense of children and other age groups. Senior citizen discounts are the heart of the very thing older Americans are fighting against－discrimination by age.
【小题1】We learn from the first paragraph that .

A．offering senior citizen discounts has become routine commercial practice

B．senior citizen discounts have enabled many old people to live a good life

C．giving senior citizen discounts has increased the market for the elderly

D．senior citizens have to show their birth certificates to get a discount

【小题2】The reason to give the senior citizen discount is that .

A．the elderly need humane help from society

B．businesses should do something for society in return

C．old people are entitled to special treatment for their contribution to society

D．the senior discounts can make up for the lack of the Social Security system

【小题3】What does the author think of the Social Security system?

A．It encourages elderly people to retire in time.

B．It opens up broad career chances for young people.