Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
In the 2006 film version of The Devil Wears Prada, Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep, scolds her unattractive assistant for imagining that high fashion doesn’t affect her. Priestly explains how the deep blue color of the assistant’s sweater descended over the years from fashion shows to department stores and to the bargain bin in which the poor girl doubtless found her garment.
This top-down conception of the fashion business couldn’t be more out of date or at odds with the feverish world described in Overdressed, Elizabeth Cline’s three-year indictment of “fast fashion”. In the last decade or so, advances in technology have allowed mass-market labels such as Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo to react to trends more quickly and anticipate demand more precisely. Quicker turnarounds mean less wasted inventory, more frequent release, and more profit. These labels encourage style-conscious consumers to see clothes as disposable—meant to last only a wash or two, although they don’t advertise that—and to renew their wardrobe every few weeks. By offering on-trend items at dirt-cheap prices, Cline argues, these brands have hijacked fashion cycles, shaking an industry long accustomed to a seasonal pace.
The victims of this revolution, of course, are not limited to designers. For H&M to offer a $5.95 knit miniskirt in all its 2,300-plus stores around the world, it must rely on low-wage overseas labor, order in volumes that strain natural resources, and use massive amounts of harmful chemicals.
Overdressed is the fashion world’s answer to consumer-activist bestsellers like Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma. “Mass-produced clothing, like fast food, fills a hunger and need, yet is non-durable and wasteful,” Cline argues. Americans, she finds, buy roughly 20 billion garments a year—about 64 items per person—and no matter how much they give away, this excess leads to waste.
Towards the end of Overdressed, Cline introduced her ideal, a Brooklyn woman named Sarah Kate Beaumont, who since 2008 has made all of her own clothes—and beautifully. But as Cline is the first to note, it took Beaumont decades to perfect her craft; her example can’t be knocked off.
Though several fast-fashion companies have made efforts to curb their impact on labor and the environment—including H&M, with its green Conscious Collection line —Cline believes lasting change can only be effected by the customer. She exhibits the idealism common to many advocates of sustainability, be it in food or in energy. Vanity is a constant; people will only start shopping more sustainably when they can’t afford not to.
1、21. Priestly criticizes her assistant for her ________.
A poor bargaining skill
B insensitivity to fashion
C obsession with high fashion
D lack of imagination
答案解析：
答案精析：根据题干中的criticizes可以定位至第一段， criticizes（批评）为原文中scolds（责备）的同义词。原文scolds后为普雷斯特利责备助手的原因：high fashion doesn’t affect her（高端时尚对她没有影响），也就是说该助手对时尚不敏感，与B选项（她对时尚缺乏敏感性）的表述一致，因此B为正确答案。
错项排除：A项的关键词为bargaining（谈判），文中没有提及这一方面，故排除。C项的关键词为obsession（执着），文章并未说明助手对高端时尚的执着，而是说明了一系列对时尚不敏感的现象，与执着无关，故排除C选项。D项中的imagination与原文imagining对应，但原文表明高端时尚对该助理没有影响，而并非缺乏想象力，故排除D。
2、22. According to Cline, mass-market labels urge consumers to _________.
A combat unnecessary waste
B shut out the feverish fashion world
C resist the influence of advertisements
D shop for their garments more frequently
答案解析：
答案精析：根据关键词Cline和mass-market labels可定位至第二段第二句，根据关键词urge consumers定位至该段第四句。第二段第二句列举了一些服装品牌，以及它们的业务趋势：对流行趋势反应更快，对需求的期望更加精确。第三句为实现这些目标的具体措施：减少库存浪费、增加新品发布频率和提高利润。文章第二段第四句指出，这些品牌鼓励消费者把衣服看作一次性商品（disposable），也就是洗一两次即可丢弃的商品（虽然他们没有公开宣传这一观点），并鼓励消费者每两周更新一次自己的衣柜。由此可知，D选项（更频繁地买衣服）与原文表述一致。
错项排除：A项说鼓励消费者减少浪费，而原文第二段第二句是指商家自身要减少库存浪费，故排除。B项在原文中未提及，因此排除。原文只提到商家不会把自己的伎俩通过广告灌输给消费者，而非拒绝广告，因此与文意不符，故排除C项。
3、23. The word “indictment” (Line 2, Para.2) is closest in meaning to _________.
