【例题1】
You run into the grocery store to pick up one bottle of water. You get what you need, head to the front, and choo the line that looks fastest.
You cho wrong. People who you swear got in other lines long after you are already checked out and off to the parking lot. 1
It turns out that it’s just math working against you; chances are that the other line really is faster.
Grocery stores try to have enough employees at checkout to get all their customers through
soccer怎么读with minimum delay. 2 Any small interruption — a price check, a chatty customer-can have downstream effects, holding up an entire line.
If there are three lines in the store, delays will happen randomly at different registers. Think about the probability: 3 So it’s not just in your mind: Another line probably is moving faster.
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Rearchers have a good way to deal with this problem. Make all customers stand in one long, snaking line — called a rpentine line — and rve each person at the front with the next available register. 4 This is what they do at most banks and fast-food restaurants. With a rpentine line, a long delay at one register won’t unfairly punish the people who lined up behind it. Instead, it will make everyone slow down a little bit but speed up checkout overall.
5 It takes many registers to keep one line moving quickly, and some stores can’t afford the space or manpower. So wherever your next wait may be: Good luck.
A. Why does this always em to happen to you?
B. So why don’t most places encourage rpentine lines?
C. Some of the may have stood in a queue for almost an hour.
D. The chances of your line being the fastest are only one in three.
E. How high is the probability that you are in the fastest waiting line?
keep outF. With three registers, this method is much faster than the traditional approach.
G. But sometimes, as on a Sunday afternoon, the system gets particularly busy.
【答案】AGDFB
【解析】本文是说明文。文章说明了杂货店排队方式以及研究人员提出的蛇形队伍的新方式，并分析了各自的利弊。
1.分配英文下文“It turns out that it’s just math working against you; chances are that the other line really is faster.”（原来，这只是你的数学问题；很可能，另一个队伍真的更快。）解释了
上文“You cho wrong.”的原因，下文与空格处是因果关系，所以本空应该是对前文选错提出疑惑，故选A项。
2.上文“Grocery stores try to have enough employees at checkout to get all their customers through with minimum delay.”（杂货店尽量让足够的员工以最快的速度给所有的顾客结账。）london olympic games”解释了杂货店之前的工作模式，下文“hauntedAny small interruption — a price check, a chatty customer — can have downstream effects, holding up an entire line.”（任何一个小小的中断，比如一次价格核对，一个喋喋不休的顾客，都会影响后面的一系列行为，拖慢结账速度。）描述了杂货店的特殊情况，故本空应该填出现特殊情况的原因，故选G项。
3.根据上文“If there are three lines in the store, delays will happen randomly at different registers.”（如果杂货店中有三列队伍在排队，延迟将在不同的队伍中随机发生。），并联系下文“So it’s not just in your mind: Another line probably is moving faster.orientaldaily”（所以这不仅仅是在你的想象里：另一条队伍可能移动得更快。）可知本空说的是任何一个队伍都有可能出现问题。你的队伍排得最快的几率只有三分之一。故选D项。
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4.上文提示：我们得知研究人员有一个很好的方法来处理这个问题。下文提示：大多数银行和快餐店都是这样做的。排蜿蜒的队伍，在一个登记处长时间拖延不会不公平地惩罚后面排队的人。相反，它会减慢每个人一点点，但加快了整体结帐速度。）说明这个新方案迅速有效，联系上下文可知，空格中应该是与旧的结账方式作比较。故选F项。
5.结合下文“It takes many registers to keep one line moving quickly, and some stores can’t afford the space or manpower.中学生演讲稿”（要让一条队伍快速结账，需要很多的收银机，而有些商店没有足够的空间和人力资源。）说明了一个原因，由此可知，空格处是提出了一个问题。通过“It takes many registers to keep one line moving quickly.”可知这里描述的是不鼓励蛇形队伍的原因。故选B项。
【例题2】
Some individuals are born with a gift for public speaking. 6 Do you want to be a good public speaker? Here are some principles you must master.
People want to listen to someone who is interesting, relaxed and comfortable. Too often,
when you stand up to give a speech, you focus on the “public” at the expen of the “speaking.” 7 Focus on the speaking. Talk directly to your audience, be yourlf and make a connection.
Even the most successful public speaker will make mistakes. Yet, the only one who cares about any mistake is the one who is speaking. People’s attention wanders constantly. In fact, most people only absorb about 20 percent of a speaker’s message. So, don’t stop speaking when you make a mistake unless it’s a truly rious one. 8
Your goal is not to be a perfect public speaker. 9 And like everything el in life, that takes practice. Remember, even world champion athletes practice their skills on a consistent basis.
1speaking
