On the last shopping day before Christmas, stores across the United States were busy but not jam-packed as shoppers scrambled for last-minute gifts, even though some refused to admit it. At Boston's Copley Mall, a small crowd gathered outside the main entrance of luxury department store Neiman Marcus, but no one waiting for the store to open would admit to being a last-minute shopper. "I'm really here to use a gift certificate and get something for myself and maybe someone else with what's left over," said Matt Doran, who lives in Boston and had been waiting since 8:30 a.m. for the store's 10 a.m. opening. Ilya Polykoff, who moved to Boston from Russia, said he was waiting "because I had the day off and I wanted to get some perfume." But he insisted that he was really shopping early because for him Christmas comes in January. The Orthodox Christmas will be celebrated on Jan. 7.

　　"There are lots of men out there today," said Karen McDonald, a spokes-woman for mall operator Taubman Centers, after returning from the Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights, Michigan. "There is panic out there but people seem to be in good spirits," she said, adding that most shopping traffic peaked around midday. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, December 24 was the sixth busiest holiday shopping day in 1997, while 44 percent of holiday sales were recorded in the December 15 to December 24 period. Ed Nally, manager of the Swatch Store known mostly for its brightly colored plastic watches, described the atmosphere as festive rather than crazed. He did say, however, that Dec. 21 was the turning point date, after which shoppers started. "The closer to Christmas, the crazier they get," Nally said. "They become more agitated, less patient." He said red-hot items this year were phones, beepers and the new digital swatch watch that costs $ 70 and came onto the market a week before Christmas.

　　52. The best title for this passage is ______.

　　A) Last-Minute Christmas Shoppers Fill U.S. Stores

　　B) Digital Watches Are the Red hot Items This Year

　　C) The Excuse of the Last-Minute Shoppers

　　D) Christmas, the Best Shopping Season

　　53. From the passage we can infer that people would not admit to be a last-minute shopper because ______.

　　A) they wanted to use a gift certificate

　　B) Christmas would be celebrated on Jan. 7th

　　C) they did not want gifts recipients to know that they bought them gifts on the last day

　　D) they bought gifts during the shopping season lasting from December 15th to December 24th

　　54. Which of the following statement is true?

　　A) Most customers came to the mall early in the morning.

　　B) Shop assistants were most busy at noon.

　　C) There were more shoppers in the mall from 7:00 to 9:00 p. m.

　　D) Less people went shopping around midday.

　　55. Which of the following statement is NOT true?

　　A) More people went shopping on Dee. 20th than on Dec. 22nd according to Ed Nally.

　　B) On Dec. 24th, people were crowded outside Boston's Copley Mall, but they were happy.

　　C) Dec. 24th was the sixth busiest holiday shopping day in 1997.

　　D) One can buy brightly colored plastic watches in Swatch Store.

　　56. The word "festive" in paragraph 2 can not be understood as ______.

　　A) cheery B) fetish C) joyous D) merry

　　52--56 ACBAB

　　Section B

　　52.主旨題。第一段開始便提到，盡管是圣誕節前最后一天，人們卻拒絕承認是last-minute shoppers。第一段首句即本文的中心句，后面描述的現象以及采訪顧客的對答都是對本文論點的論證。其中，第一段第二句“but no one waiting for the store to open would admit to being a last-minute shopper”更是點睛之筆.因此，正確答案為A項。

　　53.因果推斷題。人們拒絕承認是last-minute shoppers是因為擔心收到禮物的人認為該禮物是最后一刻才購買的，難免會讓人失望。選項C文中并沒有提及，但是按人之常情以及排除法可以斷定正確答案為C項，其中，選項A是被采訪的人不愿意承認的托詞，選項B只是對來自俄羅斯的Polykoff說是如此。

　　54.細節判斷題。由第二段第二句“most shopping traffic peaked around midday”可以判斷選項A、選項C、選項D選項錯誤。因此，正確答案為B項。

　　55.細節判斷題。第一段開篇提及“the last shopping day before Christmas”，第二段第二句提及“people seem to be in good spirits”，因此選項B是對的.第二段第三句“December 24 was the sixth busiest holiday shopping day in 1997”，由此可以判斷選項C也是正確的。文中最后談及“brightly colored plastic watches in Swatch Store”，由此斷定選項D正確。因此，正確答案為A項。

　　56.詞義推斷題。圣誕節前的商店氣氛“the atmosphere as festive”，而不是crazed(瘋狂的)，可以推斷出festive大約是“快樂的，節日的”的意思。文前還提到“people seem to be in good spirits”，由此可以判斷festive的意義相當于cheery，joyous，happy，merry。因此，正確答案為B項。

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