Much of the holiday spending is on gifts for others.At the simplest level,giving gifts involves the giver thinking of something that the recipient would like—he tries to guess her preferences,as economists say—and then buying the gift and delivering it.Yet this guessing of preferences is no mean feat;indeed,it is often done badly.Every year,ties go unworn and books unread.And  even if a gift is enjoyed,it may not be what the recipient would have bought had they spent the money themselves.Intrigued by this mismatch between wants and gifts,in 1993 Joel Waldfogel,then an economist at Yale University,sought to estimate the disparity in dollar terms.In a paper that has proved seminal in the literature on the issue,he asked students two questions at the end of a holiday season:first,estimate the total amount paid (by the givers) for all the holiday gifts you received; second,apart from the sentimental value of the items,if you did not have them,how much would you be willing to pay to get them? His results were gloomy: on average,a gift was valued by the recipient well below the price paid by the giver.The most conservative estimate put the average receivers valuation at 90% of the buying price.The missing 10% is what economists call a deadweight loss:a waste of resources that could be averted without making anyone worse off.In other words,if the giver gave the cash value of the purchase instead of the gift itself,the recipient could then buy what she really wants,and be better off for no extra cost. If the results are generalized,a waste of one dollar in ten representsa huge aggregate loss to society.It suggests that in America,where givers spend $40 billion on Christmas gifts,$4 billion is being lost annually in the  process of giftgiving.Add in birthdays,weddings and nonChristian occasions,and the figure would balloon.So should economists advocate an end to giftgiving,or at least press for money to become the gift of choice?

1.Why do some people regard the holiday season in western economies a treat?

A) Because the economic situation in US has been gloomy.
B) Because holiday spending can stimulate GDP growth.
C) Because American retailers make a quarter of their yearly sales throughholiday season.
D) Because retailers can make as much profit as 60% over holidayseason.

2.Whats the main idea for the second paragraph?

A) Much of the holiday spending is on gifts for others.
B) The purchases made over holiday season are actually a waste of money.
C) Its really not easy to guess the others preferences.
D) In many cases the gifts present cannot meet the recipients needs.

3.The purpose of Joel Waldfogels study is to .

A) prove the mismatch between wants and gifts
B) spark new ideas of economic studies on holiday spending
C) evaluate the disparity between wants and gifts in economic terms
D) discover the exact cost of holiday spending on giftgiving

4.Economists think of the missing 10% of holiday spending a deadweight loss because .

A) the cash value of the purchase is lower than the buying price
B) it makes many people even worse off for spending more on unwanted gifts
C) with the money the recipients can be better off for no extra cost
D) it is actually a waste of resources in economic terms

5.According to the passage altogether how much money is wasted every year  on giftgiving?

A) About $40 billion.
B) About $4 billion.
C) About 10% of the total value.
D) Much more than $4 billion.

　　语言注释

　　1.vagary n.奇想、过度的或异常的思想或行为；异想天开
　　2.intrigue vt.激起……的兴趣
　　3.disparity n.不一致，不同，差异
　　4.In a paper that has proved seminal in the literature on the issue…在有关这一问题的各种文献中，一篇具有独创性的论文……。此句中seminal意为“开创性的”；literature意为“文献、著作”。
　　5.aggregate adj.合计的、集合的

　　答案

　　1.B
　　文章第一段指出，对于那些非常关心GDP(国内生产总值)的人，假日消费带来一种特殊的乐趣。因为过节的时候人们要花许多钱购买礼物，从而刺激消费，刺激经济的增长。因此正确答案为B。选项C、D在文中是具体的事例，用以说明假日消费对美国经济的重大影响。

　　2.D
　　本题是段落主旨题，因此考生必须准确把握该段的中心，以及该段在上下文中的地位和作用。第一段结尾处作者总结道，“Even so,economists find something to worry about in the nature of the purchases being made”。由此引出下文将对假日消费的实质进行分析。第三段开头承上启下，写道，“Intrigued by this mismatch between wants and gifts…”。这一句实际是对上文的总结。因此第二段重点是讨论赠与与需求之间的矛盾。所以D为正确答案。

　　3.C
　　第三段开头便交待了经济学家Joel Waldfogel从经济学的角度研究由于礼物不能满足被赠与人的实际需要所带来的经济后果(…sought to estimate the disparity in dollar terms)。因此正确答案为C。

　　4.D
　　根据第四段第二句：The missing 10% is what economists call a deadweight  loss:a waste of resources that…可知正确答案为D。本题中选项C是个似是而非的答案。在这里考生需认真理解句与句之间的关系。文中冒号后的部分是对经济学家看法的解释。in other words后的部分则是用浅显的语言来解释前面提及的深刻道理。

　　5.D
　　文章最后一段谈及每年过节的时候由于送礼而造成的经济损失。圣诞节期间浪费的金钱总额累计达到40亿美元。再算上一年当中各种各样的节日，浪费的数额将大大增加(Add in birthdays,weddings and nonChristian occasions,and the figure would balloon.)本段中balloon一词意为“激增，飞涨，迅速增长或上升