2017考研英語閱讀理解試題及解析(21)

    　When it comes tothe slowing economy, Ellen Spero isn’t biting her nailsjust yet. But the 47-year-old manicurist isn’t cutting, fillingor polishing as many nails as she’d like to, either. Most of her clients spend $12 to $50 weekly, butlast month two longtime customers suddenly stopped showing up. Spero blames thesoftening economy. “I’m a good economic indicator,” she says. “I provide aservice that people can do without when they’re concerned aboutsaving some dollars?！?So Spero is downscaling, shopping at middle-brow Dillard’s departmentstore near her suburban Cleveland home, instead of Neiman Marcus. “I don’t know ifother clients are going to abandon me, too” she says。
    Even before Alan Greenspan’s admission thatAmerica’s red-hot economy is cooling, lots of working folks had already seensigns of the slowdown themselves. From car dealerships to Gap outlets, saleshave been lagging for months as shoppers temper their spending. For retailers,who last year took in 24 percent of their revenue between Thanksgiving andChristmas, the cautious approach is coming at a crucial time. Already, expertssay, holiday sales are off 7 percent from last year’s pace. Butdon’t sound any alarms just yet. Consumers seem only mildly concerned,not panicked, and many say they remain optimistic about the economy’s long-termprospects, even as they do some modest belt-tightening。
    Consumers say they’re not in despair because, despite the dreadful headlines, their ownfortunes still feel pretty good. Home prices are holding steady in mostregions. In Manhattan, “there’s a new gold rush happening in the $4 million to $10 million range,predominantly fed by Wall Street bonuses,” says broker BarbaraCorcoran. In San Francisco, prices are still rising even as frenziedoverbidding quiets. “Instead of 20 to 30 offers, now maybe you only get two or three,”says johnTealdi, a Bay Area real-estate broker. And most folks still feel prettycomfortable about their ability to find and keep a job。
    Many folks see silver linings to this slowdown. Potential homebuyers would cheer for lower interest rates. Employers wouldn’t mind alittle fewer bubbles in the job market. Many consumers seem to have beeninfluenced by stock-market swings, which investors now view as a necessaryingredient to a sustained boom. Diners might see an upside, too. Getting atable at Manhattan’s hot new Alain Ducasse restaurant need to be impossible. Notanymore. For that, Greenspan & Co. may still be worth toasting。
    31. By “Ellen Spero isn't biting her nails just yet” (Line 1,Paragraph 1)， the author means
    [A] Spero can hardly maintain her business.
    [B] Spero is too much engaged in her work.
    [C] Spero has grown out of her bad habit.
    [D] Spero is not in a desperate situation。
    32. How do the public feel about the current economic situation?
    [A] Optimistic.
    [B] Confused.
    [C] Carefree.
    [D] Panicked。
    33. When mentioning “the $4 million to $10 million range” (Lines 3, Paragraph3)， the author is talking about
    [A] gold market.
    [B] real estate.
    [C] stock exchange.
