1、雅思（阅读）模拟试卷 21及答案与解析 一、 Reading Module (60 minutes) 0 Sweden Plans to Be Worlds First Oil-Free Economy A Sweden is to take the biggest energy step of any advanced western economy by trying to wean itself off oil completely within fifteen years without building a new generation of nuclear power statio
2、ns. The attempt by the country of nine million people to become the worlds first practically oil-free economy is being planned by a committee of industrialists, academics, farmers, car makers, civil servants and others, who will report to parliament in several months. The intention, the Swedish gove
3、rnment said yesterday, is to replace all fossil fuels with renewables before climate change destroys economies and growing oil scarcity leads to huge new price rises. Our dependency on oil should be broken by 2020,“ said Mona Sahlin, minister of sustainable development. “There shall always be better
4、 alternatives to, oil, which means no house should need oil for heating, and no driver should need to turn solely to gasoline.“ B According to the energy committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, there is growing concern that global oil supplies are peaking and will shortly dwindle, and th
5、at a global economic recession could result from high oil prices Ms Sahlin has described oil dependency as one of the greatest problems facing the world. “A Sweden free of fossil fuels would give us enormous advantages, not least by reducing the impact from fluctuations in oil prices,“ she said. “Th
6、e price of oil has tripled since 1996.“ A government official said: “We want to be both mentally and technically prepared for a world without oil. The plan is a response to global climate change, rising petroleum prices and warnings by some experts that the world may soon be running out of oil.“ C S
7、weden, which was badly hit by the oil price rises in the 1970s, now gets almost all its electricity from nuclear and hydroelectric power, and relies on fossil fuels mainly for transport. Almost all its heating has been converted in the past decade to schemes which distribute steam or hot water gener
8、ated by geothermal energy or waste heat. A 1980 referendum decided that nuclear power should be phased out, but this has still not been finalised. The decision to abandon oil puts Sweden at the top of the world green league table. Iceland hopes by 2050 to power all its cars and boats with hydrogen m
9、ade from electricity drawn from renewable resources, and Brazil intends to power 80% of its transport fleet with ethanol derived mainly from sugar cane within five years. D Last week George Bush surprised analysts by saying that the US was addicted to oil and should greatly reduce imports from the M
10、iddle East. The US now plans a large increase in nuclear power. The British government, which is committed to generating 10% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2012, last month launched an energy review which has a specific remit to consider a large increase in nuclear power. But a report
11、by accountants Ernst China. He forecasts that by 2014, they will have overtaken both American and Japanese consumers, becoming the worlds leading luxury shoppers, yielding 24% of global revenues. These emerging consumers have a big appetite for the top luxury brands and the owners of those brands ar
12、e increasingly keen to oblige. Russia is producing todays most determinedly conspicuous consumers. Roman Abramovich, the best-known oligarch not in jail, has conspicuously set new standards in buying mansions, ski resorts and soccer teams. For the already rich, strategies such as splashing out on ev
13、er bigger houses, longer yachts or getting special treatment from luxury-goods firms does not contribute much marginal conspicuousness. Meanwhile, the list of new ways to get noticed by the masses is shrinking fast. Even space tourism impressive in 2001, when Dennis Tito paid Russia $20 million to v
14、isit the International Space Station will soon be humdrum. As it gets ever harder to consume conspicuously, are some traditional luxury consumers giving up trying? According to Virginia Postrel, author of “The Substance of Style“, conspicuous consumption is much more important when people are not fa
15、r from being poor, as in todays emerging economies. In developed countries, in particular, “status is always there, but the shift in the balance is towards enjoyment“. For instance, the first thing the newly super-rich tend to buy is a private plane. But that, she says, is “not so much about disting
16、uishing themselves from the masses as not being stuck with them in a security line“. Yet rather than abandoning status anxiety, the way the rich seek to display status may simply be getting more complex. As inequality grows again in rich countries, some of the very rich worry about consumption that
17、is so conspicuous to the masses that it provokes them to try to take their wealth away. Some car-industry experts blame weak sales of the latest luxury limousines on this fear. As well as traditional conspicuous consumption and “self-treating“, Ledbury Research identifies two other motives that are
