Section II Reading
Comprehension
Part A
Directions:
Read the following
four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark
your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)
Text 1
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 departments 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be more out of date or at odds with the feverish would be described in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-pius 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.
21. Priestly
criticizes her assistant for her
[A] poor bargaining
skill.
[B] insensitivity to
fashion.
[C] obsession with
high fashion.
[D] lack of
imagination.
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.
23. The word “indictment” (Line 3, Para.2) is closest in
meaning to
[A] accusation.
[B] enthusiasm.
[C] indifference.
[D] tolerance.
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.
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.
Text 1答案:
21. B. insensitivity
to fashion
22. D. shop for their
garment more frequently
23. A. accusation
24. D. pricing is
vital to environment-friendly purchasing
25. C. criticism of
the fast-fashion industry