    [D] venture investment。
    34. Why can many people see “silver linings”to theeconomic showdown?
    [A] They would benefit in certain ways。
    [B] The stock market shows signs of recovery。
    [C] Such a slowdown usually precedes a boom。
    [D] The purchasing power would be enhanced。
    35. To which of the following is the author likely to agree?
    [A] A new boom, on the horizon。
    [B] Tighten the belt, the single remedy。
    [C] Caution all right, panic not。
    [D] The more ventures, the more chances。 　解析
    31. By“Ellen Spero isn't biting her nails just yet”(Line 1,Paragraph 1)， the author means
    通過說“艾倫·斯拜羅還不至于咬手指”(第一段第一行)，作者的意思是
    [A] Spero can hardly maintain her business. 斯拜羅幾乎無法維持自己的生意。
    [B] Spero is too much engaged in her work. 斯拜羅過分投入于自己的工作。
    [C] Spero has grown out of her bad habit. 斯拜羅已經(jīng)戒掉了壞習(xí)慣。。
    [D] Spero is not in a desperate situation. 斯拜羅沒有到絕望的境地。
    【答案】 D
    【考點(diǎn)】 詞義和句意題。
    【分析】 此類題目一般會考超綱詞匯、熟詞僻義、特殊場合用法等，本題屬于考熟詞僻義?！癰iting one’s nails”是習(xí)語，但是絕大多數(shù)考生是不會知道的。這個(gè)時(shí)候就必須將其放在上下文中來考慮。文章第一句和第二句之間的轉(zhuǎn)折詞“but”是推斷出這個(gè)句子意思的關(guān)鍵“……斯拜羅還不至于‘biting her nails’，但是(她的生意已經(jīng)不如從前)這位四十七歲的指甲修飾師修剪、銼磨、上油的指甲數(shù)量卻難遂其愿了。她的大多數(shù)顧客每周花費(fèi)十二至五十美元，可上月兩位長期客戶突然不來了;她本人也不再去高檔商場而去中檔商場了?！庇纱丝梢酝茢喑?，第一句肯定是說她的境況還不至于糟糕到非常困難的地步。[B]、[C]肯定是可以排除的，而選項(xiàng)[A]“斯拜羅幾乎無法維持自己的生意”則很具有迷惑性，可是如果考生把[A]帶進(jìn)原文讀一遍就會發(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)選項(xiàng)和“but”無法連用，“斯拜羅幾乎無法維持自己的生意，但是她的生意已經(jīng)大不如從前”在邏輯上是講不通的，所以只能選擇[D]，這樣一來，這句話的意思就是“(雖然)斯拜羅還沒有到絕望的境地，但是她的生意已經(jīng)大不如從前了”，語義上完全可以接受。
    32. How do the public feel about the current economic situation?
    公眾對目前的經(jīng)濟(jì)形勢怎么看?
    [A] Optimistic. 樂觀的。
    [B] Confused. 迷惑的。
    [C] Carefree. 無憂無慮的。
    [D] Panicked. 恐慌的。
    【答案】 A
    【考點(diǎn)】 事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。
    【分析】 本題屬于事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題，考查公眾對經(jīng)濟(jì)形勢的看法。文章中關(guān)于公眾的看法出現(xiàn)在第二段后幾句“不過，目前還不必敲什么警鐘。消費(fèi)者看起來只是適度關(guān)注，并沒有恐慌。許多人雖然稍微勒緊腰帶，但他們說對于經(jīng)濟(jì)的長期前景還是樂觀的?！庇纱丝梢耘卸ㄕ_答案是選項(xiàng)[A]。
    33. When mentioning“the $4 million to $10 million range”(Lines 2—3, Paragraph3) the author is talking about
    當(dāng)提及“400萬到1,000萬美元之間”(第三段第二、三行)時(shí)，作者在談?wù)?BR>    [A] gold market. 黃金市場。
    [B] real estate. 房地產(chǎn)。
    [C] stock exchange. 證券交易所。
    [D] venture investment 風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資。
    【答案】 B
    【考點(diǎn)】 詞義和句意題。
    【分析】 引用別人的話來證明自己的觀點(diǎn)叫引證，用例子來證明自己的觀點(diǎn)叫例證。我們來看看作者引用這句話是為了證明什么“在大多數(shù)地區(qū)房屋價(jià)格保持穩(wěn)定。經(jīng)紀(jì)人巴巴拉·考克蘭說，在曼哈頓‘出現(xiàn)了對400萬至1,000萬美元之間房子的淘金熱(搶購)，資金來源以華爾街股票紅利為主。’在舊金山，高價(jià)搶購現(xiàn)象雖然銷聲匿跡了，可價(jià)格依舊看漲。海灣地區(qū)房地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì)人約翰·梯爾迪說：‘以前總是有20到30個(gè)賣主，而現(xiàn)在也許只有兩三個(gè)?！弊x懂這句話，就會明白，作者是在證明有人在投資房地產(chǎn)。選項(xiàng)[A]是出題人故意利用“gold rush”這個(gè)短語的字面意思來迷惑考生的，“gold rush”指淘金熱，但是這里指的是“投資房產(chǎn)的狂熱”。選項(xiàng)[C] 股票市場是利用考生可能會被華爾街誤導(dǎo)而出的干擾項(xiàng)。至于選項(xiàng)[D]風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資本章沒有提及。