18、driving buying by the rich: connoisseurship and being an “early adopter“. Both are arguably consumption that is conspicuous only to those you really want to impress. Connoisseurs are people whom their friends respect for their deep knowledge of, say, fine wine or handmade Swiss watches. Early adopte
19、rs are those who are first with a new technology. Silicon Valley millionaires currently impress their friends by buying an amphibian vehicle to avoid the commuter traffic on the Bay Bridge. Several millionaires have already paid $50,000 a go to clone their pet cat. In America, at least, says Marian
20、Salzman, a leading trendspotter, the focus of conspicuous consumption is increasingly on getting your children into the best schools and universiues. Harward may be. todays ultimate luxury good. Getting into the right clubs is also as important a social statement as ever. Americas young wealthy may
21、currently he seen at the Core Club in New York: membership is by invitation only, with a joining fee of $55,000 plus annual due 0f $12,000. But perhaps the true symbol of exalted status in the era of mass luxury is conspicuous non-consumption. This is not just the growing tendency of the very rich t
22、o dress scruffily and drive beaten-up cars, as described by David Brooks in “Bobos in Paradise“. It is showing that you have more money than you know how to spend. So, for example, philanthropy is increasingly fashionable, and multi-billion-dollar endowments such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Founda
23、tion are certainly conspicuous. However, since the new philanthropists are keen to demonstrate that their giving produces results, this does not quite meet Veblens threshold of being a complete waste of money. So the laurels surely go to those who are so wealthy that they are willing to buy adverts
24、encouraging the state to tax them. Kudos, then, to those conspicuously non-consuming wealthy American opponents of recent efforts to abolish estate taxes: George Soros, Bill Gates senior (the father of the worlds richest man) and Warren Buffett. 27 Questions 27-30 For each question, only ONE of the
25、choices is correct. Write the corresponding letter in the appropriate box on your answer sheet. 27 Why is it becoming more difficult to be a conspicuous consumer? （ A） More people have more money. （ B） More people can afford servants. （ C） People are becoming less concerned with what other people bu
26、y. 28 Who sets the trends for what rich people buy? （ A） The newly rich. （ B） The already rich. （ C） People who advise the rich. 29 According to Virginia Postrel, what is the difference between the rich in developed and developing countries? （ A） The rich in developed countries are more concerned wi
27、th enjoying their lives. （ B） The rich in developing countries live closer to poor people. （ C） The rich in developed countries have better taste in luxury goods. 30 What is a conspicuous non-consumer? （ A） A poor person who pretends to be very rich. （ B） A very rich person who gives the impression
28、that he/she doesnt know what to spend money on. （ C） A very rich person who boasts about how little he/she spends. 31 Questions 31-35 Complete the following sentences using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text. 31 _ is when clothes are made for a specific individual. 32 One _ is to buy many inexpens
29、ive goods and services and a few expensive ones. 33 _ means that less wealthy people can use luxury goods without paying in full. 34 Being _ by ordinary people is becoming difficult for the very rich. 35 Very rich people buying larger houses is _ nowadays. 36 Questions 36-40 Do the following stateme
30、nts agree with the information given in the text? Write TRUE if the information in the text agrees with the statement. Write FALSE if the information in the text contradicts the statement. Write NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this. 36 Virginia Postrel believes that the newly-rich buy privat
31、e planes mainly to show how rich they are. 37 Sales of luxury limousines are falling because very rich people dont want to appear to be very rich. 38 Very rich people generally have little genuine knowledge of fine wines. 39 Membership of the Core Club is just on the basis of wealth. 40 Warren Buffe
32、tt wants the government to make him pay higher taxes. 雅思（阅读）模拟试卷 21答案与解析 一、 Reading Module (60 minutes) 1 【正确答案】 B 2 【正确答案】 E 3 【正确答案】 C 4 【正确答案】 D 5 【正确答案】 climate 6 【正确答案】 steam 7 【正确答案】 nuclear power 8 【正确答案 】 green taxes 9 【正确答案】 真 10 【正确答案】 Not Given 11 【正确答案】 假 12 【正确答案】 Not Given 13 【正确答案】 No
33、t Given 14 【正确答案】 E 15 【正确答案】 B 16 【正确答案】 D 17 【正确答案】 F 18 【正确答案】 B 19 【正确答案】 C 20 【正确答案】 E 21 【正确答案】 F 22 【正确答案】 H 23 【正确答案】 A and C 24 【正确答案】 A 25 【正确答案】 B and C 26 【正确答案】 A 27 【正确答案】 A 28 【正确答案】 B 29 【正确答案】 A 30 【正确答案】 B 31 【正确答案】 Bespoke tailoring 32 【正确答案】 shopping strategy 33 【正确答案】 Fractional ownership 34 【正确答案】 noticed 35 【正确答案】 humdrum 36 【正确答案】 假 37 【正确 答案】 Not Given 38 【正确答案】 Not Given 39 【正确答案】 假 40 【正确答案】 真
