Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of 56 works by Damien Hirst, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, at Sotheby’s in London on September 15th 2008. All but two pieces sold, fetching more than £70m, a record for a sale by a single artist. It was a last victory. As the auctioneer called out bids, in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy.
The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after rising bewilderingly since 2003. At its peak in 2007 it was worth some $65 billion, reckons Clare McAndrew, founder of Arts Economics, a research firm—double the figure five years earlier. Since then it may have come down to $50 billion. But the market generates interest far beyond its size because it brings together great wealth, enormous egos, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries.
In the weeks and months that followed Mr. Hirst’s sale, spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable. In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms. Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds, and in the most overheated sector, they were down by nearly 90% in the year to November 2008. Within weeks the world’s two biggest auction houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them.
The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989. This time experts reckon that prices are about 40% down on their peak on average, though some have been far more fluctuant. But Edward Dolman, Christie’s chief executive, says: “I’m pretty confident we’re at the bottom.”
What makes this slump different from the last, he says, is that there are still buyers in the market. Almost everyone who was interviewed for this special report said that the biggest problem at the moment is not a lack of demand but a lack of good work to sell. The three Ds—death, debt and divorce—still deliver works of art to the market. But anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.
1、21. In the first paragraph, Damien Hirst’s sale was referred to as “a last victory” because ________.
A the art market had witnessed a succession of victories
B the auctioneer finally got the two pieces at the highest bids
C Beautiful Inside My Head Forever won over all masterpieces
D it was successfully made just before the world financial crisis
答案解析：
答案精析：根据题干中的Damien Hirst和a last victory可定位至原文首段第三句。本题在问被称之为“最后的胜利”的原因是什么，需要结合整段的意思做推断。首段前两句指出拍卖会以戏剧性的方式结束了一个世纪以来艺术市场历史上最长的牛市，随后提到了拍卖会成交额的数量之大。该段最后一句又说到，当拍卖师叫价时，纽约华尔街最古老的银行之一雷曼兄弟申请了破产（金融危机的开端），原文第三段也详细说明了艺术品市场衰落的情况。由此可推断，这次拍卖会是艺术品市场走向衰退前的一次高峰，而这次高峰之后就发生了金融危机，所以该拍卖会是在世界金融危机之前成功举办的，故正确答案为D。
错项排除：原文并没有对拍卖会是否“见证了一连串的胜利”进行描述，A项属于无中生有，故排除。B项中的auctioneer和two pieces是原词复现作为干扰，但首段最后一句说的是当拍卖师叫价时，并非拍卖师以高价买下了那两件作品，而且该段第二句也说到，那两件作品是没有拍卖成功的，B项与原文不符，故排除。C项中Beautiful Inside My Head Forever指的是拍卖会的主题，并非达米恩·赫斯特的作品，C项曲解文意，故排除。
长难句分析：The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of 56 works by Damien Hirst, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, at Sotheby’s in London on September 15th 2008.
本句主干为The longest bull run…ended…，主谓结构，意为“最长的牛市结束了”。 in a century of art-market history作后置定语，修饰bull run，用于解释其范围。on a dramatic note和with a sale of…分别作方式状语和伴随状语，同修饰谓语ended。Beautiful Inside My Head Forever是a sale的同位语，指拍卖会的名称。
句意为：2008年9月15日，在伦敦苏富比拍卖行举行的“美丽永驻我心”拍卖会上，随着达米恩·赫斯特的56件作品的出售，艺术市场百年历史上最长的牛市以戏剧性的方式结束了。
2、22. By saying “spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable” (Para. 3), the author suggests that ________.
A collectors were no longer actively involved in art-market auctions
B people stopped every kind of spending and stayed away from galleries
C art collection as a fashion had lost its appeal to a great extent
D works of art in general had gone out of fashion so they were not worth buying
答案解析：
答案精析：根据题干中的Para. 3和引号里的内容可直接定位至原文第三段首句。随后第二句紧接着对首句做出了解释，在艺术界，这意味着收藏家远离了画廊和拍卖场。之后又对艺术品销售的下降给出了具体的数据证明。由此可推断，首句是在暗示收藏家不再积极参与艺术市场的拍卖，故正确答案为A。
错项排除：B项干扰性较强，stayed away from galleries为原词复现，但B项前半部分说的“人们停止了各种消费”过于绝对，B项属于过度推断，故排除。原文中的unfashionable在此意为“不合时宜的，冷清的”，和时尚与否并没有关系，由此可排除C、D两项。
3、23. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A Sales of contemporary art fell dramatically from 2007 to 2008.