A accusation
B enthusiasm
C indifference
D tolerance
答案解析：
答案精析：单词位于第二段第一句中，该句指出“时尚从高端开始，逐渐向社会底层蔓延”的观点，而这一观点相比克莱恩在书中讨论的快时尚来说已经过时。本段最后一句提到克莱恩认为这些大众品牌操控着时尚产业周期，撼动传统的季节性时尚周期规律，可知克莱恩对“快时尚”的不满，因此indictment和A项accusation（控诉）意思最接近。
错项排除：第二段表达的是Overdressed一书作者克莱恩对“快时尚”态度。由第二段中encourage... to see clothes as disposable, last only a wash or two和hijacked等词汇和句子推测出作者的态度是负面的，而非热情、冷淡或可以忍耐的态度，所以排除其他三项。
4、24. Which of the following can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A Vanity has more often been found in idealists.
B The fast-fashion industry ignores sustainability.
C People are more interested in unaffordable garments.
D Pricing is vital to environment-friendly purchasing.
答案解析：
答案精析：文章最后一段最后一句指出，人们只有无法为虚荣心买单时，才会选择更加可持续的购物方式，其中sustainably与environmental-friendly对应，when they can’t afford与pricing对应，因此D项与文意符合。
错项排除：A项Vanity在文中出现，但并不属于idealist（理想主义者）的特点，故排除A项。最后一段中间指出，大服装企业也开始注重环保和可持续，ignores与此矛盾，故排除。C项表示人们对买不起的衣服感兴趣，是对文章最后一句的曲解，与文中的含义不符，所以C项也排除。
5、25. What is the subject of the text?
A Satire on an extravagant lifestyle.
B Challenge to a high-fashion myth.
C Criticism of the fast-fashion industry.
D Exposure of a mass-market secret.
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为主旨题。第一段借一个电影片段来引出传统时尚是自上而下的；第二段通过克莱恩的书表明现在的时尚传播则受到大型服装企业操纵；第三、四段叙述这种快餐式的服装时尚的危害；第五、六段介绍理想时尚典范并点明快餐式服装业的变革出路。根据这些信息，只有C项能涵盖到全文信息，故正确。
错项排除：本文语气并非讽刺，也没有提及购买服装与生活方式之间的关系，因此A排除。虽然快餐式时尚确实是一种对高端时尚的挑战，但B的表述不符合文章主旨。本文体现的是服装产业的特点，并非对其秘密的曝光，所以排除D项。
Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
An old saying has it that half of all advertising budgets are wasted—the trouble is, no one knows which half. In the internet age, at least in theory, this fraction can be much reduced. By watching what people search for, click on and say online, companies can aim “behavioural” ads at those most likely to buy.
In the past couple of weeks a quarrel has illustrated the value to advertisers of such fine-grained information: Should advertisers assume that people are happy to be tracked and sent behavioural ads? Or should they have explicit permission?
In December 2010 America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed adding a “do not track” (DNT) option to internet browsers, so that users could tell advertisers that they did not want to be followed. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Apple’s Safari both offer DNT; Google’s Chrome is due to do so this year. In February the FTC and the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) agreed that the industry would get cracking on responding to DNT requests.
On May 31st Microsoft set off the row. It said that Internet Explorer 10, the version due to appear Windows 8, would have DNT as a default.
Advertisers are not horrified. Human nature being what it is, most people stick with default settings. Few switch DNF on now, but if tracking is off it will stay off. Bob Liodice, the chief executive of the Association of National Advertisers, says consumers will be worse off if the industry cannot collect information about their preferences. People will not get fewer ads, he says. “They’ll get less meaningful, less targeted ads.”
It is not yet clear how advertisers will respond. Getting a DNT signal does not oblige anyone to stop tracking, although some companies have promised to do so. Unable to tell whether someone really objects to behavioural ads or whether they are sticking with Microsoft’s default, some may ignore a DNT signal and press on anyway.
