A
If women are mercilessly exploited year after year，they have only themselves to blame.Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion，they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores.Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion.When you come to think of it，only a woman 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 intentional creation of waste.Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn.Women who can not afford to throw away clothing in this way waste hours of their time altering(改变)the dresses they have.Skirts are lengthened or shortened；necklines 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，as long as 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 shaking in a thin dress on a winter day，or delicately picking her way through deep snow in highheeled 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 wonder，reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability？Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers.Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability？That is for you to decide.
【语篇解读】 本文是一篇说明文。女人爱美的天性被商人充分利用，他们不断推出各种新款服装，赚足了女士们的钱，而女士们为了美丽心甘情愿地被他们剥削。男士在服饰方面则显得比女士更理性。
1．Designers and big stores always make money ．
A．by constantly changing the fashions in women's clothing
B．by mercilessly exploiting women workers in the clothing industry
C．because they are able to predict new fashions for the coming season
D．because they attach great importance to the quality of women's clothing
A [推理判断题。第一段提到“因为她们一想到自己穿着过时的衣服出现在公众面前就不寒而栗，所以总是被服装设计师和大商场利用”，由此判断，这些人利用她们追求衣着时尚的特点来赚钱，故选A。]
2．To the writer，that women altering their old fashioned dresses is seen as ．
A．a waste of money
B．an expression of taste
C．a waste of time
D．an expression of creativity
C [细节理解题。第二段说，女士们如果没钱置办新衣，她们就浪费几个小时的时间来修改她们现有的服装以追求时尚。由此判断选C，作者觉得这样做是浪费时间。]
3．According to the passage，which of the following statements is true?
A．The fashion industry makes an important contribution to society.
B．The constant changes in women's clothing reflect their strength of characters.
C．Fashion designs should not be encouraged since they are only welcomed by women.
D．New fashions in clothing are created for the commercial exploitation of women.
D [推理判断题。从第三段第一句可知A项错误；第三段说，女士们为了美愿意忍受任何的不舒适，而没有提到反映了她们“性格的力量”，故B项错误；文章没有提到C项内容。从全文内容可知，作者觉得服装设计师推出各种新款服装的目的是赚钱，是“一年又一年无情地盘剥女士们”，由此判断选D。]
4．By saying “the conclusions to be drawn are obvious”，the writer means that ．
A．women are better able to put up with discomfort
B．men are more reasonable in the matter of fashion
C．men are also exploited greatly by fashion designers
D．women's inconstancy in their choice of clothing is often laughed at
B [推理判断题。最后一段说，比较男人和女人对时装的态度就能得出一个明显的结论，男人很聪明，不会被时装设计师欺骗。从这些叙述可知应选B，男士在选择服饰方面比女士更理性。]