B The art market surpassed many other industries in momentum.
C The art market generally went downward in various ways.
D Some art dealers were awaiting better chances to come.
答案解析：
答案精析：本题需要针对选项逐个定位到原文后选出答案。B项中的momentum出现在原文第二段首句，该句说到自2003年以来，世界艺术品市场已经有一段时间失去了增长势头。段末出现了other industries，最后一句在说艺术品市场产生的利益远远超出其规模，因为它汇集了巨大的财富、极度的自我、贪婪、激情和争议，而很少有其他行业能与之匹敌。这两句内容都没有对艺术品市场和其他行业的发展势头进行对比，B项属于曲解文意，故答案为B。
错项排除：第二段第二句说到，As its peak in 2007（2007年是艺术品市场的顶峰时期），随后说到，从那以后艺术品市场开始下滑。原文第三段用具体数字表明，截止到2008年，艺术品的销售额下降了近90%，所以A项“从2007年到2008年，当代艺术的销售额急剧下降”是正确的。第三段首句指出，在赫斯特作品拍卖会后的几周和几个月里，任何形式的消费都变得非常不合时宜。随后该段又对艺术品销售额的下滑进行了具体的数字解释，所以C项“艺术品市场在多个方面呈下跌趋势”是正确的。原文最后一句提到，但是那些不必出售作品的人都在等待，等待信心回归，D项是对这一句的同义替换，故D项正确。
长难句分析：But the market generates interest far beyond its size because it brings together great wealth, enormous egos, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries.
本句主干为But the market generates interest…，主谓宾结构。far beyond its size为后置定语，修饰interest。because引导原因状语从句，用于解释主句内容的原因。句末的in a way matched by few other industries为介词短语作方式状语，matched by few other industries为过去分词作后置定语修饰a way。
句意为：但艺术品市场产生的利益远远超出其规模，因为它汇集了巨大的财富、极度的自我、贪婪、激情和争议，而很少有其他行业能与之匹敌。
4、24. The three Ds mentioned in the last paragraph are ________.
A auction houses’ favorites
B contemporary trends
C factors promoting artwork circulation
D styles representing Impressionists
答案解析：
答案精析：根据题干中的three Ds可定位至原文最后一段第三句。该句指出这三个D分别指死亡、债务和离婚，这些仍然在为艺术品市场提供作品。随后末句提到，但是那些不必出售作品的人都在等待，等待信心回归。由此可推断哪怕在这种市场衰退的情况下，这三种因素依旧可以促进艺术品的流通，故正确答案为C。
错项排除：全文并没有提到“拍卖行的最爱”和“当代流行趋势”的相关内容，A、B两项属于无中生有，故排除。D项中的Impressionists出现在第四段首句，但原文提到的Impressionists和文章末尾的三个D并无关联，故D项错误。
5、25. The most appropriate title for this text could be ________.
A Fluctuation of Art Prices
B Up-to-date Art Auctions
C Art Market in Decline
D Shifted Interest in Arts
答案解析：
答案精析：主旨题，需要对全文进行理解。文章开头以艺术品拍卖为背景，揭示出艺术品市场受到金融危机的影响而走向衰退。随后详细说明了艺术品市场下跌的趋势和情况，文章一直都是在围绕艺术品市场的衰退进行讨论。故最适合的标题应为“衰退的艺术品市场”，正确答案为C。
错项排除：文章一直在强调的是艺术品销售额的下滑，并非是艺术品本身的价格波动，故A项错误。文章的重点是在讨论艺术品的市场，而非艺术品的拍卖，同样文章也没有讨论人们对艺术品的兴趣是否转移，B、D两项偏离主题，故排除。
Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
I was addressing a small gathering in a suburban Virginia living room—a women’s group that had invited men to join them. Throughout the evening, one man had been particularly talkative, frequently offering ideas and anecdotes, while his wife sat silently beside him on the couch. Toward the end of the evening, I commented that women frequently complain that their husbands don’t talk to them. This man quickly nodded in agreement. He gestured toward his wife and said, “She’s the talker in our family.” The room burst into laughter; the man looked puzzled and hurt. “It’s true,” he explained. “When I come home from work, I have nothing to say. If she didn’t keep the conversation going, we’d spend the whole evening in silence.”