Also unclear is why Microsoft has gone it alone. After all, it has an ad business too, which it says will comply with DNT requests, though it is still working out how. If it is trying to upset Google, which relies almost wholly on advertising, it has chosen an indirect method: There is no guarantee that DNT by default will become the norm. DNT does not seem an obviously huge selling point for Windows 8—though the firm has compared some of its other products favourably with Google’s on that count before. Brendon Lynch, Microsoft’s chief privacy officer, blogged: “We believe consumers should have more control.” Could it really be that simple?
6、26. It is suggested in Paragraph 1 that “behavioural” ads help advertisers to _________.
A ease competition among themselves
B lower their operational costs
C avoid complaints from consumers
D provide better online services
答案解析：
答案精析：根据题干定位到第一段第三句。定位句指出通过追踪用户的搜索记录，企业可以更精准地为用户投放“行为定向”广告。根据上下文可知，广告业存在资金浪费的现象，而精准投放广告可以减少这种经费浪费，选项B（降低运行成本）与原文符合。
错项排除：第一段没有提及广告行业内部竞争，也没有提及消费者是否投诉，A、C两项与原文无关，应当排除。而广告商的目的是提供更精准的广告，并不等同于更好的服务，因此排除D项。
7、27. “The industry” (Line 4, Para.3) refers to _________.
A online advertisers
B e-commerce conductors
C digital information analysts
D internet browser developers
答案解析：
答案精析：根据题干可定位到第三段最后一句。根据第三段第一句中DNT服务是被加入到internet browsers（互联网浏览器），可知The industry指代的是前一句中的几个例子：Internet Explorer, Safari和即将提供DNT服务的Chrome，即浏览器开发商响应这些提供DNT服务的需求，与D选项吻合，所以选D。
错项排除：DNT业务应该是使用浏览器的客户使用，因此应该由浏览器的开发者开发，而不是广告商，因此排除A项。而运营商和数字信息分析师在文中没有提及，所以排除。
8、28. Bob Liodice holds that setting DNT as a default _________.
A may cut the number of junk ads
B fails to affect the ad industry
C will not benefit consumers
D goes against human nature
答案解析：
答案精析：根据人名Bob Liodice可定位到第五段第四句。定位句中鲍勃指出，如果广告产业不能收集用户偏好信息，那么用户体验会更糟（worse off），而投放的广告不会变少，反而会更没有意义，更没有针对性（less meaningful, less targeted），即用户会接收到无目的、没有针对性的广告，由此可以判断出“请勿跟踪”设为默认对消费者的体验无益，选C。
错项排除：原文没有提及垃圾广告这一概念，因此A排除。本段第一句提到广告商的态度是horrified（惊慌失措），而且根据文意也可推测广告商会受到较大的影响，因此B错误。而D偏离文章主题，且在文中未提及，故排除。
长难句分析：Bob Liodice, the chief executive of the Association of National Advertisers, says consumers will be worse off if the industry cannot collect information about their preferences.
本句主干为Bob Liodice… says consumers…，为主谓宾结构，其中宾语是省略that引导的宾语从句。the chief executive of the Association of National Advertisers是Bob Liodice的同位语。宾语从句中嵌套了if引导的条件状语从句。
句意为：美国广告主协会会长鲍勃·雷奥戴斯说，如果广告商不能收集有关用户偏好的信息,那么这对于消费者来说将更为不利。
9、29. Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 6?
A DNT may not serve its intended purpose.
B Advertisers are willing to implement DNT.
C DNT is losing its popularity among consumers.
D Advertisers are obliged to offer behavioural ads.
答案解析：
答案精析：第六段主要介绍了微软率先将“请勿跟踪”服务设为默认的原因和后果。“请勿跟踪”服务设立的意义是为了让用户选择不被广告商追踪，而第六段信息透露了对“请勿跟踪”前景的担忧。这些都可以推断出“请勿跟踪”无法达到预期目的，所以正确答案为A。
错项排除：B选项说广告商的态度为willing（愿意的），与文章意思相反，广告商并不愿意执行“请勿跟踪”。文章未提及消费者对“请勿跟踪”的态度，故排除C项。文章指出行为广告可以使广告商减少资金浪费，由此可知，广告商应该很乐意提供定向广告，而并非被迫，故排除D项。
10、30. The author’s attitude towards what Brendon Lynch said in his blog is one of _________.
