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.主旨题。第一段开始便提到，尽管是圣诞节前最后一天，人们却拒绝承认是last-minute shoppers。第一段首句即本文的中心句，后面描述的现象以及采访顾客的对答都是对本文论点的论证。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”更是点睛之笔.因此，正确答案为A项。
53.因果推断题。人们拒绝承认是last-minute shoppers是因为担心收到礼物的人认为该礼物是最后一刻才购买的，难免会让人失望。选项C文中并没有提及，但是按人之常情以及排除法可以断定正确答案为C项，其中，选项A是被采访的人不愿意承认的托词，选项B只是对来自俄罗斯的Polykoff说是如此。
54.细节判断题。由第二段第二句“most shopping traffic peaked around midday”可以判断选项A、选项C、选项D选项错误。因此，正确答案为B项。
55.细节判断题。第一段开篇提及“the last shopping day before Christmas”，第二段第二句提及“people seem to be in good spirits”，因此选项B是对的.第二段第三句“December 24 was the sixth busiest holiday shopping day in 1997”，由此可以判断选项C也是正确的。文中最后谈及“brightly colored plastic watches in Swatch Store”，由此断定选项D正确。因此，正确答案为A项。
56.词义推断题。圣诞节前的商店气氛“the atmosphere as festive”，而不是crazed(疯狂的)，可以推断出festive大约是“快乐的，节日的”的意思。文前还提到“people seem to be in good spirits”，由此可以判断festive的意义相当于cheery，joyous，happy，merry。因此，正确答案为B项。