This episode crystallizes the irony that although American men tend to talk more than women in public situations, they often talk less at home. And this pattern is wreaking havoc with marriage.
The pattern was observed by political scientist Andrew Hacker in the late 1970s. Sociologist Catherine Kohler Riessman reports in her new book Divorce Talk that most of the women she interviewed—but only a few of the men—gave lack of communication as the reason for their divorces. Given the current divorce rate of nearly 50 percent, that amounts to millions of cases in the United States every year—a virtual epidemic of failed conversation.
In my own research, complaints from women about their husbands most often focused not on tangible inequities such as having given up the chance for a career to accompany a husband to his, or doing far more than their share of daily life-support work like cleaning, cooking and social arrangements. Instead, they focused on communication: “He doesn’t listen to me.” “He doesn’t talk to me.” I found, as Hacker observed years before, that most wives want their husbands to be, first and foremost, conversational partners, but few husbands share this expectation of their wives.
In short, the image that best represents the current crisis is the stereotypical cartoon scene of a man sitting at the breakfast table with a newspaper held up in front of his face, while a woman glares at the back of it, wanting to talk.
6、26. What is most wives’ main expectation of their husbands?
A Talking to them.
B Trusting them.
C Supporting their careers.
D Sharing housework.
答案解析：
答案精析：根据题干中的most wives和expectation可定位至原文第四段最后一句。该句提到，大多数妻子都希望自己的丈夫首先是一个可以谈话的对象，但很少有丈夫会对自己的妻子抱有这种期望。该段前半部分也说到，通常女性对丈夫的抱怨不在于自己对家庭付出的多少，而在于她们的丈夫在家是否能和她们进行沟通。由此可推断，大多数妻子对丈夫的主要期望是能和她们交谈，故正确答案为A。本题定位句较为靠后，通过文章首段第三句，女士们经常抱怨她们的丈夫不跟她们说话，以及第三段提到的缺乏沟通会导致离婚，同样可以推断出妻子希望的是丈夫能和她们交谈。
错项排除：全文并未提到有关trust（信任）的相关信息，B项属于无中生有，故排除。原文第四段第一句出现了career, daily life-support work等词作为C、D两项的干扰词，但该句说的是女性对丈夫的抱怨通常不是集中在实际的不平等上，比如放弃工作陪伴丈夫，或者做了更多的家务活。她们更重视的是夫妻之间的交流。所以妻子对丈夫的期望并不在于“支持她们的事业”或“分担家务”，故C、D两项错误。
7、27. Judging from the context, the phrase “wreaking havoc” (Para. 2) most probably means ________.
A generating motivation
B exerting influence
C causing damage
D creating pressure
答案解析：
答案精析：根据题干中的wreaking havoc可直接定位至原文第二段最后一句，本题是在考查this pattern和marriage之间的关系。this pattern指的是前一句的讽刺：尽管美国男性在公共场合的讲话往往比女性多，但他们在家里讲的话却比女性少。文章在第一段第三句提到，女士们经常抱怨她们的丈夫不跟她们说话，随后在第三段第二句也说到，夫妻间缺乏沟通是导致离婚的主要原因。由此可推断this pattern（丈夫在家很少说话）对于婚姻来说是会造成伤害的，故正确答案为C。
错项排除：A项中的motivation表示正面的、积极的“动机”，而原文中出现的complain和divorce都表示负面的意思，A项与原文意思相悖，故排除。B项的influence过于宽泛，既可以表示正面影响，也可以表示负面影响，但原文中主要强调的是对于婚姻的伤害，也就是负面影响，B项不够具体，故排除。D项pressure虽然体现出了负面影响的意思，但原文第三段提到导致离婚的因素是缺乏交流，pressure一词的严重程度较轻，并不能直接导致离婚，故D项错误。
长难句分析：This episode crystallizes the irony that although American men tend to talk more than women in public situations, they often talk less at home.
