下面新东方网雅思频道为大家整理了2012年雅思阅读模拟试题(一)(附答案),供考生们参考,以下是详细内容。
Publishedonline:Nov 9th 2006
FromTheEconomistprintedition
Howshopscanexploitpeople'sherdmentalitytoincreasesales
1.ATRIPtothesupermarketmaynotseemlikeanexerciseinpsychologicalwarfare—butitis.Shopkeepersknowthatfillingastorewiththearomaoffreshlybakedbreadmakespeoplefeelhungryandpersuadesthemtobuymorefoodthantheyhadintended.Stockingthemostexpensiveproductsateyelevelmakesthemsellfasterthancheaperbutlessvisiblecompetitors.Nowresearchersareinvestigatinghow “swarmintelligence” (thatis,howants,beesoranysocialanimal,includinghumans,behaveinacrowd) canbeusedtoinfluencewhatpeoplebuy.
2.AtarecentconferenceonthesimulationofadaptivebehaviourinRome,Zeeshan-ul-hassanUsmani,acomputerscientistfromtheFloridaInstituteofTechnology,describedanewwaytoincreaseimpulsebuyingusingthisphenomenon.Supermarketsalreadyencourageshopperstobuythingstheydidnotrealisetheywanted: forinstance,byplacingeverydayitemssuchasmilkandeggsatthebackofthestore,forcingshopperstowalkpastothertemptinggoodstoreachthem.MrUsmaniandRonaldoMenezes,alsooftheFloridaInstituteofTechnology,setouttoenhancethistendencytobuymorebyplayingontheherdinstinct.Theideaisthat,ifacertainproductisseentobepopular,shoppersarelikelytochooseittoo.Thechallengeistokeepcustomersinformedaboutwhatothersarebuying.
3.Entersmart-carttechnology.InMrUsmani'ssupermarketeveryproducthasaradiofrequencyidentificationtag,asortofbarcodethatusesradiowavestotransmitinformation,andeverytrolleyhasascannerthatreadsthisinformationandrelaysittoacentralcomputer.Asacustomerwalkspastashelfofgoods,ascreenontheshelftellshimhowmanypeoplecurrentlyintheshophavechosenthatparticularproduct.Ifthenumberishigh,heismorelikelytoselectittoo.
4.MrUsmani's "swarm-moves" modelappealstosupermarketsbecauseitincreasessaleswithouttheneedtogivepeoplediscounts.Anditgivesshoppersthesatisfactionofknowingthattheyboughtthe "right" product—thatis,theoneeveryoneelsebought.Themodelhasnotyetbeentestedwidelyintherealworld,mainlybecauseradiofrequencyidentificationtechnologyisnewandhasonlybeeninstalledexperimentallyinsomesupermarkets.ButMrUsmanisaysthatbothWal-MartinAmericaandTescoinBritainareinterestedinhiswork,andtestingwillgetunderwayinthespring.
5.Anotherrecentstudyonthepowerofsocialinfluenceindicatesthatsalescould,indeed,beboostedinthisway.MatthewSalganikofColumbiaUniversityinNewYorkandhiscolleagueshavedescribedcreatinganartificialmusicmarketinwhichsome 14,000 peopledownloadedpreviouslyunknownsongs.Theresearchersfoundthatwhenpeoplecouldseethesongsrankedbyhowmanytimestheyhadbeendownloaded,theyfollowedthecrowd.Whenthesongswerenotorderedbyrank,butthenumberoftimestheyhadbeendownloadedwasdisplayed,theeffectofsocialinfluencewasstilltherebutwaslesspronounced.Peoplethusfollowtheherdwhenitiseasyforthemtodoso.
6.InJapanachainofconvenienceshopscalledRanKingRanQueenhasbeenorderingitsproductsaccordingtosalesdatafromdepartmentstoresandresearchcompanies.Theshopssellonlythemostpopularitemsineachproductcategory,andtherankingsareupdatedweekly. Icosystem,acompanyinCambridge,Massachusetts,alsoaimstoexploitknowledgeofsocialnetworkingtoimprovesales.
7.Andthepsychologythatworksinphysicalstoresisjustaspotentontheinternet.OnlineretailerssuchasAmazonareadeptattellingshopperswhichproductsarepopularwithlike-mindedconsumers.Evenintheprivacyofyourhome,youcanstillbepartoftheswarm.