Question

【题目】Market analysts in the United States have recently been quoted as saying that the biggest threat to the luxury (奢侈品) industry in the US is the tech industry. This is according to an article by fellow journalist Ashley Lutz. Her suggestion is sound. The main idea of her article is that products from Tiffany & Co. find their biggest competition not from other luxury brands but from companies like Apple. Lutz points out that luxury products are often only for “show,” while the attraction behind tech products is functionality.

You find few people in the United States today willing to purchase luxury goods at full price. It didn’t use to be that way. Luxury goods used to be actually exclusive. That meant you needed to travel to the right store to purchase them, and you didn’t even have the option of getting a deal.

Today, no one wants to pay full price for luxury goods. People have the unfortunate belief that fakes (赝品) somehow are equal to originals, and if you can’t get a deal on eBay, Amazon, or in an outlet store, purchasing a luxury product probably isn’t worth it. Luxury brands struggle to remain high-end (高档的) images despite the reality that the American consumer is motivated much more by discounts than they are by brand names or image.

Yet people stand in line to pay full price for a new product from Apple and crowds gather to hear about a new smart phone. While electronics are updating every day, people are purchasing technology at full prices much more than they are purchasing luxury goods. What are high-tech makers doing right that luxury makers are pitifully failing at?

Carefully looking at the situation, it would appear as if the Internet didn’t hurt the luxury industry, expectation from the consumers did. What people want these days more than anything is stuff that does something. They want cars that drive, shoes that are comfortable, games that are fun to play, screens that are beautiful to look at, tools that are useful, and entertainment that is entertaining. Little of that fits into what the luxury industry has typically offered with its status, image, and fine materials. The sad reality is that luxury products aren’t that luxury any more.

【1】What does this passage mainly talk about?

A. Nobody likes luxury goods any more.

B. Tech products become the new “luxury goods”.

C. Luxury goods are of poor quality nowadays.

D. Iphones have taken the place of luxury products.

【2】 The underlined word “exclusive” in paragraph 2 means _______.

A. easy to sell

B. low in price

C. hard to find

D. unique and with no bargain

【3】What do people pay most attention to nowadays?

A. The function of products.

B. The images of luxuries.

C. The Internet service.

D. The expectation from the consumers.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】D

【3】A

【解析】

试题分析: 本文介绍了美国奢侈品行业所面临的威胁，其最大威胁来自美国的高科技行业并分析了个中原因

【1】B考查主旨大意：根据第一段内容可知美国奢侈品行业面临的最大威胁来自美国的高科技行业。奢侈品经常仅用于炫耀而科技产品背后的吸引力在于它的功能性，由此可以判断出现在高科技产品是奢侈品，故选B项。

【2】D考查推理判断题 根据第二段提到You find few people in the United States today willing to purchase luxury goods at full price在美国你会发现很少有人愿意出全价购买奢侈品了，说明奢侈品在过去是一种独特的不打折的商品，故选D。

【3】A考查推理判断题。根据最后一段审视这一情况时，看起来伤害奢侈品行业的好像不是互联网，而是消费者的预期。人们眼下最想要的是具有某些功用的东西。他们想要好开的汽车、舒适的鞋、有趣的游戏画质、出众的屏幕、实用的工具以及精彩的娱乐。这些诉求基本上与奢侈品行业传统上提供的产品及其看重的身份形象和精良材质不搭边。一个悲惨的现实是奢侈品不再那么奢侈了，故选A项。

考点 ：社会现象类阅读。