    34. Why can many people see“silver linings”to theeconomic showdown?
    為什么許多人能夠在經(jīng)濟(jì)放緩中看到“銀色的邊”?
    [A] They would benefit in certain ways. 他們可能以某些方式收益。。
    [B] The stock market shows signs of recovery. 股票市場顯現(xiàn)了復(fù)蘇的跡象。
    [C] Such a slowdown usually precedes a boom. 經(jīng)濟(jì)繁榮之前通常會有這樣的滑坡。
    [D] The purchasing power would be enhanced. 購買力會增強(qiáng)。
    【答案】 A
    【考點(diǎn)】 推斷題。
    【分析】 文章并沒有直接說“銀色的邊”是什么意思，但是這卻是理解的一個(gè)比較關(guān)鍵的地方。英語中有句諺語叫“Every cloud has a silver lining?！币馑际恰昂诎抵锌傆幸唤z光明?！庇⒚廊耸砍Ｓ谩般y色的邊”來形容或者比喻困難時(shí)的希望。但是僅僅了解這個(gè)短語的意思顯然還是不夠的，問題的關(guān)鍵是為什么許多人能夠在經(jīng)濟(jì)放緩中看到希望?看原文“潛在的購房者會對利率下調(diào)歡天喜地。雇主們對就業(yè)市場少了些泡沫也并不在意。許多消費(fèi)者似乎一直受股票市場波動(dòng)的影響，投資者把這種波動(dòng)視為持續(xù)繁榮的必要因素。就餐者可能也看到了有利的方面。在曼哈頓新開的火爆的阿蘭·杜卡斯飯店找個(gè)餐位曾經(jīng)是不可能的，現(xiàn)在可以了”?？炊@句話，考生就會明白經(jīng)濟(jì)放緩對大家來說還是有好處的。也就是說，考生必須從這幾個(gè)例子中看出作者到底是要證明一個(gè)什么樣的觀點(diǎn)。而[B]、[C]、[D]選項(xiàng)都無法從這幾個(gè)例子中推斷出來。
    35. To which of the following is the author likely to agree?
    以下說法作者有可能會同意哪一個(gè)?
    [A] A new boom, on the horizon. 新的繁榮，即將出現(xiàn)。
    [B] Tighten the belt, the single remedy. 勒緊褲帶，別無它法。
    [C] Caution all right, panic not. 謹(jǐn)慎無礙，恐慌無需。
    [D] The more ventures, the more chances. 風(fēng)險(xiǎn)越多，機(jī)會越多。
    【答案】 C
    【考點(diǎn)】 推斷題。
    【分析】 考查作者的態(tài)度與觀點(diǎn)的題目必須在通篇讀完后才能去回答，這也是為什么此類題目通常放在后一道的原因?，F(xiàn)在我們再來將原文通篇回顧一下，文章開篇用事例引出經(jīng)濟(jì)滑坡的話題，隨后說人們雖然已經(jīng)注意到這一點(diǎn)，但是只是適度關(guān)注，并沒有恐慌;第三段說人們?yōu)槭裁磿@樣，后指出，他們從中可以得到不少好處。[C]能夠反映作者的態(tài)度。選項(xiàng)[A]所表現(xiàn)出來的樂觀似乎是過了一點(diǎn)，而選項(xiàng)[B]表現(xiàn)出來的悲觀又顯得過了一點(diǎn)。至于[D]“風(fēng)險(xiǎn)越多，機(jī)會越多”這種說法，作者在文中沒有提及。