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  3. A scientist who does research in economic psychology and who wants to predict the way in which consumers will spend their money

A scientist who does research in economic psychology and who wants to predict the way in which consumers will spend their money

admin2010-09-10  50
问题     A scientist who does research in economic psychology and who wants to predict the way in which consumers will spend their money must study consumer behavior. He must obtain data both on resources of consumers and on the motives that tend to encourage or discourage money spending.
    If an economist was asked which of three groups borrow most, people with rising incomes, stable incomes, or declining incomes -- he would probably answer: those with declining incomes. Actually, in the years 1947- 1950, the answer was: people with rising incomes. People with declining incomes were next and people with stable incomes borrowed the least.  This shows us that traditional assumptions about earning and spending are not always reliable.
    Another traditional assumption is that if people who have money expect prices to go up, they will hasten to buy. If they expect prices to go down, they will postpone buying. But research surveys have shown that this is not always true. The typical attitude was expressed by the wife of a mechanic in an interview at a time of rising prices, "In a few months," she said, "we’ 11 have to pay more for meat and milk; we’ll have less to spend on other things." Her family had been planning to buy a new car but they postponed this purchase. Furthermore, the rise in prices that has already taken place may arouse resentment (怨恨) and buyer’ s resistance may be aroused. This is shown by the following typical comment: "I just don’t pay these prices; they are tm high."
    The investigations mentioned above were carried out in America. Investigations conducted at the same time in Great Britain, however, yielded results that were more in agreement with traditional assumptions about saving and spending patterns. The condition most conducive (有助于) to spending appears to be price stability. If prices have been stable and people consider that they are reasonable, and they are likely to buy. Thus, it appears that the common business policy of maintaining stable prices is based on a correct understanding of consumer psychology.
What is the main idea of paragraph two?
选项 A、Consumers’ behavior in time of price increase.
B、Price increase stimulates people to hasten to buy things.
C、What consumers normally buy when they expect prices to go up.
D、Consumers’ attitude towards price change.
答案D
解析 该题问哪一个选项是第二段的段落大意。篇章知识告诉我们，本段的主题句是第三句话"But research surveys have shown that this is not always true．”(但是研究表明并不总是这样。)然而，要了解这句话的确切意思必须搞懂该段1～2句话"Another traditional assumption is that if people who have money expect prices to go up，they will hasten to buy．If they expect prices to go down，they will postpone buying．”(另一个传统的认识是如果人们预期价格上涨，他们会迅速购物。如果人们预期价格下降，他们会推迟购物)。综合起来看，前两句话说的是“对物价变化的传统的看法”。因此，第三句(主题句)中所说的“(研究表明)这并不总是对的”意思是“传统对物价变化的看法并不总是与实际情况相一致”。综上所述，无论传统与否，该段讨论的是消费者对物价变化的态度。故，[D]为该题答案。
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