本句主干为This episode crystallizes the irony…，为主谓宾结构。that至句末引导同位语从句，修饰irony，用于解释说明这一讽刺具体指的是什么。同位语从句中包含了一个由although引导的让步状语从句，其中more than women为比较状语，in public situations为地点状语。
句意为：这段插曲凸显了一个具有讽刺意味的事实：尽管美国男性在公共场合讲话往往比女性多，但他们在家里讲话却比女性少。
8、28. All of the following are true EXCEPT ________.
A men tend to talk more in public than women
B nearly 50 percent of recent divorces are caused by failed conversation
C women attach much importance to communication between couples
D a female tends to be more talkative at home than her spouse
答案解析：
答案精析：本题需要针对选项逐个定位到原文后选出答案。B项中的nearly 50 percent出现在原文第三段第三句，但该句说的是，目前美国的离婚率接近50%，相当于每年有几百万起离婚案发生，这实际上是失败沟通导致的流行病。原文指出了美国离婚率高达50%，但并没有说明这50%的离婚都是由于失败的谈话引起的，B项与原文不符，故正确答案为B。
错项排除：根据原文第二段首句，尽管美国男性在公共场合的讲话往往比女性多，但他们在家里讲的话却比女性少，由此可知男性在公共场合更健谈，而女性在家里更健谈，故A、D两项均符合文意。原文第四段提到，女性对丈夫的抱怨不在于自己对家庭付出的多少，而在于她们的丈夫在家是否能和她们进行沟通，可见女性非常重视夫妻间的交流，故C项符合文意。
长难句分析：Given the current divorce rate of nearly 50 percent, that amounts to millions of cases in the United States every year—a virtual epidemic of failed conversation.
本句主干为…that amounts to millions of cases…，主谓宾结构，that在这里是代词做主语，指代前面the current divorce rate of nearly 50 percent。句首的Given…为条件状语，用于说明当前的情况。破折号后面的内容为插入语，用于对主句进行补充说明。
句意为：鉴于目前美国的离婚率接近50%，这相当于美国每年有数百万起离婚案件——这实际上是失败沟通导致的流行病。
9、29. Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of this text?
A The moral decaying deserves more research by sociologists.
B Marriage break-up stems from sex inequalities.
C Husband and wife have different expectations from their marriage.
D Conversational patterns between man and wife are different.
答案解析：
答案精析：主旨题，本题需要结合全文意思进行分析。文章开头以一次小聚会为例，揭示男女之间交流方式的不同，女性经常抱怨丈夫在家不和她们交谈。第二段指出了男女在谈话模式上的不同，可知男性在公共场合更健谈，而女性在家里更健谈。三、四两段描述了这种沟通差异会给婚姻造成伤害，最后一段又再次强调了这一差异。由此可知，本文的主题一直是围绕着男女谈话的差异进行讨论的，故正确答案为D。
错项排除：A项中的moral decaying（道德败坏）在原文中并未出现，文章也没有对其进行讨论，A项属于无中生有，故排除。原文第四段出现了tangible inequalities作为B项的干扰词，但原文是说大多数妻子认为导致离婚的重要因素是缺乏沟通，并非性别上的不平等，故B项错误。第四段最后一句说到，大多数妻子都希望自己的丈夫首先是一个可以谈话的对象，但很少有丈夫会对自己的妻子抱有这种期望，这其实说的还是由于谈话模式上的不同，造成了这种期望差异，C项过于片面，故排除。
10、30. In the following part immediately after this text, the author will most probably focus on ________.
A a vivid account of the new book Divorce Talk
B [B] a detailed description of the stereotypical cartoon
C other possible reasons for a high divorce rate in the U.S.
