21世纪，英语已经走进了我们每个人的生活，学好英语成了我们共同的目标，为了帮助大学生更好地掌握英语，特提供以下文章：
Women and Fashions
Whenever you see an old film, even one made as little as ten years ago, you cannot help being struck by the appearance of the women taking part. Their hair-styles and make-up look dated; their skirts look either too long or too short; their general appearance is, in fact, slightly ludicrous. The men taking part in the film, on the other hand, are clearly recognizable. There is nothing about their appearance to suggest that they belong to an entirely different age.
This illusion is created by changing fashions. Over the year, the great majority of men have successfully resisted all attempts to make them change their style of dress. The same cannot be said for women. Each year a few so- called top designers in Paris or London lay down the law and women the whole world over rush to obey. The decrees of the designers are unpredictable and dictatorial. This year, they decide in their arbitrary fashion, skirts will be short and waists will be high; zips are in and buttons are out. Next year the law is reversed and far from taking exception, no one is even mildly surprised.
If women are mercilessly exploited year after year, they have only themselves to blame. Because they shudder at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion, they are annually black-mailed by the designers and the big stores. Clothes, which have been worn, only a few times have to be discarded because of the dictates of fashion. When you come to think of it, only a women is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.
Changing fashions are nothing more than the deliberate creation of waste. Many women squander vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn. Women, who cannot afford to discard clothing in this way, waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have. Hem-limes are taken up or let down; waist-lines are taken in or let out; neck-lines are lowered or raised, and so on.
No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society. Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth, comfort and durability. They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort, providing they look right. There can hardly be a man who hasn’t at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shivering in a flimsy dress on a wintry day, or delicately picking her way through deep snow in dainty shoes.
When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusions to be drawn are obvious. Do the constantly changing fashions of women’s clothes, one wonders, reflect basic qualities of fickleness and instability? Men are too sensible to let themselves be bullied by fashion designers. Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability? That is for you to decide.
1. The main idea of this passage is
[A] New fashions in clothes reflect the qualities of women.
[B] New fashions in clothing are created solely for commercial exploitation of women.
[C] The top designers seem to have the right to creating new fashion.
[D] Men have the basic quality of reliability.
2. Why do the general appearance of actresses look ludicrous?
[A] Because they want their appearance in the fashion.
[B] Because the top designers want them to follow the fashion.
[C] Because the top designers want them to make fashion.
[D] Because the top designers want them to lead the fashion.
3. Why are women mercilessly exploited by the fashion designers?
[A] They love new fashion. [B] They love new clothes.
[C] They want to look beautiful. [D] They are too vain.
4. What are fashion designers interested in?
[A] Outward appearance. [B] Comfort.
[C] Beauty. [D] Durability.
谜底详解：
1. B. 创制新时装就是对妇女的商业性抽剥。谜底普遍全文。也有几段凸起描述。如：第二段第四句“每年，巴黎，伦敦的一些所谓高级设计师定出条条框框，全世界妇女竞相从命。设计师的条令难以展望，说一不贰。”第三段“要说妇女年年被无情的抽剥之事，只能怪她们自己。因为她们一想起在公共场所穿戴过失踪的衣服就会颤栗，所以他们每年都被设计师和大商铺讹诈(勒索)……”第四段：“良多妇女(每年)华侈大笔钱财来置换她们从未穿过的服装，时装转变就是居心缔造华侈。”
A. 时装反映妇女的秉性。这是在最后一段结论中说起，不是中心思惟。 D. 汉子具有靠得住性的根基素质。不合错误。 C. 高级设计师似乎有权缔造新花式。这是作者在攻讦设计者。
2. D. 因为高级设计师请她们率领时装潮水。只是常识，设计师新奇服装的推出，首先是绕揭捉?员试装——等于时装模特的效用，掀起可以率领时装的新潮水。
3. D. 他们太好虚荣。 这在文章的好几段内都提到。如第一题中的第二段，三段，四段的参考译文。如第三段后半部门“只穿了几回的衣服就因为时尚的呼吁而弃之一边。当你想到只有妇女能站在堆对劲服的衣柜前，悲哀的诉说她没有衣服穿。”第四段的后半段“花不起大笔钱财买衣服的妇女会花上好几个小时把他们已有的衣服换来换去”。第五段后半部门“汉子生平中经常可以看到大冬天妇女寒战在薄薄的衣衫中，或者穿戴美丽的鞋在雪地上选路走，这都令他们失笑”。最后一段结论，画龙点睛的以问点明“经常不竭的换时装。人们不禁要问，这是不是反映了妇女轻佻和易变的根基素质(秉性)?”
4. A. 外不美观。谜底在第五段“没有人认为时装工业为社会作过真正的进献。时装设计师很少关心保暖，愉快和耐穿这类紧要的事，他们只是对外不美观感性趣，他们操作了妇女的心理：只要看着美，她们能忍受一切(疾苦)不愉快……。”