A indulgence
B understanding
C appreciation
D skepticism
答案解析：
答案精析：根据关键词Brendon Lynch 和his blog可定位到最后一段，Brandon Lynch在博客中写道：“我们应该给用户更多的控制权”，但全文最后一句作者反问道：“真的是这么简单吗？”。可以直接得出作者对该条博文的态度是skepticism（怀疑）。
错项排除：作者最后一句显然表现了怀疑的态度，因此可排除其余三项。
Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
Up until a few decades ago, our visions of the future were largely—though by no means uniformly—glowingly positive. Science and technology would cure all the ills of humanity, leading to lives of fulfillment and opportunity for all.
Now utopia has grown unfashionable, as we have gained a deeper appreciation of the range of threats facing us, from asteroid strike to epidemic flu and to climate change. You might even be tempted to assume that humanity has little future to look forward to.
But such gloominess is misplaced. The fossil record shows that many species have endured for millions of years—so why shouldn’t we? Take a broader look at our species’ place in the universe, and it becomes clear that we have an excellent chance of surviving for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years. Look up Homo sapiens in the “Red List” of threatened species of the International Union for the Conversation of Nature (IUCN), and you will read: “Listed as Least Concern as the species is very widely distributed, adaptable, currently increasing, and there are no major threats resulting in an overall population decline.”
So what does our deep future hold? A growing number of researchers and organisations are now thinking seriously about that question. For example, the Long Now Foundation has its flagship project a mechanical clock that is designed to still be marking time thousands of years hence.
Perhaps willfully, it may be easier to think about such lengthy timescales than about the more immediate future. The potential evolution of today’s technology, and its social consequences, is dazzlingly complicated, and it’s perhaps best left to science fiction writers and futurologists to explore the many possibilities we can envisage. That’s one reason why we have launched Arc, a new publication dedicated to the near future.
But take a longer view and there is a surprising amount that we can say with considerable assurance. As so often, the past holds the key to the future: we have now identified enough of the long-term patterns shaping the history of the planet, and our species, to make evidence-based forecasts about the situations in which our descendants will find themselves.
This long perspective makes the pessimistic view of our prospects seem more likely to be a passing fad. To be sure, the future is not all rosy. But we are now knowledgeable enough to reduce many of the risks that threatened the existence of earlier humans, and to improve the lot of those to come.
11、31. Our vision of the future used to be inspired by ________.
A our desire for lives of fulfillment
B our faith in science and technology
C our awareness of potential risks
D our belief in equal opportunity
答案解析：
答案精析：根据关键词vision of the future和used to可定位到第一段第一句。定位句指出：直到几十年之前，我们对未来都是充满积极的期待和广阔的憧憬，虽然也许不是所有人都这么认为。接下来第二句解释了这种信心来源于科技（science and technology），并指出科技可以治愈人类所有疾病（cure all the ills of humanity），让人人生活幸福、机会平等（lives of fulfilment and opportunity for all），B选项为原文的同义转述，因此正确。
错项排除：A项中的desire在原文中未提及。C项对应第二段第一句对风险的论述，但不属于vision of the future的范围，因此排除。第一段中提及机会均等，但属于科技进步的结果，而非信念，故排除。
12、32. The IUCN’s “Red List” suggest that human being are _________.
A a sustained species
B a threat to the environment
C the world’s dominant power
D a misplaced race
答案解析：
答案精析：根据关键词Red List定位到第三段第四句。在濒危物种名单中对人类危险级别的描述中，人类被列为“无危害物种”（Least Concern），因为人类分布广泛、适应力强、数量不断增长，且没有主要威胁。这些论述都说明人类是可以持续发展的，所以A选项正确。
错项排除：B项是用最近发生的对未来可能构成威胁的一些事件设置的干扰项，但本段的主旨与人类威胁论相反，所以排除B。在文中从未提及与“主宰”有关的信息，故排除C项。D项中的关键词misplaced在第三段中出现，但错位的并非人类，而是人类的gloominess（担忧），故排除。
13、33. Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 5?