D a brief introduction to the political scientist Andrew Hacker
答案解析：
答案精析：本题可以直接定位至原文最后一段，该段以描述一个典型的漫画场景再次强调了当前这种婚姻危机：一个男人坐在早餐桌旁，一边吃饭一边埋头看报纸，而他的妻子怒视着报纸的背面，想要和他说话。作者在最后一段，非常简要的描述了这幅经典漫画的场景，对前文内容做了一个小结。根据文章逻辑可推断出，作者在接下来的段落中很可能会针对漫画所暗示的内容展开进一步的描述，故正确答案为B。
错项排除：A、C、D三项中的Divorce Talk、high divorce rate和Andrew Hacker出现在原文第三、四段，并且该段也对这三项内容也做了较为详细的解释，而且在最后一段中也并未再提到有关divorce（离婚）和Andrew Hacker的内容，如果接下来的段落还接着讨论离婚或者Andrew Hacker的话，无法和最后一段内容做承接，故A、C、D三项错误。
长难句分析：In short, the image that best represents the current crisis is the stereotypical cartoon scene of a man sitting at the breakfast table with a newspaper held up in front of his face, while a woman glares at the back of it, wanting to talk.
本句主干为…the image…is the stereotypical cartoon scene…，主系表结构。that引导定语从句，修饰image。of a man…, while a woman…为后置定语，修饰cartoon scene，用于对漫画场景进行具体描述。
句意为：简而言之，最能形象地描绘目前这种危机的是一个典型的卡通场景：一个男人坐在早餐桌旁，一边吃饭一边埋头看报纸，而他的妻子怒视着报纸的背面，想要和他说话。
Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
Over the past decade, many companies had perfected the art of creating automatic behaviors—habits—among consumers. These habits have helped companies earn billions of dollars when customers eat snacks or wipe counters almost without thinking, often in response to a carefully designed set of daily cues.
“There are fundamental public health problems, like dirty hands instead of a soap habit, that remain killers only because we can’t figure out how to change people’s habits,” said Dr. Curtis, the director of the Hygiene Center at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. “We wanted to learn from private industry how to create new behaviors that happen automatically.”
The companies that Dr. Curtis turned to—Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and Unilever—had invested hundreds of millions of dollars finding the subtle cues in consumers’ lives that corporations could use to introduce new routines.
If you look hard enough, you’ll find that many of the products we use every day—chewing gums, skin moisturizers, disinfecting wipes, air fresheners, water purifiers, health snacks, teeth whiteners, fabric softeners, vitamins—are results of manufactured habits. A century ago, few people regularly brushed their teeth multiple times a day. Today, because of shrewd advertising and public health campaigns, many Americans habitually give their pearly whites a cavity-preventing scrub twice a day, often with Colgate, Crest or one of the other brands.
A few decades ago, many people didn’t drink water outside of a meal. Then beverage companies started bottling the production of far-off springs, and now office workers unthinkingly sip bottled water all day long. Chewing gum, once bought primarily by adolescent boys, is now featured in commercials as a breath freshener and teeth cleanser for use after a meal. Skin moisturizers are advertised as part of morning beauty rituals, slipped in between hair brushing and putting on makeup.
“Our products succeed when they become part of daily or weekly patterns,” said Carol Berning, a consumer psychologist who recently retired from Procter & Gamble, the company that sold $76 billion of Tide, Crest and other products last year. “Creating positive habits is a huge part of improving our consumers’ lives, and it’s essential to making new products commercially viable.”
Through experiments and observation, social scientists like Dr. Berning have learned that there is power in tying certain behaviors to habitual cues through ruthless advertising. As this new science of habit has emerged, controversies have erupted when the tactics have been used to sell questionable beauty creams or unhealthy foods.
11、31. According to Dr. Curtis, habits like hand washing with soap ________.
A should be further cultivated
B should be changed gradually
C are deeply rooted in history
D are basically private concerns
答案解析：
答案精析：根据题干中的Dr. Curtis 和habits like hand washing with soap可定位至原文第二段首句。柯蒂斯博士说道：“像不用肥皂洗手这类基本的公共卫生问题仍然威胁着人们的健康，这是因为我们不知道该如何改变人们的习惯。”随后这位博士又说道：“我们想向私营企业学习如何创造自动发生的新行为。”也就是说，专家们仍不知道该如何把用肥皂洗手变为人们的生活习惯。由此可以推断出，用肥皂洗手这样的习惯应该要进一步培养，故正确答案为A。
错项排除：原文第二段第一句出现了change people’s habits和remain，分别作为B、C两项的干扰，但原文说的是人们不用肥皂洗手的习惯仍然存在，并且应该被改变，B、C两项属于反向干扰，故排除。原文明确说到这些是public health problems（公共卫生问题），并非private concerns（私人问题），D项与原文不符，故排除。
12、32. Bottled water, chewing gun and skin moisturizers are mentioned in Paragraph 5 so as to ________.
