The traditional distinction between products that satisfy needs and those that satisfy wants is no longer adequate to describe classes of products. In today’s prosperous societies, the distinction has become unclear because so many wants have been turned into needs. A writer, for instance, can work with paper and pencils. These are legal needs for the task. But the work can be done more quickly and efficiently with a word processor. Thus a computer is soon viewed as a need rather than a want.
In the field of marketing, consumer goods are classed according to the way in which they are purchased. The two main classes are convenience goods and shopping goods. Two lesser types are specialty goods and unsought(主动提供的) goods. It must be emphasized that all of these types are based on the way shoppers think about products, not on the nature of the products themselves. What is regarded as a convenience item in France (wine, for example) should be a specialty goods in the United States.
People do not spend a great deal of time shopping for such convenience items as groceries, newspapers, toothpaste, aspirin, and candy. The buying of convenience goods may be done routinely, as some families buy groceries once a week. Such regularly purchased items are called staples. Sometimes convenience products are bought without enough thinking; someone has a sudden desire for an ice cream sundae(圣代) on a hot day. Or they may be purchased as emergency items.
Shopping goods are items for which customers search. They compare prices, quality, and styles, and may visit a number of stores before making a decision. Buying an automobile is often done this way.
Shopping goods fall into two classes; those that are recognized as basically the same and those that are regarded as different. Items that are looked upon as basically the same include such things as home appliances, television sets, and automobiles. Having decided on the model desired, the customer is primarily interested in getting the item at the most favorable price. Items regarded as essentially different include clothing, furniture, and dishes. Quality, style and fashion will either take precedence(优先) over price, or they will not matter at all.
小题1:It can be learned from the first paragraph that ______.
A．a writer needs a word processor
B．needs and wants can’t be separated clearly
C．the way to distinguish the products is unimportant
D．a computer is a need rather than a want
小题2:The example of wine is used to illustrate that ______.
A．goods are classified differently in different countries
B．the types of the product lie on the people rather than its nature
C．Frenchmen often drink but Americans sometimes do
D．one product may belong to many types
小题3:Staples are items that ______.
A．are convenient to purchase
B．are purchased without enough thinking
C．people “want but don’t need”
D．people are in constant need of
小题4:Shopping goods that are considered as basically the same are those that ______.
A．consumers don’t care where to buy them
B．consumers spend much time searching for
C．satisfy similar needs of the consumer
D．can be found in nearly every shop
答案
小题1:B
小题2:B
小题3:D
小题4:C
解析
试题分析：文章介绍在当今物质繁荣的社会，满足人们需要和需求的商品之间的区别已经变得模糊，购买类商品分为两类：一类是大体上被认为是一致的；一类是被认为不一致的。
小题1:推理判断题 根据第一段第二句...the distinction has become blurred because so many wants have been turned into needs.可知，第一段主要是阐述"需求和需要不能被清楚地区分开来"，故选B
小题2:推理判断题 第二段说到，It must be emphasized that all of these types ...not on the nature of the products themselves，接下来，就以wine为例加以说明，因此B）"产品类型取决于人，而不是产品的本质"为最佳答案。选B
小题3:细节题：从第三段的句子：Such regularly purchased items are called staples.可知Samples指的是人们不断的需求的商品，D正确。
小题4:推理判断题 根据第五段首句及第二句Items that are looked upon as basically the same include...，该句中的item就是指第一句提到的shopping goods，我们可以知道，基本一样的购买类商品就是指人们都可能需要的诸如家具、电视机之类的商品，因此是迎合顾客类似需求的商品"，选C