Question

    Store owners have been inventing new tricks to get consumers into their stores and purchasing their goods. Even as we find new strategies to resist, neuroscientists (神经科学家) are employed at marketing agencies across the country to best figure out what is going through a consumer’s brain at each point in the decision process.

We consumers overspend due to the fact that we have a fear of missing the really good deal or having to pay more for the same thing and lose money. Normally, the prefrontal cortex ( 前 额皮 层 ) controls our emotional reactions to things, and keeps us from acting unreasonably by calming down our fears. But an advertiser can disturb our prefrontal cortex just by displaying flashy deal signs, encouraging it to do math on how much money we might save now by buying more of something we don’t actually need yet.

Nostalgia, that regretful affection for past events, is another strong influencer during the holiday season, and it’s shaped by emotion. Emotion—whether good or bad—enhances the formation of memories, engaging more parts of the brain. So hearing a nephew singing a carol, for instance, might reawaken memories associated with that particular song in a much more powerful way than hearing that same nephew sing another song. These kinds of memories are brought back even more easily by sensory input. This might be why we are often greeted by a sensory reminder everywhere we go in a month.

Wherever you purchase gifts, there are social influences on what you buy as well. The holidays are a time when we are especially conditioned to pay more for the label because we’re buying gifts. Receiving a brand-name gift sends the message that “this person has spent more on me, so he or she must value me more.” And it makes sense. If two things seem pretty much the same, how do I know which to choose? Humans have survived as a social species, and we have to rely on each other. So when our brains are trying to make decisions, one of the shortcuts is to assume that if a lot of other people prefer something (and higher cost is often a predictor of that), then there must be a reason.

Much of our holiday spending is driven by unplanned purchases. Plan ahead, resist the urge to purchase in the moment, make notes for comparison shopping, and if the deal is actually good, then it will hold up to inspection and you’ll feel good about your purchases later. Before you blow your budget this season, remember that your brain might be fooling you into that next purchase.

1.From Paragraph 2, we learn that ______.

A.the prefrontal cortex is the calculation center

B.the common consumers always act unreasonably

C.the sight of flashy deal signs may fill consumers with fear

D.the advertisers make consumers pay more for the same thing

2.According to Paragraph 3, which of the following can work on consumers?

A.Creating a festival atmosphere. B.Following the current fashion.

C.Preparing more free samples. D.Offering a bigger discount.

3.Why do we buy brand-name gifts during the holiday?

A.They are more reliable. B.They are a sign of social status.

C.They make people feel valued. D.They are favored by most people.

4.To avoid overspending, the author suggests we ______.

A.buy in the moment B.reduce our budget

C.return unnecessary products D.make a plan in advance

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。商店老板一直在发明新招数，让消费者进入他们的商店，购买他们的商品。文章介绍了是哪些因素促使消费者消费。

1.推理判断题。根据第二段中Normally, the prefrontal cortex ( 前额皮层 ) controls our emotional reactions to things, and keeps us from acting unreasonably by calming down our fears. But an advertiser can disturb our prefrontal cortex just by displaying flashy deal signs, encouraging it to do math on how much money we might save now by buying more of something we don’t actually need yet.正常情况下，前额叶皮层控制我们对事物的情绪反应，并通过平复我们的恐惧来阻止我们做出不合理的行为。但是广告商可以通过展示华而不实的交易标志来干扰我们的前额叶皮层，鼓励它计算一下，如果我们现在多买一些我们实际上还不需要的东西，可以省下多少钱。由此可推断华而不实的交易标志会干扰消费者的前额叶皮层，可能会让消费者充满恐惧。故选C项。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段中Nostalgia, that regretful affection for past events, is another strong influencer during the holiday season, and it’s shaped by emotion. 怀旧，即对过去事件的遗憾情感，是假期期间另一个强大的影响因素，它是由情感塑造的。由此判断出，营造节日气氛对消费者有作用。故选A项。

3.细节理解题。根据第四段中The holidays are a time when we are especially conditioned to pay more for the label because we’re buying gifts. Receiving a brand-name gift sends the message that “this person has spent more on me, so he or she must value me more.”节日期间，我们特别习惯于为品牌多花钱，因为我们要买礼物。收到一件名牌礼物会传递这样的信息：“这个人在我身上花了更多的钱，所以他或她一定更看重我。”可知，我们要在节日期间买名牌礼物是因为名牌礼物会让人们感到自己被重视。故选C项。

4.细节理解题。根据最后一段中Plan ahead, resist the urge to purchase in the moment, make notes for comparison shopping, and if the deal is actually good, then it will hold up to inspection and you’ll feel good about your purchases later. 提前计划，抵制一时的冲动，为比较购物做笔记，如果交易真的很好，那么它将经得起检验，你以后会对你买的东西感觉很好。可知，为了避免超支，作者建议我们提前制定计划。故选D项。