A reveal their impact on people’s habits
B show the urgent need of daily necessities
C indicate their effect on people’s buying power
D manifest the significant role of good habits
答案解析：
答案精析：根据题干中的Paragraph 5可直接定位至第五段。该段举了三个日用品例子做文章的论点，分析论点是什么需要结合第五段前后文的内容。文章开头说到私营企业会针对消费者创造自动发生的新行为，也就是让消费者形成新习惯。随后第四段又说到，我们在日常使用的许多产品都是商家针对消费者制造新习惯的产物，并以刷牙为例来证明这一点。之后第六段也提到，成功的产品已经成为消费者生活的一部分了。由以上分析可推断，作者在第五段提到的那些日用品是为了揭示它们对人们习惯的影响，故正确答案为A。
错项排除：原文中并没有提到这些产品是daily necessities（必需品），B项属于无中生有，故排除。文章重点强调的是这些产品对人们生活习惯的影响，并非对buying power（购买力）的影响，并且文中也并未提及有关购买力的相关内容，故C项错误。原文中并没有讨论这些新形成的生活习惯是好是坏，所以D项属于无中生有，故排除。
13、33. Which of the following does NOT belong to products that help create people’s habits?
A Tide.
B Crest.
C Colgate.
D Unilever.
答案解析：
答案精析：根据题干中的create people’s habits可定位至原文第三段，对应introduce new routines。该段说到，柯蒂斯博士求助于三家公司，希望从这些企业中学习到如何利用消费者在生活中的微妙线索来引入新的生活习惯。Unilever是三家公司其中的一家，可见Unilever并不是产品，故正确答案为D。
错项排除：根据原文第四段最后一句Colgate（高露洁）和Crest（佳洁士）牙膏的例子，以及倒数第二段第一句提到的Tide，Crest and other products（汰渍、佳洁士和其他产品），可知其余三种都是企业生产出来的产品，并且在消费者身上创造了新的生活习惯，故排除A、B、C三项。
长难句分析：The companies that Dr. Curtis turned to—Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and Unilever—had invested hundreds of millions of dollars finding the subtle cues in consumers’ lives that corporations could use to introduce new routines.
本句主干为The companies…had invested hundreds of millions of dollars…，为主谓宾结构。句首的that引导定语从句，修饰主语The companies，用于指出柯蒂斯博士求助的公司，破折号中间的内容为插入语，用于解释说明是哪些公司。finding the subtle cues in consumers’ lives是现在分词短语作目的状语，用于解释公司投入庞大资金的目的所在。之后的that引导定语从句，修饰前面的subtle cues。
句意为：柯蒂斯转而求助于宝洁、高露洁-棕榄和联合利华公司，这些公司已经投入了数亿美元来寻找消费者生活中的微妙线索，企业可以利用这些线索来引入新的生活方式。
14、34. From the text we know that some of consumer’s habits are developed due to ________.
A perfected art of products
B automatic behavior creation
C commercial promotions
D scientific experiments
答案解析：
答案精析：原文最后一段首句指出，通过反复不断的广告，把某些行为与习惯性的暗示联系起来是很有影响力的。综合前文分析的，私营企业会针对消费者创造自动发生的新行为，而且我们在日常使用的许多产品都是商家针对消费者制造新习惯的产物，由此可推断广告可以促使人们形成新的生活习惯。C项中的commercial对应原文中的advertising，故正确答案为C。
错项排除：A项是对原文首段had perfected the art of的干扰，原文说的是许多公司已经完善了在消费者中创造自动行为习惯的艺术，并非是完美的产品艺术，故A项表述错误。B项中automatic behavior（自动的创造行为）指的就是题干中的consumer’s habits（消费者的新习惯），这并不能作为原因来对题干进行解释，故排除B。文章最后一段首句出现了experiments，但该句是说，通过实验和观察，专家们认识到了消费者的习惯是由于商业广告而养成的，experiments并不能作为习惯养成的原因，故D项错误。
15、35. The author’s attitude toward the influence of advertisement on people’s habits is ________.
