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《考研英语阅读理解100篇 高分版》 Unit 14 - TEXT ONE

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2019年02月11日

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When times get tough, people with an abundance of disposable income are inclined to keep disposing of it while the rest of us are forced to keep our thinner wallets in our pockets. With that in mind, Tobias Levkovich, Citigroup's chief United States equity strategist, has created the Living Large Index, comprising stocks of businesses that cater to affluent consumers. Profits and share prices of luxury-goods makers, higher-end retailers and travel and entertainment companies should hold up even if businesses serving them suffer from difficult economic conditions, he said.
The index is a new creation, but back-testing shows that building a portfolio from its component stocks would have been a far more lucrative long-term strategy than mimicking the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. A $100 investment in Living Large at the end of 1995 would have grown to $1,013 by Oct. 31, compared with $252 for the S.&P. No wonder the logic behind the index wins high marks from investment advisers. “It certainly makes sense conceptually,” said Charles L.Norton, manager of the Vice fund, which invests in companies like tobacco makers, gambling emporiums and purveyors of alcohol. “Usually in a recession, people at the lower end of the food chain are hurt most and so those catering to the luxury end tend to be relatively insulated.” Mr. Norton holds one index constituent, Wynn, the owner of casinos, including one in Macao that has become a popular destination for Asian gamblers. Asia is expected to be a source of tremendous growth for the gambling industry.
If catering to well-heeled Americans is profitable, doing the same for wealthy people around the globe may be even more so. As economies develop, the number of rich people soars, and they have the same expensive tastes as Americans do. “The next big frontier for many of these luxury retailers is emerging countries, where growth is faster and the number of affluent people is growing even faster,” said Andrew Peck, manager of the Baron Asset Fund. “There are opportunities ahead for them in markets like China and India, where many new millionaires are being created every day.” He expects Wynn and Tiffany to benefit from those opportunities, along with a retailer not in Mr. Levkovich's index, Polo Ralph Lauren.
John Buckingham, chief investment officer of Al Frank Asset Management, recently recommended Nordstrom and Callaway Golf. He cautioned against depending on them and other Living Large stocks to hold their value if weakness persists in the economy and stock market, however. Much of their sales come from so-called aspirational buyers, those who hope to be affluent one day but are not yet in that category. The already affluent can afford cruises and top-name accessories when times are tough; the would-be affluent cannot. He noted that some of the index companies, notably Coach, Tiffany and Nordstrom, have recently reported earnings lower than analysts' estimates, a result of “aspirational buyers' slowing their purchases”.
Mr. Peck's quibble is with the selection of companies from disparate industries to create an index that purports to track a single phenomenon. Their share prices may be driven by myriad factors other than the appeal of their products and services to affluent consumers, he said. Still, the index “makes intuitive sense to me, within reason,” he said. “As a result of gains on Wall Street and a reduction of the top tax rate, the rich are getting richer. They are going to continue to be able to afford luxuries.”
1. When times get tough, rich people will probably _____.
[A] keep an indifferent attitude towards whatever the change is
[B] reduce their expenditure on luxury products but to a lesser degree than common people
[C] tend to have their purchase power enhanced
[D] have no change in their affluent spending
2. The word “lucrative” (Line 2, Paragraph 2) most probably means _____.
[A] profitable
[B] mature
[C] reasonable
[D] intuitive
3. Towards the prospect of the Living Large Index, Charles L. Norton's attitude can be said to be _____.
[A] positive
[B] negative
[C] indifferent
[D] unclear
4. Which one of the following is NOT true of John Buckingham?
[A] He did not suggest people to buy Living Large stocks recently.
[B] He thought the Living Large Index could not be immune from the weak economic condition.
[C] He thought would-be affluent would reduce their expenditure on luxury when times are tough.
[D] He thought it was dangerous to buy Living Large stocks if economy continues to deteriorate.