A Arc helps limit the scope of futurological studies.
B Technology offers solutions to social problems.
C The interest in science fiction is on the rise.
D Our immediate future is hard to conceive.
答案解析：
答案精析：第五段第一句中的lengthy timescales和more immediate future，分别指长远构想和短期未来，而文章表明长远的构想要比短期未来更容易，这句话含义与D选项“近期未来很难设想”意义符合，因此D正确。
错项排除： A选项关键词为Arc，即一本杂志名，但Arc创立的原因是把长久设想留给futurologists（未来学家），而不是限制他们，故排除。B项关键词solutions to social problems在文中没有提及，故排除。而C选项强调对科幻小说的兴趣，但本段主要是作者提议将展望人类未来交给科幻小说，与读者兴趣无关，因此也排除。
14、34. To ensure the future of mankind, it is crucial to _________.
A [A] explore our planet’s abundant resources
B [B] adopt an optimistic view of the world
C [C] draw on our experience from the past
D [D] curb our ambition to reshape history
答案解析：
答案精析：根据关键词the future of mankind可以定位到第六段第二句。第六段第二句the past holds the key to the future，即了解过去是掌控未来的关键。只有C选项与本段主旨相符，因此C是正确答案。
错项排除：A项在本文中未提到，把人们常见观点作为干扰项，故排除。B项在第三、四段提及，但乐观态度只是对人们的建议，而非保障人类未来的因素，故排除。D项的关键词reshape（重演）在文中未提及，故排除。
15、35. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A Uncertainty about Our Future
B Evolution of the Human Species
C The Ever-bright Prospects of Mankind
D Science, Technology and Humanity
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为主旨题。从文章最后一句，可以推断出文章的基调为对人类未来充满希望，而只有C选项表达的是积极态度，所以选C。
错项排除：A项中的不确定性只是第五段的部分观点，并不能代表整个文章的观点，因此排除。B项是人类作为一个物种的进化过程，涵盖范围太广，故排除。D项还原第一段的科学技术与人类，但本文主旨在对未来的预期上，而不是科学技术对人类未来的影响，以偏概全，故排除。
Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
On a five to three vote, the Supreme Court knocked out much of Arizona’s immigration law Monday—a modest policy victory for the Obama Administration. But on the more important matter of the Constitution, the decision was an 8-0 defeat for the Administration’s effort to upset the balance of power between the federal government and the states.
In Arizona v. United States, the majority overturned three of the four contested provisions of Arizona’s controversial plan to have state and local police enforce federal immigration law. The Constitutional principles that Washington alone has the power to “establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization” and that federal laws precede state laws are noncontroversial. Arizona had attempted to fashion state policies that ran parallel to the existing federal ones.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the Court’s liberals, ruled that the state flew too close to the federal sun. On the overturned provisions the majority held the Congress had deliberately “occupied the field”, and Arizona had thus intruded on the federal’s privileged powers.
However, the Justices said that Arizona police would be allowed to verify the legal status of people who come in contact with law enforcement. That’s because Congress has always envisioned joint federal-state immigration enforcement and explicitly encourages state officers to share information and cooperate with federal colleagues.
Two of the three objecting Justice—Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas—agreed with this Constitutional logic but disagreed about which Arizona rules conflicted with the federal statute. The only major objection came from Justice Antonin Scalia, who offered an even more robust defense of state privileges going back to the Alien and Sedition Acts.
The 8-0 objection to President Obama turns on what Justice Samuel Alito describes in his objection as “a shocking assertion of federal executive power”. The White House argued that Arizona’s laws conflicted with its enforcement priorities, even if state laws complied with federal statutes to the letter. In effect, the White House claimed that it could invalidate any otherwise legitimate state law that it disagrees with.
Some powers do belong exclusively to the federal government, and control of citizenship and the borders is among them. But if Congress wanted to prevent states from using their own resources to check immigration status, it could. It never did so. The Administration was in essence asserting that because it didn’t want to carry out Congress’s immigration wishes, no state should be allowed to do so either. Every Justice rightly rejected this remarkable claim.
