In 1996 I wanted to buy a Honda Civic. I went to the local dealer. "Oh, you want a Civic, do you?" said the fellow. "And I suppose you'd also like us to throw in a couple of front-row Superbowl tickets? Haw! Haw! Haw! Haw!"

When his laughter ended, he explained that the Civic was such a hit in Europe that Honda was getting an extra $ 2,000 per car there, making Civic practically unavailable in the States. But he did offer to let me add my name to the waiting list--if I agreed to pay $1,000 over the sticker (標(biāo)貼) price.

When Honda dealerships No. 2 and No. 3 gave me the same story, I was ready to try anything. I carefully looked over to www.autobytel.com. For a skinflint like me, Auto-By-Tel's scheme (方案) is nearly irresistible. You indicate the car you want to buy, compete with the freedom to choose. The nearest participating car dealer mails you back with a cut rate offer. There's no charge for any of this ― and no obligation to accept the offer. It surely seemed no less to me.

Sure enough, two days later, a dealer 30 minutes away wrote me. "Unfortunately, 96 Civics are in very short supply," his message said, "The best we can offer you is $1,200 under sticker price. “I was in happiness. Ah! Bliss! Ah, saving! Ah, revenge!

When I picked up the car, it got better. Since there was no haggling (還價), the dealership fellow was friendly and congratulatory instead of everything. Now this, I thought, is the way to buy a car.

     Auto-By-Tel makes money by charging a fee to each participating dealer. The dealers make money by receiving hundreds of ready-to-buy customer names off the Web. And you save money because your price doesn't reflect advertising, test drives, sales commissions, and so on.

My only regret is that I didn't think up Auto-By-Tel first.

 

51. This text mainly tells about the story of _____.

A. saving money charging

B. quarrelling with the dealers

C. the experience of buying a car

D. regretting buying a new Civic

52. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “skinflint”?

A. A person who doesn’t like wasting money.

B. A person who has few words.

C. A person who is afraid of everything.

D. A person who believes in others.

53. From the text, we can draw a conclusion:_____.

A. Believe others' good remarks while buying something

B. If you want to do anything, you must have a will

C. The writer was not generous at all and he loved money very much

D. Be sure of yourself and you will fail

54. What do you think of the Auto-By-Tel?

A. It makes money by not giving taxes.

B. It is good at advertising.

C. It is good at the business.

D. It makes money by cheating customers.

55. Which of the following statement is TRUE according to the text?

A. In 1996, Honda was so famous that it was hard to buy one in Europe.

B. If the dealer mails you with a cut rate offer, you should accept it but without any charge.

C. At last, the writer paid $1,200 for the car he liked.

D. It was with the fourth dealer that the writer made a successful deal.

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