閱讀綜合輔導

[歷史學]

　　Historians have only recently begun to note the increase in demand for luxury goods and services that took place in eighteenth-century England. McKendrick has explored the Wedgwood firm’s remarkable success in marketing luxury pottery; Plumb has written about the proliferation of provincial theater, musical festivals, and children’s toys and books. While the fact of this consumer revolution is hardly in doubt, three key questions remain: Who were the consumers? What were their motives? And what were the effects of the new demand for luxuries?

　　An answer to the first of these has been difficult to obtain. Although it has been possible to infer from the goods and services actually produced what manufacturers and servicing trades thought their customers wanted, only a study of relevant personal documents written by actual consumers will provide a precise picture of who wanted what. We still need to know how large this consumer market was and how far down the social scale the consumer demand for luxury goods penetrated. With regard to this last question, we might note in passing that Thompson, while rightly restoring laboring people to the stage of eighteenth-century English history, has probably exaggerated the opposition of these people to the inroads of capitalist consumerism in general; for example, laboring people in eighteenth-century England readily shifted from home-brewed beer to standardized beer produced by huge, heavily capitalized urban breweries.

　　To answer the question of why consumers became so eager to buy, some historians have pointed to the ability of manufacturers to advertise in a relatively uncensored press. This, however, hardly seems a sufficient answer. Mckendrick favors a Veblem model of conspicuous consumption stimulated by competition for status. The “middling sort” bought goods and services because they wanted to follow fashions set by the rich. Again, we may wonder whether this explanation is sufficient. Do not people enjoy buying things as a form of self-gratification? If so, consumerism could be seen as a product of the rise of new concepts of individualism and materialism, but not necessarily of the frenzy for conspicuous competition.

　　Finally, what were the consequences of this consumer demand for luxuries? McKendrick claims that it goes a long way toward explaining the coming of the Industrial Revolution. But does it? What, for example, does the production of high-quality pottery and toys have to do with the development of iron manufacture or textile mills? It is perfectly possible to have the psychology and reality of a consumer society without a heavy industrial sector.

　　That future exploration of these key questions is undoubtedly necessary should not, however, diminish the force of the conclusion of recent studies: the insatiable demand in eighteenth-century England for frivolous as well as useful goods and services foreshadows our own world.

　　1.In the first paragraph, the author mentions McKendrick and Plumb most probably in order to
　　[A] contrast their views on the subject of luxury consumerism in eighteenth-century England.
　　[B] indicate the inadequacy of historiographical approaches to eighteenth-century English history.
　　[C] give examples of historians who have helped to establish the fact of growing consumerism in eighteenth-century England.
　　[D] support the contention that key questions about eighteenth-century consumerism remain to be answered.

　　2.Which of the following items, if preserved from eighteenth-century England, would provide an example of the kind of documents mentioned in lines 3-4, paragraph 2?
　　[A] A written agreement between a supplier of raw materials and a supplier of luxury goods.
　　[B] A diary that mentions luxury goods and services purchased by its author.
　　[C] A theater ticket stamped with the date and name of a particular play.
　　[D] A payroll record from a company that produced luxury goods such as pottery.

　　3.According to the text, Thompson attributes to laboring people in eighteenth-century England which of the following attitudes toward capitalist consumerism?
　　[A] Enthusiasm.
　　[B] Curiosity.
　　[C] Ambivalence.
　　[D] Hostility.

　　4.In the third paragraph, the author is primarily concerned with
　　[A] contrasting two theses and offering a compromise.
　　[B] questioning two explanations and proposing a possible alternative to them.
　　[C] paraphrasing the work of two historians and questioning their assumptions.
　　[D] examining two theories and endorsing one over the other.

　　5.According to the text, eighteenth-century England and the contemporary world of the text readers are
　　[A] dissimilar in the extent to which luxury consumerism could be said to be widespread among the social classes.
　　[B] dissimilar in their definitions of luxury goods and services.
　　[C] dissimilar in the extent to which luxury goods could be said to be stimulant of industrial development.
　　[D] similar in their strong demand for a variety of goods and services.

