Dear Economist,

My newly-wedded wife and I are deeply in love．There is, however, one issue that threatens the happiness of our marriage．I absolutely insist on shopping at Walmart．My wife, meanwhile, would rather avoid Walmart at all costs．

　　I have recently tried to convince her that not only does Walmart offer the lowest prices known to man, but that the chain is also a force for good―lower prices mean better standards of living for all consumers, increased global trade means a tighter-knit(紧密团结的) international community, and efficient operations translate into higher productivity growth for the economy．My wife complains about poor labour policies, the “fact” that Walmart squeezes suppliers, and that it puts local shops out of business．

　　Who is right? Will our marriage survive?

Brian Gee

Dear Brian,

I have to agree with you about Walmart．Jason Furman, then an economist at New York University, now an adviser to President Obama, famously argued in 2005 that Walmart was unwittingly (不知不觉地) a progressive success story．The chain’s prices don’t much affect me (I prefer Whole Foods) but Furman estimated that they benefited low-and-middle-income Americans to the sum of around $250 billion a year．

　　Walmart does not pay much, so it may depress wages．Then again, it may increase wages by offering jobs to the otherwise-unemployed．Either way, the benefits of low prices to Walmart shoppers far outweigh any seemingly reasonable costs to Walmart employees．And while it is true that Walmart employees tend to be poor, the same is true of Walmart shoppers．

　　Armed with this information you can face your wife with confidence．You are sure to win the conversation．The divorce is likely to be more argued．

Economist

1.What concerns Brian Gee so much that he wrote the letter?

2.Brian Gee’s wife tends to hold the opinion that _________．

3.What can be inferred from the reply letter?

Dear Economist,
My newly-wedded wife and I are deeply in love．There is, however, one issue that threatens the happiness of our marriage．I absolutely insist on shopping at Walmart．My wife, meanwhile, would rather avoid Walmart at all costs．
　　I have recently tried to convince her that not only does Walmart offer the lowest prices known to man, but that the chain is also a force for good―lower prices mean better standards of living for all consumers, increased global trade means a tighter-knit(紧密团结的) international community, and efficient operations translate into higher productivity growth for the economy．My wife complains about poor labour policies, the “fact” that Walmart squeezes suppliers, and that it puts local shops out of business．
　　Who is right? Will our marriage survive?
Brian Gee
Dear Brian,
I have to agree with you about Walmart．Jason Furman, then an economist at New York University, now an adviser to President Obama, famously argued in 2005 that Walmart was unwittingly (不知不觉地) a progressive success story．The chain’s prices don’t much affect me (I prefer Whole Foods) but Furman estimated that they benefited low-and-middle-income Americans to the sum of around $250 billion a year．
　　Walmart does not pay much, so it may depress wages．Then again, it may increase wages by offering jobs to the otherwise-unemployed．Either way, the benefits of low prices to Walmart shoppers far outweigh any seemingly reasonable costs to Walmart employees．And while it is true that Walmart employees tend to be poor, the same is true of Walmart shoppers．
　　Armed with this information you can face your wife with confidence．You are sure to win the conversation．The divorce is likely to be more argued．
Economist
【小题1】What concerns Brian Gee so much that he wrote the letter?

Dear Economist,
My newly-wedded wife and I are deeply in love. There is, however, one issue that threatens the happiness of our marriage. I absolutely insist on shopping at Walmart. My wife, meanwhile, would rather avoid Walmart at all costs.
　　I have recently tried to convince her that not only does Walmart offer the lowest prices known to man, but that the chain is also a force for good―lower prices mean better standards of living for all consumers, increased global trade means a tighter-knit(紧密团结的) international community, and efficient operations translate into higher productivity growth for the economy. My wife complains about poor labour policies, the “fact” that Walmart squeezes suppliers, and that it puts local shops out of business.
　　Who is right? Will our marriage survive?
　　                                                                                                                                                  Brian Gee
Dear Brian,
I have to agree with you about Walmart. Jason Furman, then an economist at New York University, now an adviser to President Obama, famously argued in 2005 that Walmart was unwittingly (不知不觉地) a progressive success story. The chain’s prices don’t much affect me (I prefer Whole Foods) but Furman estimated that they benefited low-and-middle-income Americans to the sum of around $250 billion a year.
　　Walmart does not pay much, so it may depress wages. Then again, it may increase wages by offering jobs to the otherwise-unemployed. Either way, the benefits of low prices to Walmart shoppers far outweigh any seemingly reasonable costs to Walmart employees. And while it is true that Walmart employees tend to be poor, the same is true of Walmart shoppers.
　　Armed with this information you can face your wife with confidence. You are sure to win the conversation. The divorce is likely to be more argued.
Economist
68. What concerns Brian Gee so much that he wrote the letter?
A. His wife refuses to shop at Walmart.
B. They are faced with a divorce.
C. They can’t afford the costs of shopping at Walmart.
D. They are in conflict about shopping at Walmart. 
69. Brian Gee’s wife tends to hold the opinion that _________.
A. it is wrong for Walmart to depress its employees’ wages
B. consumers’ lives have improved thanks to Walmart
C. Walmart’s business operation increases productivity in economy
D. Walmart’s business increases global trade
70. What can be inferred from the reply letter?
A. Some employees accept the low pay to keep the job.
B. Walmart appeals to only poor consumers and poor employees.
C. Employees suffer from Walmart’s low prices more than consumers.
D. Jason Furman, a New York University economist, spoke highly of Walmart.

