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12013年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题Text1Inthe2006filmversionofTheDevilWearsPrada,MirandaPriestly,playedbyMerylStreep,scoldherunattractiveassistantforimaginingthathighfashiondoesn’taffecther.Priestlyexplainshowthedeepbluecoloroftheassistant’ssweaterdescendedovertheyearsfromfashionshowstodepartmentstoresandtothebargainbininwhichthepoorgirldoubtlessfoundhergarment.Thistop-downconceptionofthefashionbusinesscouldn’tbemoreoutofdateoratoddswithfeverishworlddescribedinOverdressed,ElizabethCline’sthree-yearindictmentof“fastfashion”.Inthelastdecadesorso,advancesintechnologyhaveallowedmass-marketlabelssuchasZara,H&M,andUniqlotoreacttotrendsmorequicklyandanticipatedemandmoreprecisely.Quckierturnroundsmeanlesswastedinventory,morefrequentreleases,andmoreprofit.Thoselabelsencouragestyle-consciousconsumerstoseeclothesasdisposal——meanttolastonlyawashortwo,althoughtheydon’tadvertisethat——andtorenewtheirwardrobeeveryfewweeks.Byofferingon-trenditemsatdirt-cheapprices,Clineargues,thesebrandshavehijackedfashioncycles,shakingallindustrylongaccustomedtoaseasonalpace.Thevictimsofthisrevolution,ofcourse,arenotlimitedtodesigners.ForH&Mtooffera5.95knitminiskirtinallits2300-plusstoresaroundtheworld,itmustrelyonlow-wage,overseaslabor,orderinvolumesthatstrainnaturalresources,andusemassiveamountofharmfulchemicals.Overdressedisthefashionworld’sanswertoconsumeractivistbestsellerslikeMichaelPollan’sTheOmnivore’sDilemma.Mass-producedclothing,likefastfood,fillsahungerandneed,yetisnon-durable,2andwasteful,”Clineargues,Americans,shefinds,buyroughly20billiongarmentsayear——about64itemsperperson——andnomatterhowmuchtheygiveaway,thisexcessleadstowaste.TowardstheendofOverdressed,Clineintroducedherideal,aBrooklynwomannamedSKB,who,since2008hasmakeallofherownclothes——andbeautifully.ButasClineisthefirsttonote,ittookBeaumontdecadestoperfecthercraft;herexample,can’tbeknockedoff.Thoughseveralfast-fashioncompanieshavemadeeffortstocurbtheirimpactonlaborandtheenvironment——includingH&M,withitsgreenConsciousCollectionLine——Clinebelieveslasting-changecanonlybeeffectedbythecustomer.Sheexhibitstheidealismcommontomanyadvocatesofsustainability,beitinfoodorinenergy.Vanityisaconstant;peoplewillonlystartshoppingmoresustainablywhentheycan’taffordtoit.Text2Anoldsayinghasitthathalfofalladvertisingbudgetsarewasted-thetroubleis,nooneknowswhichhalf.Intheinternetage,atleastintheory,thisfractioncanbemuchreduced.Bywatchingwhatpeoplesearchfor,clickonandsayonline,companiescanaim“behavioural”adsatthosemostlikelytobuy.Inthepastcoupleofweeksaquarrelhasillustratedthevaluetoadvertisersofsuchfine-grainedinformation:Shouldadvertisersassumethatpeoplearehappytobetrackedandsentbehaviouralads?Orshouldtheyhaveexplicitpermission?InDecember2010America'sFederalTradeCornmission(FTC)proposedaddingadonottrack(DNT)optiontointernetbrowsers,sothatuserscouldtelladwertisersthattheydidnotwanttobefollowed.Microsoft'sInternetExplorerandApple'sSafaribothofferDNT;Google'sChromeisduetodo3sothisyear.InFebruarytheFTCandDigltalAdwertisingAlliance(DAA)agreedthattheindustrywouldgetcrackingonrespongingtoDNTrequests.OnMay31stMicrosoftSetofftherow:ItsaidthatInternetExplorer10,theversionduetoappearwindows8,wouldhaveDNTasadefault.Itisnotyetclearhowadvertiserswillrespond.GetingaDNTsignaldoesnotobligeanyonetostoptracking,althoughsomecompanieshavepromisedtodoso.UnabletotellwhethersomeonereallyobjectstobehaviouraladsorwhethertheyarestickingwithMicrosoft’sdefault,somemayignoreaDNTsignalandpressonanyway.AlsouncleariswhyMicrosofthasgoneitalone.Atterall,ithasanadbusinesstoo,whichitsayswillcomplywithDNTrequests,thoughitisstillworkingouthow.IfitistryingtoupsetGoogle,whichreliesalmostwhollyondefaultwillbecomethenorm.DNTdoesnotseemanobviouslyhugesellingpointforwindows8-thoughthefirmhascomparedsomeofitsotherproductsfavourablywithGoogle'sonthatcountbefore.BrendonLynch,Microsoft'schiefprivacyofficer,bloggde:webelieveconsumersshouldhavemorecontrol.Coulditreallybethatsimple?Text3Upuntilafewdecadesago,ourvisionsofthefuturewerelargely-thoughbynomeansuniformly-glowinglypositive.Scienceandtechnologywouldcurealltheillsofhumanity,leadingtolivesoffulfillmentandopportunityforall.4Nowutopiahasgrownunfashionable,aswehavegainedadeeperappreciationoftherangeofthreatsfacingus,fromasteroidstriketoepidemicfluandtoclimatechange.Youmightevenbetemptedtoassumethathumanityhaslittlefuturetolookforwardto.Butsuchgloominessismisplaced.Thefossilrecordshowsthatmanyspecieshaveenduredformillionsofyears-sowhyshouldn'twe?Takeabroaderlookatourspecies'placeintheuniverse,anditbecomesclearthatwehaveanexcellentchanceofsurvivingfortens,ifnothundreds,ofthousandsofyears.LookupHomosapiensintheRedListofthreatenedspeciesoftheInternationalUnionfortheConversationofNature(IUCN),andyouwillread:ListedasLeastConcernasthespeciesisverywidelydistributed,adaptable,currentlyincreasing,andtherearenomajorthreatsresultinginanoverallpopulationdecline.Sowhatdoesourdeepfuturehold?Agrowingnumberofresearchersandorganisationsarenowthinkingseriouslyaboutthatquestion.Forexample,theLongNowFoundationhasitsflagshi