60秒科学:网上购物 图片为虚眼见为实

Undergrads indicated a willingness to pay a premium¹ for goods they could touch rather than merely look at on a Web page.

对于能接触到而非仅仅在网页上看到的东西，大学生愿意多付一些钱去购买。

Customers Say They'd Pay More for Items They Can Handle

Bookshops and DVD stores are closing up. No surprise, because who would pay more at the store when you can get it cheaper online? A bunch of Caltech undergrads, that's who.

Researchers found that the students were willing to pay 50 percent more for just about anything—DVD’s but also potato chips, Snickers bars, mugs—as long as the item was in front of them, as opposed to just the item’s image or text description. That study appears in the American Economic Review.

The researchers thought some sort of Pavlovian response might be at play—even though they didn't just test with foods—because they say seeing a trinket or a snack within reach makes you want to grab² it and handle it or eat it. So they showed candy and chips to the subjects once more, but out of reach behind plexiglass. Under those conditions, the students' desire for the snacks diminished³, as if they’d merely seen an image or description.

So next time you're stuffed⁴ and the waiter wheels around the dessert cart, know that the odds⁵ are against you. Just cross your fingers that the chocolate cake's under a glass dome, to help you resist the urge
 

1 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

2 grab   

vt./n.攫取，抓取；vi.攫取，抓住(at)

参考例句：

• It is rude to grab a seat.抢占座位是不礼貌的。
• The thief made a grab at my bag but I pushed him away.贼想抢我的手提包，但被我推开了。

3 diminished   

减少了的，被贬低的

参考例句：

• He was found not guilty of murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. 他未被判谋杀罪是基于精神失常而减轻了刑事责任。
• The campers' food supply gradually diminished as the days wore on. 随着一天天的过去，露营者的食物逐渐减少了。

4 stuffed   

adj.充满的；饱的v.塞住( stuff的过去式和过去分词 )；把…装进；把…装满；（使）吃撑

参考例句：

• stuffed animals in glass cases 玻璃柜里的动物标本
• I was stuffed to the gills with chocolate cake. 我嘴里塞满了巧克力蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？