第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

One of today’s hottest topics among women (and to an extent among men too now) is anti aging and how to reverse the signs of age. The beauty industry has responded to this by offering a wide collection of anti aging creams and other anti aging products aimed at all pocketbooks, ranging from economical to highly priced.

And the question is “do any of these often much-vaunted(被过度吹嘘的) anti aging creams actually work?” And if they do, how precisely do they perform their miracles?

Well, the appropriate response to that is that they do work—after a fashion. There certainly are anti aging creams available for a relatively modest price that will reduce the appearance of wrinkles in a comparatively short period of regular application. But this really is the limit of their powers: they won’t actually undo skin damage or eradicate(根除) all signs of age; they will simply modify them, some more effectively than others.

The way they work is like so: they remove upper layers of dead skin cells and make deeper layers absorb water, serving to plump them up and make them look fuller and healthier. But since such anti aging creams only go skin deep, as it were, skin damage will reappear once you stop using the anti aging wrinkle(皱纹) cream.

This means fairly heavy regular use, which might be costly depending on your choice of product. However, if you can afford it or think it’s worth the cost, it won’t be such an issue. After all, what woman wants to look older than her years when looking good is so tied up with many women's self-esteem(自尊) and sense of identity.

A compromise(折中) solution for those on a tighter budget is to use the cheaper creams. In addition, it’s always wise to be a little experimental to make sure you end up with the one that suits your skin best.

So, to sum up: an anti wrinkle face cream will work within limits, depending on your objective.

41.   This passage mainly tells us something about _____.

A. anti aging creams                          B. anti aging foods

C. anti wrinkle face                           D. anti wrinkle skin

42.   According to the author, we can infer _____.

A. anti aging creams must reverse the signs of age

B. skin damage must not reappear after using creams

C. anti aging creams should be properly used

D. skin damage will disappear forever after using creams

43.   The benefits from anti aging creams are the following except that _____.

A. they remove upper layers of dead skin cells

B. they make deeper layers absorb water

C. they make layers look fuller and healthier

D. they make wrinkle faces rough

44.   The meaning of the underlined phrase “on a tighter budget” is _____.

A. having a larger amount of money

B. having a smaller amount of money

C. having no money at all

D. having a lot of money

45.   Fairly heavy regular use will make you _____.

A. spend much money on your choice of product

B. easily afford your choice of product

C. think your choice of product wrong

D. believe your choice of product right

One of today's hottest topics among women （and to an extent among men too now） is anti aging and how to reverse the signs of age．The beauty industry has responded to this by offering a wide collection of anti aging creams and other anti aging products aimed at all pocketbooks，ranging from economical to highly priced．

And the question is “do any of these often much-vaunted （被过度吹嘘的） anti aging creams actually work?” And if they do，how precisely do they perform their miracles?

Well the appropriate response to that is that they do work - after a fashion．There certainly are anti aging creams available for a relatively modest price that will reduce the appearance of wrinkles in a comparatively short period of regular application．But this really is the limit of their powers: they won't actually undo skin damage or eradicate （根除） all signs of age；they will simply modify them，some more effectively than others．

The way they work is like so: they remove upper layers of dead skin cells and make deeper layers absorb water，serving to plump them up and make them look fuller and healthier．But since such anti aging creams only go skin deep，as it were，skin damage will reappear once you stop using the anti aging wrinkle cream．

This means fairly heavy regular use，which might be costly depending on your choice of product．However，if you can afford it or think it's worth the cost，it won't be such an issue．After all，what woman wants to look older than her years when looking good is so tied up with many women's self-esteem and sense of identity．

A compromise （折中） solution for those on a tighter budget is to use the cheaper creams．In addition，it's always wise to be a little experimental to make sure you end up with the one that suits your skin best．

So，to sum up: an anti wrinkle face cream will work within limits，depending on your objective．                        

71．This passage mainly tells us something about __________.

A．anti aging creams                                      B．anti aging foods

C．anti wrinkle face                                       D．anti wrinkle skin

72．According to the author，we can infer __________.

A．anti aging creams must reverse the signs of age

B．skin damage must not reappear after using creams

C．anti aging creams should be properly used

D．skin damage will disappear forever after using creams

73．The benefits from anti aging creams are the following except that __________.

A．they remove upper layers of dead skin cells

B．they make deeper layers absorb water

C．they make layers look fuller and healthier.

D．they make wrinkle faces rough

74．The meaning of the underlined phrase “on a tighter budget” is __________.

A．having a larger amount of money                     

B．having a smaller amount of money

C．having no money at all                              

D．having a lot of money

75．Fairly heavy regular use will make you __________.

A．spend much money on your choice of product

B．easily afford your choice of product

C．think your choice of product wrong

D．believe your choice of product right