　　[答案與考點解析]

　　1.【答案】C

　　【考點解析】本題是一道例（舉）證題型。根據(jù)題干中的“McKendrick and Plumb”可將本題的答案信息來源迅速確定在首段的第二、三句。由于這兩句話和首段第一句之間存在例（舉）證的關(guān)系，故針對首段第一句進行認真理解。通過綜合分析和歸納這三句話，可得出含有“examples”的選項C是正確答案�？忌�在解題時一定要善于識別題型，這一點的基礎(chǔ)是要學會識別句子之間的關(guān)系。

　　2.【答案】B

　　【考點解析】這是一道細節(jié)推導題。題干中的信息以將本題的答案信息來源確定在第二段的三、四行。即第二段第二句的主句，該句中的“only a study of relevant personal documents written by actual consumers”暗示本題的答案是選項B�？忌�在解題時一定要學會識別原文和選項中同義詞的替換。

　　3.【答案】D

　　【考點解析】本題是一道細節(jié)推導題。通過題干中的“Thompson”一詞可迅速將本題的正確選項確定在第二段的尾句。從第二段尾句的前半部分即分號前面的部分我們不難推導出本題正確選項是D。原文中的“opposition”一詞十分重要�？忌�在解題時要善于從原文的表面歸納出深刻的思想。

　　4.【答案】B

　　【考點解析】這是一道寫作手法題型。旨在考察考生的語言基本功。本題考察考生對于段落寫作結(jié)構(gòu)的認識。本文第三段的第一、二句是對某一個問題的一種解釋。本文第三段的第三、四、五句是對同一個問題的另一種解釋，本文作者對這兩種解釋提出了質(zhì)疑。本文第三段的第六、七句是作者本人針對前面兩個解釋所提出的另外一種解釋�？梢姳绢}的正確選項是B�？忌�在解題時一定要重視文章或段落的寫作結(jié)構(gòu)。

　　5.【答案】D

　　【考點解析】本題是一道審題定位與關(guān)鍵詞理解題。通過題干中的“the contemporary world of the text readers”可將本題的答案信息迅速確定在尾段，因為尾段中的“our own world”等于“the contemporary world of the text readers”。尾段比較后一行中的“foreshadows”（預示；是……的預兆）一詞暗示本題的正確選項是D�？忌�在解題時一定要有審題定位能力，并且對于原文中的關(guān)鍵詞要有入目三分的理解。

　　[參考譯文]

　　直到比較近，史學家們才發(fā)現(xiàn)在十八世紀的英國，對豪華奢侈商品和服務(wù)的需求出現(xiàn)增長的現(xiàn)象。麥克德瑞克研究了韋奇伍德公司在營銷豪華陶制品方面的極大成功；而普拉姆也著文論述了地方劇院、音樂節(jié)目以及兒童玩具和書籍激增的情形。盡管這場消費者革命的事實幾乎毋庸置疑，但仍有三個關(guān)鍵的問題尚待解決：消費者是些什么人？他們的動機是什么？以及這種對奢侈品的新需求的社會影響是什么？

　　關(guān)于第一問題的答案是很難獲得的。盡管它可能從制造商和服務(wù)行業(yè)認為消費者想要什么而實際制造的商品和提供的服務(wù)中推知，但只有對實際消費者的相關(guān)私人資料的研究才能提供一種“誰想要什么”的精確狀況。我們?nèi)匀恍枰�知道這種消費市場到底有多大，以及消費者對奢侈商品的需求向下滲透到社會的什么層次。對比較后一個問題而言，我們應(yīng)當注意到，在過去，湯姆遜雖然正確恢復了勞動人民在十八世紀英國歷史舞臺上的地位，但整體而言可能夸大了他們對資本主義消費方式侵蝕的抵抗情緒。例如，十八世紀英國的勞動人民迅速從家釀的啤酒轉(zhuǎn)而飲用由那些大規(guī)模、高度資本化的城市釀酒廠生產(chǎn)的標準化啤酒。

　　為了回答消費者為什么變得那么急于購物這一問題，一些史學家指出，這是因為制造商們可以在無需審查的報刊上刊登廣告。然而，這似乎并不是個理由充分的答案。麥克德瑞克贊成維布倫模型，即由社會地位的競爭而引起的一種引人注目的消費�！爸挟a(chǎn)階級”購買優(yōu)質(zhì)商品和服務(wù)，是因為他們想追隨由富人建立的消費時尚。我們可能再次懷疑這種解釋是否充足。難道人們喜愛購物不是一種自我滿足的形式嗎？如果是這樣，那么上述消費主義可以被看做是一種個人主義和物質(zhì)主義新興概念的產(chǎn)物，而不一定是瘋狂進行引人注目的競爭的結(jié)果。

　　比較后，這種消費者對奢侈品的需求所導致的后果又是什么呢？麥克德瑞克聲稱，這將極為有助于解釋工業(yè)革命的到來。但事實果真如此嗎？例如，高質(zhì)量的陶制品和玩具與鋼鐵制造和紡織工廠的發(fā)展有什么關(guān)系呢？即使沒有重工業(yè)的存在，消費社會在心理上和現(xiàn)實上都是完全可能存在的。

　　然而，對這些關(guān)鍵問題的進一步探究毫無疑問是需要的，而且不應(yīng)當減弱近期研究所得結(jié)論的說服力：十八世紀英國對那些有用和瑣碎商品及服務(wù)的不知足的需求預示了我們目前的這個世界的特征。