Question

19．Gift certificates，or rather their high-tech new replacements，gift cards，are America's most popular present．They spare gift-givers the tension of choosing anything specific，and receivers the horror of having to keep the result．Retailers like them too，because they are quite profitable．But like most goods in the recession （衰退），they have become harder to shift，prompting some radical redesigns．
Gift cards are profitable because retailers receive money for them up from，and around 10% of them are never redeemed （收回），according to Lew Paine of the GFK Group，a market-research firm．When people do use them，they often spend more than the amount given，on products with high margins．
 But sales of gift cards were down by around 6% last year in America，to about 25 billion，partly because discounts in stores were so steep that customers saw more value in buying products directly．Bankruptcies （破產） among retailers also scared people away from gift cards，for fear that stores would not be around to honour them．Some financial-services companies that offer gift cards which can be used in various stores，including Visa and American Express，came under fire for charging monthly maintenance fees on unspent balances．
    Analysts expect another tough holiday season for gift cards this year．Sales will be down by about 5%，projects Archstone Consulting，which studies the business．Retailers are trying to counter this decline by making gift cards more attractive．One approach is to add nifty （俏皮的） packaging．Target，for example，is selling gift cards that double as wind-up toys or play recorded greetings．Other retailers have launched schemes that let people e-mail one another electronic gift certificates，which the receivers can then print out for use．
    Some retailers have even given gift cards away in an effort to drum up business．Neiman Marcus，for example，sent 50 gift cards to big customers to tempt them back for further shopping．Target will give a l0 gift card to people who spend l00 before noon on the Friday after Thanksgiving，which is considered the start of the holiday shopping season．Such handouts can be cheaper than sharp store-wide discounts，which proved destructive to profits last year．Expiration dates add a sense of urgency，which retailers are eager to promote．
 （Note：Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN 10 WORDS）
78．The reason for the popularity of gift cards to gift-givers is that they don't have to worry aboutchoosing anything specific．
79．Some financial-services companies that offer gift cards were criticized last year becausethey charged monthly maintenance fees on unspent balances．
80．Give one example of retailers'responding to the decline of the sales of gift cards according to the passage．Add nifty packaging．/Promote electronic gift certificates （let people email electronic gift certificates）/make gift cards more attractive/…
81．Retailers gave out handouts to promote consumption last year，but their efforts turned outto be destructive to profits．

Answer 1

分析 本文主要講的是美國最受歡迎的禮物--禮品卡目前的使用情況，及零售商采取的措施去增加禮品卡的使用．

解答 78．choosing anything specific關鍵詞是gift-givers，送禮物的人為什么會喜歡送禮品卡，定位于第一段第二句 They spare gift-givers the tension of choosing anything specific．因為禮品卡使得送禮物的人免去了選禮物的焦慮．所以答案是choosing anything specific．
79．they charged monthly maintenance fees on unspent balances關鍵詞是 financial-services companies，定位在第三段末句Some financial-services companies that offer gift cards which can be used in various stores，including Visa and American Express，came under fire for charging monthly maintenance fees on unspent balances．所以答案是they charged monthly maintenance fees on unspent balances．
80．Add nifty packaging．/Promote electronic gift certificates （let people email electronic gift certificates）/make gift cards more attractive/…是找出文中的零售商所作出的回應．定位于第四段One approach is to add nifty（俏皮的） packaging．Target，for example，is selling gift cards that double as wind-up toys or play recorded greetings．Other retailers have launched schemes that let people e-mail one another electronic gift certificates，which the receivers can then print out for use．可從中任一句得出答案．所以答案是Add nifty packaging．/Promote electronic gift certificates （let people email electronic gift certificates）/make gift cards more attractive/…．
81．to be destructive to profits 關鍵詞是but their efforts turned out，可定位于尾段Such handouts can be cheaper than sharp store-wide discounts，which proved destructive to profits last year．所以答案是to be destructive to profits．

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