Question

Panic Buying

Shoppers around the world are crazy buying because of fears over the coronavirus(新型冠状病毒), which caused a critical plague in China and even other countries at the beginning of 2020. People in countries such as England, Japan, Singapore and Australia have been emptying supermarket shelves of toilet paper, face masks, hand wash products and dried and canned food. Photos and videos of shoppers in Australia quarreling over the last pack of toilet roll in a supermarket have spread across social media swiftly.

However, governments have advised their citizens that there is no need to “panic buy”. They added that panic buying would only reduce the supply of products needed by patients and medical staff, which could exacerbate the problems the COVID-19 virus is causing. Singapore's prime minister comforted Singaporeans that: “We have enough supplies. There's no need to stock up.” A week after the panic buying fever, things have calmed down and shoppers have gone back to purchasing items in normal quantities.

Psychologists say panic buying is an “unwise” behaviour that is part of a condition called FOMO - the fear of missing out. Dr. Katharina Wittgens said a herd mentality(从众心理) sets in during disasters that causes people to copy the actions of others. People watch the news of items being bought in quantity and immediately rush out to the stores to do the same. She said people were taking on too much the risks of dying from the coronavirus. She said: “Far more people die in car accidents or household accidents per year but we don't panic about these things in the morning before we go to work.”

1.What made shoppers in different countries crazy buying?

A.The approach of 2020 New Year’s Day.

B.The shortage of resources and supplies in their nations.

C.Their concern about the virus.

D.The discount from supermarkets.

2.What does the underlined word in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A.solve B.release C.worsen D.quicken

3.What is the reason for this behavior according to expert?

A.People tend to follow others’ actions in the period of disaster.

B.People are wiser in making decisions.

C.People think no one needs the supplies.

D.People do not believe what others said.

4.What can be concluded from the last paragraph?

A.People should not panic over the virus.

B.More people die from car accidents.

C.People buy little when they go to the stores.

D.We should panic about the situation.

Answer

1.C

2.C

3.A

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。面对新冠疫情，世界各地很多人非常惊慌，疯狂抢购，导致超市商场货架空空。政府建议市民没有必要这样做。心理学家也表示，恐慌性购买是一种“不明智”的行为，是人们的从众心理导致的。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段第一句Shoppers around the world are crazy buying because of fears over the coronavirus, which caused a critical plague in China and even other countries at the beginning of 2020.可知由于对这种冠状病毒的恐惧，世界各地的购物者疯狂购物。在2020年初，这种病毒在中国甚至其他国家引发了一场严重的瘟疫。由此可知，对病毒的担忧导致不同国家的人疯狂购物。故选C。

2.词义猜测题。根据上文They added that panic buying would only reduce the supply of products needed by patients and medical staff,可知他们补充说，恐慌性购买只会减少患者和医护人员所需产品的供应，从而导致恶化COVID-19病毒造成的问题。由此可知，划线单词意思为“恶化”。故选C。

3.细节理解题。根据第三段第二句Dr. Katharina Wittgens said a herd mentality(从众心理) sets in during disasters that causes people to copy the actions of others.可知Katharina Wittgens博士说，在发生灾难时，人们会产生从众心理，导致他们模仿别人的行为。由此可知，专家认为造成这种现象的原因是在灾难时期，人们倾向于跟随别人的行为。故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句She said: “Far more people die in car accidents or household accidents per year but we don't panic about these things in the morning before we go to work.”可知她说:“每年死于车祸或家庭事故的人要多得多，但我们不会在上班前为这些事情感到恐慌。”由此可推知，人们没有必要对这种病毒感到恐慌。故选A。