A indifferent
B negative
C positive
D biased
答案解析：
答案精析：原文最后一段首句提到ruthless advertising（无休止的广告）影响了人们的行为习惯。之后接着说到，随着这种新习惯科学的出现，当这些策略被用来销售有问题的美容霜或不健康的食品时，就引发了争议。可见广告对于人们习惯的影响是有问题且备受争议的，由此可以推断出作者对其态度是消极的、不赞同的，故正确答案为B。
错项排除：原文中作者对广告给人们生活习惯造成的影响进行了讨论，并表明了自己的态度，可见作者对此并不是漠不关心的，故A项错误。根据上述分析，可知作者对此影响的态度是消极的，并非积极的，原文第六段第二句提到了Creating positive habits..., 但此处指的是商家所说的观点，并非作者的观点，C项与原文意思相悖，故排除。原文中作者客观的描述了广告对人们习惯的影响，既描述了正面的影响，也指出了问题的存在，所以不能说作者的态度是由偏见的，故D项错误。
Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
Many Americans regard the jury system as a concrete expression of crucial democratic values, including the principles that all citizens who meet minimal qualifications of age and literacy are equally competent to serve on juries; that jurors should be selected randomly from a representative cross section of the community; that no citizen should be denied the right to serve on a jury on account of race, religion, sex, or national origin; that defendants are entitled to trial by their peers; and that verdicts should represent the conscience of the community and not just the letter of the law. The jury is also said to be the best surviving example of direct rather than representative democracy. In a direct democracy, citizens take turns governing themselves, rather than electing representatives to govern for them.
But as recently as in 1968, jury selection procedures conflicted with these democratic ideals. In some states, for example, jury duty was limited to persons of supposedly superior intelligence, education, and moral character. Although the Supreme Court of the United States had prohibited intentional racial discrimination in jury selection as early as the 1880 case of Strauder v. West Virginia, the practice of selecting so-called elite or blue-ribbon juries provided a convenient way around this and other antidiscrimination laws.
The system also failed to regularly include women on juries until the mid-20th century. Although women first served on state juries in Utah in 1898, it was not until the 1940s that a majority of states made women eligible for jury duty. Even then several states automatically exempted women from jury duty unless they personally asked to have their names included on the jury list. This practice was justified by the claim that women were needed at home, and it kept juries unrepresentative of women through the 1960s.
In 1968, the Congress of the United States passed the Jury Selection and Service Act, ushering in a new era of democratic reforms for the jury. This law abolished special educational requirements for federal jurors and required them to be selected at random from a cross section of the entire community. In the landmark 1975 decision Taylor v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court extended the requirement that juries be representative of all parts of the community to the state level. The Taylor decision also declared sex discrimination in jury selection to be unconstitutional and ordered states to use the same procedures for selecting male and female jurors.
16、36. From the principles of the U.S. jury system, we learn that ________.
A both literate and illiterate people can serve on juries
B defendants are immune from trial by their peers
C no age limit should be imposed for jury service
D judgment should consider the opinion of the public
答案解析：
答案精析：根据关键词principles和U.S. jury system定位到第一段首句。该句对美国陪审团制度的五项原则进行了描述。最后一项原则表明审判结果应该代表社会良知，而不仅仅是法律条文。由此可推断，判决需要考虑公众的意见。D项中的judgment对应原文的verdicts，the opinion of the public对应原文的the conscience of the community，故正确答案为D。
错项排除：A、C项对应原文第一句五项原则的第一点，但文中说参加陪审团需要minimal qualifications of age and literacy，即对年龄和受教育程度都有限制，所以A和C两项均排除。B项对应第四点that defendants are entitled to trial by their peers（被告有权由其同阶层的人审判），而原文的are entitled to（有权）与are immune from（免于）矛盾，故B项排除。
17、37. The practice of selecting so-called elite jurors prior to 1968 showed ________.
