Text 1
When Rupert Murdoch sees beams of light in the American advertising market, it is not necessarily time to reach for the sunglasses. Last October, when the impact of September 11th was only beginning to tell, the boss of NewsCorp, a media group, had already identified “strong rays of sunshine”. With ad sales still languishing, Mr. Murdoch declared last month that “there are some hints of a modest upswing in the U.S. advertising markets.” His early optimism turned out to be misplaced. Now, however, other industry observers are beginning to agree with him.
Advertising usually exaggerates the economic cycle: falling sharply and early in a downturn, and rebounding strongly once the economy has begun to recover. This is because most managers prefer to trim their ad budgets rather than their payrolls, and restore such spending only once they feel sure that things are looking up. Last year, America’s ad market shrank by 9.8%, according to CMR, a research firm. Although ad spending has not yet recovered across all media, some analysts now expect overall ad spending to start to grow in the third quarter.
The signs of improvement are patchy, however. Ad spending on radio and television seems to be inching up—advertising on American national radio was up 2% in January on the same period last year, according to Aegis—while spending on magazines and newspapers is still weak. Even within any one market, there are huge differences; just pick up a copy of one of the now-slimline high-tech magazines that once bulged with ads, and compare it with the hefty celebrity or women’s titles. Advertisers in some categories, such as the travel industry, are still reluctant to buy space or airtime, while others, such as the car and movie businesses, have been bolder. The winter Olympics, held last month in Salt Lake City, has also distorted the spending on broadcast advertising in the first quarter.
Nonetheless, there is an underlying pattern. One measure is the booking of ad spots for national brands on local television. By early March, according to Mr. Westerfield’s analysis, such bookings were growing fast across eight out of the top ten advertising sectors, led by the financial and motor industries. UBS Warburg now expects the “upfront” market, which starts in May when advertisers book advance ad spots on the TV networks for the new season in September, to be up 4% on last year. On some estimates, even online advertising could pick up by the end of the year.[419 words]
1. What does the author mean by “it is not necessarily time to reach for the sun glasses” (Para.1)?
[A] The sunshine is not terribly strong.
[B] It is not good time to develop advertising.
[C] There is no need to worry about economy now.
[D] The real economic recovery has yet to take place.
2. Mr. Murdoch’s early market estimation seems to be_________ .
[A] exaggerating the situation [B] being too cautious
[C] underestimating the development [D] probably describing the reality
3. Which of the following is true according to the text?
[A] Advertising is a sensitive marker of economic change.
[B] Managers will first cut salary during economic downturn.
[C] CMR was wrong about last year’s U.S. ad market.
[D] Advertising spending has started overal growing.
4. Signs of improvement are visible in the advertising of______.
[A] high-tech magazines and sports industry
[B] celebrity magazines and travel industry
[C] women’s magazines and car industry
[D] movie industry and high-tech magazines
5. What is the author’s view of the prospect of U.S. advertising market?
[A] Recovery will be slow but sure. [B] There will be a big jump.
[C] Patchy improvement will occur. [D] The situation will remain pessimistic. 本文导航 第1页Text 1 第2页Text 1 精讲 第3页Text 2 第4页Text 2 精讲
试题精解
1. 作者说it is not necessarily time to reach for the sun glasses的含义是____。
[A] 阳光不是特别强烈 [B] 发展广告业还不是好时候
[C] 现在没有必要担忧经济 [D] 真正的经济复苏还没有开始
[精解] 答案D本题考查句子含义。下文提到，默多克先生宣布“美国广告市场有中度复苏的迹象”。由此可知，第一句话实际上是一个暗喻：当鲁珀特•默多克看到美国广告市场上的光芒时(比喻市场有了些许复苏的迹象)，拿太阳镜还为时过早(比喻广告市场还没有全面复苏)。 [D]项正确揭示了这层意思，是正确答案。
2. 默多克先生对市场先前的估计现在看来____。
[A] 夸张了情况 [B] 过于谨慎
[C] 低估了发展 [D] 可能描述了真实的情况
[精解] 答案D本题考查推理引申。由第一段可知，去年十月，这位新闻集团的老总就已经认为是“强烈的阳光”(即广告市场开始真正复苏了)。但随着广告销售的衰退，他于上个月宣布只是“中度复苏的迹象”。该段最后两句提到，他先前的乐观看来是错了，然而，现在其他业内观察员却开始认同他的观点。可见，他的预测符合现在的真实情况。[D]项正确。
3. 根据文章，下面哪个选项是正确?