16、36. Three provisions of Arizona’s plan were overturned because they ________.
A deprived the federal police of Constitutional powers
B disturbed the power balance between different states
C overstepped the authority of federal immigration law
D contradicted both the federal and state policies
答案解析：
答案精析：根据关键词Three provisions of Arizona’s plan可定位到第二段第一句。第一句提及亚利桑那州打算让州立警察和地方警察执行联邦移民法，这一举措招致争议，四项争议条款被法院推翻了三项。第二、三句交代发生这一事件的原因：只有华盛顿才有权力“制定统一条例”，而且联邦法律高于州法律，但亚利桑那州的措施却使州法律与联邦法律有同样权力，说明联邦的权威受到挑战，由此可推断，C项正确。
错项排除：这些提案侵犯的不是警察权力而是联邦权力，因此排除A项。原文没有提到其他州的权力，因此排除B。D项为强干扰项，文章未提及这三项提案与联邦或该州政策相矛盾，因此排除D。
17、37. On which of the following did the Justices agree, according to Paragraph 4?
A Federal officers’ duty to withhold immigrants’ information.
B States’ independence from federal immigration law.
C States’ legitimate role in immigration enforcement.
D Congress’s intervention in immigration enforcement.
答案解析：
答案精析：第四段第一句提到，司法部认为亚利桑那州警察可以去验证那些相关人员的合法身份。第二句指出，联邦试图与州一起合作执法和分享信息，由此可知司法部立足的基础是各州在执行移民政策时扮演的合法角色，因此选C。
错项排除：文章提及联邦鼓励州警察与联邦同事分享信息，而非隐瞒相关信息，故排除A项。上文提及联邦的权威超越各州，各州在独立执行移民法时被联邦视为越级，因此排除B。D项在文章中未提及，因此也排除。
18、38. It can be inferred from Paragraph 5 that the Alien and Sedition Acts _________.
A violated the Constitution
B undermined the states’ interests
C supported the federal statute
D stood in favor of the states
答案解析：
答案精析：根据关键词the Alien and Sedition Acts可定位到第五段第二句。该句指出，一名叫Antonin Scalia的法官引用法案为州政府权力进行辩护。由此可见，该项法案支持州特权，因此D项正确。
错项排除：文中没有提及the Alien and Sedition Acts是否违宪或支持联邦法规，因此A、C两项可排除。该法案被用来维护州权益，因此应该对各州有益而不是有损害，因此排除B项。
19、39. The White House claims that its power of enforcement _________.
A outweighs that held by the states
B is dependent on the states’ support
C is established by federal statutes
D rarely goes against state laws
答案解析：
答案精析：根据题目关键词The White House可定位到第六段第二、三句。根据定位句可知，白宫认为，即使亚利桑那州严格遵守联邦法律，州法律也挑战了联邦法律的优先级。事实上，白宫可以宣布任何它不认可的州法律无效。换句话说，白宫的权力比各州更大，A项符合原文意思，所以A选项正确。
错项排除：定位句指出，白宫可以直接宣布它不认可的州法律无效，而不需要各州支持，B项与此矛盾。文中没有体现白宫执行权的赋予者是谁，因此排除C项。文中只提及就算州法律合法，白宫也有权力废止州法律，而没有提到是否相悖，因此D排除。
20、40. What can be learned from the last paragraph?
A Immigration issues are usually decided by Congress.
B Justices intended to check the power of the Administration.
C Justices wanted to strengthen its coordination with Congress.
D The Administration is dominant over immigration issues.
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为段落理解题。文章最后一段讨论大法官否决白宫对移民政策控制强化的原因。最后一段指出，联邦政府有一些特殊权力，而检查移民身份的权力由国会控制，联邦政府本身不想执行国会的政策，也企图压制各州执行这些政策。再根据最后一句可知，大法官是为了阻止政府压制地方权力，B项符合原文意思，故正确。
错项排除：原文中提到政府不想执行国会的政策，说明有决定权的并不是国会，A排除。文章从未提及与协调有关的信息，故排除C项。D项关键词是主导，但综合全文来看，移民事项并非由一个部门单独主导，因此排除。
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