3、The day after Thanksgiving is considered the first day of the holiday shopping season in the United States. It even has a name ― “Black Friday.” The name comes from the idea that this is the day when store owners begin to show a profit for the year.

In the past, before calculators and computers, workers recorded the profits and losses of American businesses in special books. They used red ink to record losses. They used black ink to record profits. They used the term “in the red” to mean losing money. “In the black” meant making a profit. So “Black Friday” was the day when the store owners moved from being “in the red” to “in the black.”

Many people consider “Black Friday” to be the busiest shopping day of the year. But that is probably false. Researchers say it may be the day when the largest number of people go to stores. But it is not necessarily the day when shoppers spend the largest amount of money. Some experts say Americans just want to get out of the house the day after Thanksgiving. And many stores reduce some of their prices on “Black Friday.” 

However, experts say that many people wait until much closer to Christmas, December 25, hoping to find even lower prices. They say the busiest day of the year in terms of the amount of shoppers and sales is usually the Saturday before Christmas.

A marketing services company carried out a public opinion study about shopping last month. It asked almost one thousand Americans about their gift buying plans. One-third said they plan to go to stores to shop on the day after Thanksgiving.

The study found that these shoppers are mainly young people, probably because older people do not want to deal with huge crowds. In fact, business leaders say many older Americans are doing their shopping at home -- on the computer. They say the day most people shop online is the Monday after “Black Friday.” They even have a name for it -- “Cyber Monday.” 

 

60. Which is the busiest shopping day of the year according to the text?

A. Black Friday

B. the day before Christmas

C. the Saturday before Christmas

D. Cyber Monday

61. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Businessmen prefer the term “in the red” to “in the black”.

B. “Black Friday” means store owners begin to earn money.

C. The largest amount of sales is made on “Black Friday”.

D. The largest number of people go to stores on “Black Friday”.

62. Why don’t people spend money on “Black Friday”?

A. They are not satisfied with the quality of the goods sold.

B. Some shops secretly increase their prices on that day.

C. Too many people in the store discourage their shopping desire.

D. They are waiting for a more competitive price.

63. From the passage we can conclude that ________.

A. Stores failed to earn much money from older people on “Black Friday”.

B. “Cyber Monday” has a larger amount of sales than “Black Friday”.

C. All young people prefer going to stores on “Black Friday”.

D. Older people like shopping on-line because of cheaper prices.