中考英语首字母快速突破003-2021上海奉贤英语二模-The Trick of '9' and '.99' Pricing-“9”和“.99”定价的奥秘

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原文

​ The “Double Eleven” Shopping Festival is one of the largest shopping festivals in China. Last year, the festival went on for eleven days. Alibaba alone saw 498.2 billion yuan in trade.

​ Many people believe such large shopping festivals can help them (71)s( ) lots of money. After all, many stores do discount(打折) their goods. But if you take a second look at the sale prices, you'll find that many of them end in “9” or “5.99 minutes.” In our everyday life, we (72)r( ) say “Just give me 5.99 minutes,” it’s not common to say “Just give me 59 minutes,” either. We are more likely to say “Just give me six minutes” and “just give me 60 minutes”. Why do stores prefer the other way round?

​ According to Lee E. Hibbett, a professor of marketing, this pricing strategy(策略) has been around for about a century. No one knows who invented it. However, stores all like it. Prices that end in “.99” and “9” simply get more customers.

​ The strategy(策略) is based on the (73)f( ) that we read from left to right. On a price tag(标签), the number on the far left impresses us the most. So, even though 5. 99 dollars is pretty (74)c( ) to 6 dollars, it’s the “5” that impresses us most. A product that sells for 5.99 dollars just seems like a better deal than a similar one that sells for 6 dollars.

​ In a 2016 study,Hibbett,a professor of marketing asked a clothing company to (75)r( ) the price of one of its dresses. He and his workmates all thought fewer people would buy the dress. The result,however,(76)s( ) them. Demand(需求) increased by a third. Increasing the price from$ 34 to$ 44 made no difference at all.

​ So be (77)c( ) with prices that end in “9” or “.99”.They may make you spend more money!

文章大意

​ 文章介绍了中国的大型购物节“双十一”，指出其规模之大和销售额之高。随后，文章讨论了购物节中的定价策略，即许多价格以“9”或“.99”结尾的现象。这种策略基于人们从左到右的阅读习惯，使得带有这些数字的价格标签给人更深的印象，尽管它们与稍高的整数价格相差无几。文章还引用了营销学教授Lee E. Hibbett的观点，他通过一项研究证明了这种定价策略的有效性，即使价格提高，需求仍然会增加。最后，文章提醒消费者要警惕以“9”或“.99”结尾的价格，因为它们可能会让人花更多的钱

解析

1 Many people believe such large shopping festivals can help them (71)s( save ) lots of money.

翻译

很多人认为大型购物节能够帮助他们（节省）很多钱

分析

根据句子成分，此处缺动词原形

后面有提到打折，可以帮助人们省钱，所以填：save money (省钱)

2 In our everyday life, we (72)r( rarely ) say “Just give me 5.99 minutes,” it’s not common to say “Just give me 59 minutes,” either.

翻译

在我们的日常生活中，我们（很少）说“给我5.99分钟”，说“给我59分钟”也不常见

分析

根据句子成分，此处缺副词

网上价格很多是5.99，但在我们生活中很少说买东西需要5.99，一版说6元，所以填：rarely (很少地)

3 The strategy(策略) is based on the (73)f( fact ) that we read from left to right.

翻译

这个策略基于我们从左到右阅读的（事实）

分析

根据句子结构，此处缺名称

正如大家所知，我们看信息都是从左往右看的，这是事实，商家促销的策略就是建立在这样的事实之上的，所以填:fact (事实)

4 So, even though 5. 99 dollars is pretty (74)c( close ) to 6 dollars, it’s the “5” that impresses us most.

翻译

所以，尽管5.99美元与6美元非常（接近），但给我们印象最深的还是“5”。

分析

be close to 固定搭配，表示接近，be pretty close to 表示非常接近

5.99 和 6 是非常接近，所以填close (近的；紧密的)

5 In a 2016 study,Hibbett,a professor of marketing asked a clothing company to (75)r( raise ) the price of one of its dresses.

翻译

在2016年的一项研究中，营销学教授Hibbett要求一家服装公司（提高）其中一款连衣裙的价格。

分析

根据句子结构，此处缺动词

本段最后一句，价格从34增加到39没有任何影响，是提升了价格，所以填: raise(提高/增加)

6 The result,however,(76)s( surprised ) them.

翻译

然而，结果却（使他们感到惊讶）

分析

根据句子结构，此处缺动词，描述以前(2016年)发生的事情，所以用过去式

提升价格大家都认为销售回减少，后面一句需求增加了，堆销售没产生影响，结果让我们惊讶，所以填:surprised(使惊奇/使感到意外)

7 So be (77)c( careful ) with prices that end in “9” or “.99”.

翻译

所以，对于以“9”或“.99”结尾的价格要（小心）

分析

根据句子结构，此处缺形容词

对尾号为9, .99要小心，否则会多花钱 ，所以填 careful (小心的/谨慎的)