[A] 广告业是经济变化的敏感标志。
[B] 在经济低迷时期企业主会首先减薪。
[C] CMR对去年美国广告市场作出了错误判断。
[D] 广告开支已经开始全面增长。
[精解] 答案A本题考查第二段的事实细节。该段第一句指出，广告业的行情通常放大这样的经济规律：广告业在经济不景气的初期就明显下降，一旦经济开始复苏就迅猛回升。因此可推出[A]项正确。该段第二句分析其原因：经济不景气时，绝大多数企业主宁愿先削减广告开支而不愿意先减薪。由此排除[B]项。第三句提到CMR对美国广告市场的调查结果，但没有说明它的判断准确与否，因此排除[C]项。最后一句提到，分析家预测第三季度广告费会全面上升，因此[D]项错在“已经开始”。
4. 广告业务看涨的领域是_____。
[A] 高技术杂志和体育产业 [B] 名人杂志和旅游业
[C] 妇女杂志和汽车工业 [D] 电影行业和高科技杂志
[精解] 答案C本题考查事实细节。第三段第三句提到，即使在同一个行业里，(广告业务增长的情况)也会有巨大的差异。接着，该句将“高科技杂志”与“名人或妇女杂志”相比，指出前者曾经充斥着各种广告而现在却很薄，由此可推知，高科技杂志的广告少，妇女杂志的广告多，排除[A]和[D]项。该段第四句话提到，广告主对旅游栏目舍不得花钱，但对汽车和电影这样的栏目却从不犹豫。因此可排除[B]项。正确答案是[C]项。
5. 作者对美国广告市场前景的看法是什么?
[A] 虽然缓慢但肯定会复苏。 [B] 将会有一个较大的增长。
[C] 将会出现局部增长。 [D] 情况将会持续悲观。
[精解] 答案A本题考查作者观点。作者通篇以客观的口吻陈述美国广告市场行情的变化。9•11事件以后经济形势一直低迷，广告市场也一片惨淡。但是近来广告市场显示了复苏的微弱迹象：第二段倒数第二句话，“尽管根据调查去年广告市场萎缩了9.8%，但专家预测今年第三季度广告开支会有所增长。”第三段主要谈广告市场行情回升的不均匀性，有的领域形势很好，有的领域如旅游业广告仍然不景气。最后一段的例子说明电视、网络等媒体上的广告订单开始增加。总体看来，可见作者认为广告业在慢慢恢复。因此答案为[A]项。 本文导航 第1页Text 1 第2页Text 1 精讲 第3页Text 2 第4页Text 2 精讲
Text 2
Talk to any parent of a student who took an adventurous gap year (a year between school and university when some students earn money, travel, etc.) and a misty look will come into their eyes. There are some disasters and even the most motivated, organised gap student does require family back-up, financial, emotional and physical. The parental mistiness is not just about the brilliant experience that has matured their offspring; it is vicarious living. We all wish preuniversity gap years had been the fashion in our day. We can see how much tougher our kids become; how much more prepared to benefit from university or to decide positively that they are going to do something other than a degree.
Gap years are fashionable, as is reflected in the huge growth in the number of charities and private companies offering them. Pictures of Prince William toiling in Chile have helped, but the trend has been gathering steam for a decade. The range of gap packages starts with backpacking, includes working with charities, building hospitals and schools and, very commonly, working as a language assistant, teaching English. With this trend, however, comes a danger. Once parents feel that a well-structured year is essential to their wouldbe undergraduates progress to a better university, a good degree, an impressive CV and well paid employment, as the gap companies blurbs suggest it might be, then parents will start organising—and paying for—the gaps.
Where there are disasters, according to Richard Oliver, director of the gap companies’ umbrella organisation, the Year Out Group, it is usually because of poor planning. That can be the fault of the company or of the student, he says, but the best insurance is thoughtful preparation. “When people get it wrong, it is usually medical or, especially among girls, it is that they have not been away from home before or because expectation does not match reality.”
The point of a gap year is that it should be the time when the school leaver gets to do the thing that he or she fancies. Kids don’t mature if mum and dad decide how they are going to mature. If the 18-year-old’s way of maturing is to slob out on Hampstead Heath soaking up sunshine or spending a year working with fishermen in Cornwall, then thats what will be productive for that person. The consensus, however, is that some structure is an advantage and that the prime mover needs to be the student.
The 18-year-old who was dispatched by his parents at two weeks’notice to Canada to learn to be a snowboarding instructor at a cost of ￡5,800, probably came back with little more than a hangover. The 18-year-old on the same package who worked for his fare and spent the rest of his year instructing in resorts from New Zealand to Switzerland, and came back to apply for university, is the positive counterbalance. [502 words]
1 . It can be inferred from the first paragraph that parents of gap students may____.
[A] help children to be prepared for disasters
[B] receive all kinds of support from their children
[C] have rich experience in bringing up their offspring
[D] experience watching children grow up
2. According to the text, which of the following is true?
[A] The popularity of gap years results from an increasing number of charities.
