Question

We’ve all been there - when lining up at the supermarket checkout counter, the lines next to us always seem to be moving faster than the one we are standing in. Recently a report by The New York Times looked into the math and psychology of queuing. 1., either in a supermarket, a bank or anywhere else.

Study the customers

It’s important to know who the customers are. For example, if they are elderly people, they are more likely to move slower. 2.. For example, four bottles of the same milk will go faster than four different items.

3.

US mathematician Dan Meyer believes that a cart full of items doesn’t tell the whole story. “Every person needs a fixed amount of time to say hello, pay, say goodbye and leave,” he said. And that amount of time is about 4l seconds per person. 4..

This means if there are five people ahead of you, each with 10 items in their carts, the waiting time will be 355 seconds. But if there is only one person ahead of you, with 50 items in the cart, the waiting time is 191 seconds. You do the math.

Go left

According to US science writer Robert Samuel, around 90 percent of people are right-handed. 5. So heading to the left will give you a better chance of finding a faster line.

A. Be patient

B. Pick someone with a full cart

C. The items in their carts are also important

D. Each item in the cart only takes 3 seconds

E. It also gave tips on how to pick the fastest line

F. That means they will naturally choose lines on the right

G. How many people are ahead of you is one thing, and who they are is another

Answer

1.E

2.C

3.B

4.D

5.F

【解析】

本文属于说明文，介绍超市排队结账的一些心理学知识和数学知识，以及怎样缩短排队时间。

1.根据本空前一句Recently a report by The New York Times looked into the math and psychology of queuing可知，最近的一份报告研究了排队的数学和心理学知识， E选项，同样这份报告也给了一些怎样排队最快的提示，承接上句，it指代a report，切题，故选E。

2.根据后文举例For example, four bottles of the same milk will go faster than four different items可知，四瓶相同的牛奶要比四个不同的东西结账要快，因而表明，不仅顾客重要，购物车里的东西也很重要，切题，故选C。

3.根据文章结构可知，本空为小标题，结合本部分This means if there are five people ahead of you, each with 10 items in their carts, the waiting time will be 355 seconds. But if there is only one person ahead of you, with 50 items in the cart, the waiting time is 191 seconds.可知，排队中人多比东西多要耗费更多的时间，因而可知，本条建议，选东西更多而不是人更多的队伍排队，故选B。

4.本空前一句that amount of time is about 4l seconds per person.可知，每个人打招呼之类的时间为41秒，以及后文But if there is only one person ahead of you, with 50 items in the cart, the waiting time is 191 seconds.可知，每件物品耗时3秒，因而可知，每个人的耗时和每件物品的耗时，故选D。

5.根据本空前一句around 90 percent of people are right-handed.可知，大部分人是用右手的，因而与F选项，这些人习惯性选择右边的队列，构成因果关系，切题，故选F。