A the inadequacy of anti-discrimination laws
B the prevalent discrimination against certain races
C the conflicting ideals in jury selection procedures
D the arrogance common among the Supreme Court judges
答案解析：
答案精析：根据关键词elite jurors prior to 1968和so-called elite jurors定位到第二段最后一句。该句指出，选择所谓精英陪审团的做法为绕过那些反歧视法提供了便利。由此可知，反歧视法律中尚有不足存在。A项中的inadequacy与provided a...way around this为同义转述，所以A项正确。
错项排除：B项以肯定的态度说明出现了种族歧视，但原文只是说存在elite jurors会绕过种族歧视法律，并没有直接提及歧视行为。C项并未在原文中找到与conflicting ideals相关的信息，所以排除。而在1968年前的行为并没有提及Supreme Court judges，也没有提及arrogance，所以D项排除。
18、38. Even in the 1960s, women were seldom on the jury list in some states because ________.
A they were automatically banned by state laws
B they fell far short of the required qualifications
C they were supposed to perform domestic duties
D they tended to evade public engagement
答案解析：
答案精析：根据关键词1960s和women were seldom on the jury list定位到第三段第三、四句。本题为细节题。定位句指出，有些州会自动将女性排除在陪审团名单之外，除非她们主动要求。下一句叙述某些州的这种做法被“女性的职责是承担家庭责任”这一论调维护，women were needed at home与C项的perform domestic duties为同义转述，因此C正确。
错项排除：定位句已经指出，女性如果主动要求则有资格参加陪审，与A项的banned by state laws（被州法律禁止）矛盾。原文没有提及B项的required qualifications，所以B排除。文章虽然指出女性needed at home，但这并不与evade public engagement（躲避公共事务）矛盾，而原文也没有体现出“躲避公共事务”的观点，更没有体现出女性的“倾向”，所以D排除。
19、39. After the Jury Selection and Service Act was passed, ________.
A sex discrimination in jury selection was unconstitutional and had to be abolished
B educational requirements became less rigid in the selection of federal jurors
C jurors at the state level ought to be representative of the entire community
D states ought to conform to the federal court in reforming the jury system
答案解析：
答案精析：根据关键词the Jury Selection and Service Act定位到第四段。定位句在第四段第一、二句，第一句指出该法案开启了陪审团民主改革的新时代，第二句指出法案内容是废除了对联邦陪审员的特定教育程度需求，并要从整个社会中交叉随机选出。根据第二段内容可知过去选拔陪审员需要他们满足某些特别的教育经历，再根据第一段得知现在的陪审员只需要满足最低教育程度即可，该法案对联邦陪审员的教育要求放宽了，故正确答案为D。
错项排除：1968年法案中没有提及关于性别歧视的话题，该话题出现在1975年法案中，A排除。法案只是规定jurors要从entire community中随机选出，而没有要求他们代表整个社会，C项错误。原文没有提及各州的做法，所以D项也错误。
20、40. In discussing the U.S. jury system, the text centers on ________.
A its nature and problems
B its characteristics and tradition
C its problems and their solutions
D its tradition and development
答案解析：
答案精析：本题为主旨题。第一段通过列举人们对陪审团的印象，和陪审团对民主的体现，说明了陪审团制度对美国的意义。第二段和第三段分别讲述过去的陪审团在选拔成员的标准和性别上存在偏见，体现过去陪审团制度的局限性。这两段也提及了这些制度的逐渐改变和废除的过程，而第四段着重介绍了陪审团选拔制度中的不公平和偏见是如何废除的，说明该制度至今经历了改良和发展，对应D项的development。回到第一段，陪审团的存在可以看作美国民主制度的传统，所以tradition也符合题意，选D。
错项排除：第一段只体现了陪审团制度的特征，并没有涉及到本质，direct democracy不能看作是它的本质，虽下文可归纳为problems，但A项中没有提及这些问题的改正，A排除。B项只归纳了第一段的讨论内容，而忽略了制度的问题和发展历史，所以排除。C项只归纳了后三段的内容，而忽略了第一段，也需排除。
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