5. Of the Living Large Index, Mr. Peck's opinion is _____.
[A] that the index itself is intuitive rather than reasonable
[B] that there exists certain problem in selecting the component companies
[C] that the logic behind the index is not reasonable
[D] that the index cannot reflect the share prices exactly

1. When times get tough, rich people will probably _____.
[A] keep an indifferent attitude towards whatever the change is
[B] reduce their expenditure on luxury products but to a lesser degree than common people
[C] tend to have their purchase power enhanced
[D] have no change in their affluent spending
1. 如果经济衰退的话,富人可能会 _____。
[A] 无论发生任何变化都持无所谓的态度
[B] 减少在奢侈品上的支出,但减少的幅度比普通人要小
[C] 倾向于增强他们的购买力
[D] 在消费上没有改变
答案:D 难度系数:☆☆☆☆
分析:细节题。文章第一段提到,当日子变得紧巴巴时,拥有大笔可支配收入的人倾向于继续花钱。从文章的多处也可以看到,富人们在经济萧条时并不会减少自己的消费,仍然购买奢侈品。选项B显然是错误的,而选项D符合题意。选项A是错误的,因为文章没有具体说明富人们的态度。选项C也是一个干扰选项,人们的购买力不是通过买更多的东西就可以增强的,而是取决于各种因素,而文章并没有提及这些因素。
2. The word “lucrative” (Line 2, Paragraph 2) most probably means _____.
[A] profitable
[B] mature
[C] reasonable
[D] intuitive
2. lucrative这个词(第二段第二行)最可能的意思是 _____。
[A] 可赚钱的
[B] 成熟的
[C] 合理的
[D] 直觉的
答案:A 难度系数:☆
分析:猜词题。根据上下文:The index is a new creation, but back-testing shows that building a portfolio from its component stocks would have been a far more lucrative long-term strategy than mimicking the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. 即:这个指数是个新发明,但后来的实验表明,用该指数的成分证券建立证券组合是个长期策略,远比模仿标准普尔500指数更为有利,也就是说,将100美元投资于Living Large要比投资于标准普尔获得的回报更多,能赚更多的钱,因此,选项A最为符合题意。
3. Towards the prospect of the Living Large Index, Charles L. Norton's attitude can be said to be _____.
[A] positive
[B] negative
[C] indifferent
[D] unclear
3. 对于Living Large指数,Charles L. Norton的态度可以说是 _____。
[A] 肯定的
[B] 否定的
[C] 无所谓的
[D] 不清楚的
答案:A 难度系数:☆☆
分析:推理题。第二段提到了Charles L. Norton称这样的指数在理论上有一定的意义,而且前面提到投资顾问都为该指数的基本原理打了高分,而可以看出Charles的观点是一个辅证。因此,Charles对该指数持肯定态度,正确答案为A。
4. Which one of the following is NOT true of John Buckingham?
[A] He did not suggest people to buy Living Large stocks recently.
[B] He thought the Living Large Index could not be immune from the weak economic condition.
[C] He thought would-be affluent would reduce their expenditure on luxury when times are tough.
[D] He thought it was dangerous to buy Living Large stocks if economy continues to deteriorate.
4. 关于John Buckingham,下列哪个陈述是错误的?
[A] 他建议人们最近不要购买Living Large的股票。
[B] 他认为Living Large指数不能逃避经济衰退状况的影响。
[C] 他认为未来的富有者在经济衰退时会减少在奢侈品上的消费。
[D] 他认为如果经济持续恶化的话,购买Living Large的股票是危险的。
答案:A 难度系数:☆☆☆
分析:细节题。第四段中提到了John Buckingham的观点。A,第四段开头就提到,他最近推荐了Nordstrom和Callaway Golf的股票。B,他提到如果经济不景气了,一些未来才能富有的人就会减少在奢侈品上的消费,该指数就会受到影响。C,这点第四段提到了。D,第四段也提到了他认为如果经济疲软的状况不变,那么靠这些股票来保值是有风险的。因此,选项A的陈述是错误的,因而是正确答案。