[B] Prince William was working hard during his gap year.
[C] Gap years are not as fashionable as they were ten years ago.
[D] A well-structured gap year is a guarantee of university success.
3. The word “packages” (Line 3, Para. 2) means________.
[A] parcels carried in traveling [B] a comprehensive set of activities
[C] something presented in a particular way [D] charity actions
4. What can cause the disasters of gap years?
[A] Intervention of parents. [B] Irresponsibility of the companies.
[C] A lack of insurance. [D] Low expectation.
5. An 18-year-old is believed to take a meaningful gap year when he/she.________
[A] lives up to his/her parents’expectations
[B] spends time being lazy and doing nothing
[C] learns skills by spending parents’money
[D] earns his or her living and gains working experience 本文导航 第1页Text 1 第2页Text 1 精讲 第3页Text 2 第4页Text 2 精讲
试题精解
1从第一段可推知经历学业间断年的学生的父母可能——。
[A] 帮助孩子准备迎接灾难
[B] 从孩子那里得到各种支持
[C] 在抚养孩子方面有丰富的经验
[D] 经历了看着孩子成长的过程
[精解] 答案D本题考查推理引申。第一段论述了经历学业间断年的孩子的父母的感受，包括两个方面：一是由于这个时期的学生需要家庭从经济上、情感上和体力上给予帮助，因此父母可能有帮助孩子成熟起来的美好经历;二是父母间接的感受，即看着孩子们变得更坚强，自己做决定，从而成长。由此可知，[D]项是父母可能经历的。[A]项中出现了原文中的disaster，但含义不同。第一段第二句中disasters指的是“困难，危机”，是下文提到的“孩子需要家庭给予帮助”造成的。[B]项与第一段第二句含义相反。第三句提到，父母有帮助孩子成熟起来的美好经历，而非[C]项中的rich experience(经验丰富)。
2根据文章，下面哪个说法正确?
[A] 学业间断年的普及是因为慈善机构数目的增长造成的。
[B] 威廉王子在他的学业间断年期间努力工作。
[C] 现在学业间断年不像十年前那样普及了。
[D] 一个精心安排的学业间断年是大学成功的保证。
[精解] 答案B本题考查事实细节。第二段首句提到，学业间断年现在很时兴，反映在提供它们的慈善团体和私人公司的数目呈巨额增长。[A]项错在将表现归为原因。第二句提到，威廉王子在智利吃苦的事情(对间断年的流行)发挥了作用。由此可推出[B]项正确。第三句提到，(间断年普及的)趋势十年来一直在加强。因此排除[C]项。第二段后半部分谈到“学业间断年的时兴”带来的隐患，即一些父母相信公司的介绍，认为精心安排的间断年对于孩子未来的求学、就业都很重要。因此[D]项是一些公司的宣传及部分家长的错误看法。
3第二段第三行的单词packages的含义是——。
[A] 旅行中带的包裹
[B] 一套综合的活动
[C] 用特殊方式呈现出来的东西
[D] 慈善行动
[精解] 答案B本题考查词义。词义的确定依赖上下文。上文中gap一词多次出现，指“学业间断”，下文提到一系列活动，即背包旅行、和慈善团体一起工作、修建医院和学校、做语言助教教英语。因此gap packages指学业间断期间学生从事的多种活动。[D]项没有包括所有的活动，应选[B]项。
4什么可能造成学业间断年出现问题?
[A] 父母的干预。 [B] 公司的不负责任。
[C] 没有保险。 [D] 期望过低。
[精解] 答案A第二段后半部分论述了随着学业间断年的普及而带来的一个隐患，即父母以为好的间断年可以决定孩子未来的的求学和就业，因此会主动安排孩子的间断年，甚至出钱。显然，这么做妨碍了孩子独立的成长。[A]项是造成问题的原因。第三段提到另外一个问题是计划不周，其表现有：健康问题(medical)、从未离开过家、期望与现实不符。[B]和[C]出现了原文中的词语company和insurance，但其含义与原文已有很大出入;文中只提到“期望与现实不符”，[D]中“过低”一词无从推知。
5.18岁的年轻人被认为度过了有意义的学业间断年，当他/她——。
[A] 达到父母的期望
[B] 无所事事
[C] 通过花父母的钱学会技能
[D] 自己谋生并获得工作经验
[精解] 答案D本题考查推理引申。第四段首句提到，学业间断年的意义在于它应该是离校生开始做自己喜欢做的事情的时候。第四段后面部分进一步进行阐述。由父母来决定孩子怎样成熟，并不能使孩子真正成熟。无所事事的行为也没有收获。行动的安排者应是学生自己。第五段举了两个截然不同的例子，前者遵照父母的安排，后者自食其力。因此，[D]项符合题意。