5. Of the Living Large Index, Mr. Peck's opinion is _____.
[A] that the index itself is intuitive rather than reasonable
[B] that there exists certain problem in selecting the component companies
[C] that the logic behind the index is not reasonable
[D] that the index cannot reflect the share prices exactly
5. 对于Living Large指数,Peck先生的观点为_____。
[A] 该指数是直觉意义上的,不是理性意义上的
[B] 在选择成分公司时存在一定的问题
[C] 该指数的逻辑是不合理的
[D] 该指数不能精确地反映股票价格
答案:B 难度系数:☆☆☆
分析:细节题。文章最后一段提到了Peck先生的观点,他对在完全不同类的产业中选取一些公司组成一个指数来监管一种现象有一些意见,因此选项B是正确的。选项A,原文的意思应该是Peck先生在直觉上感到该指数是合理的,而不是说该指数是直觉意义上的。

当日子变得紧巴巴的时候,拥有大笔可支配收入的人们倾向于继续花钱,而我们其他人就不得不捂紧腰包了。发现这一点后,花旗银行的美国首席资产策略师Tobias Levkovich发明了Living Large指数,该指数由专为富裕顾客提供的商业股票组成。他称,即使受到糟糕的经济情况的影响,奢侈品制造商、高端商品零售商以及旅游和娱乐公司的利润和股票价格也应该能维持下去。
这个指数是个新发明,但后来的实验表明,用该指数的成分证券建立证券组合是个长期策略,远比模仿标准普尔500指数更为有利。如果1995年底将100美元投资于Living Large,那么到次年10月31日就会增长到了1,013美元,而投资于标准普尔的获利仅仅是252美元。因此,投资顾问为该指数的基本原理打了高分。“从理论上来讲有一定的意义”,Vice基金的经理Charles L.Norton这样说,该基金投资于烟草制造商、博彩中心和酒类供应商。“在经济衰退时,一般来说,食物链底端的人们受损最多,而供给富人的商品相对来说损失要小得多。” Norton先生拥有一家该指数的组成证券——Wynn,这是一家赌场业主,旗下包括在澳门的一家赌场,目前澳门已经深受亚洲赌博者的欢迎。亚洲有望成为博彩业迅速发展的源头。
如果说迎合富有的美国人可以获得丰厚的利润,那么迎合全球的富人也是一样。随着经济的发展,富人的数量迅猛增加,他们和美国人一样有着奢侈的品位。“对于许多奢侈品零售商来说,下一个大的前沿阵地就是新崛起的国家,这些国家发展迅速,富人数量增长迅猛。” Baron资产基金经理Andrew Peck说道。“像中国和印度这样的国家的市场里有的是机会,在那里每天都有百万富翁诞生。”他希望Wynn和Tiffany可以从这些机会中获利,另一家不属于Levkovich的指数的零售商——Polo Ralph Lauren也是如此。
Al Frank资产管理公司的首席投资官John Buckingham最近推荐了Nordstrom和Callaway Golf。他认为,如果经济和证券市场的疲软状态不变的话,依靠它们和其他Living Large证券来保值是有风险的。它们大部分的销售额来自所谓的渴望购买者,这些人希望今后某一天可以变得富有,但目前还不是这样。已经富有的人们有能力购买游艇以及一线品牌的商品,但是如果经济不景气,那些将来可能的富有人群就不会再去购买这些商品了。他提到该指数下的一些公司,特别是Coach、Tiffany和Nordstrom最近公布的收入比分析家们预计的要少,这主要是因为“渴望购买者的消费减少了”。
Peck先生质疑针对从完全不同类的产业中选取一些公司组成的一个指数,并以此监控某一现象。他认为,这些证券的价格是由多种因素决定的,而不单单是因为其产品和服务受到富有消费者的青睐。但是,该指数“对我来说在直觉上仍旧是有道理的,”他这样说,“随着华尔街收入的增加以及重要税收的削减,富人们变得更加富有了,他们会一直有能力购买奢侈品。”
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