the Virgin Mary, constancy and faithfulness, symbolised femininity. It was not until the mid-1980s, when amplifying age and sex differences became a dominant children’s marketing strategy, that pink fully came into its own, when it began to seem inherently attractive to girls, part of what defined them as female, at least for the first few critical years.
I had not realised how profoundly marketing trends dictated our perception of what is natural to kids, including our core beliefs about their psychological development. Take the toddler. I assumed that phase was something experts developed after years of research into children’s behaviour: wrong. Turns out, according to Daniel Cook, a historian of childhood consumerism, it was popularised as a marketing trick by clothing manufacturers in the 1930s.
Trade publications counselled department stores that, in order to increase sales, they should create a “third stepping, stone” between infant wear and older kids’ clothes. It was only after “toddler” became a common shoppers’ term that it evolved into a broadly accepted developmental stage. Splitting kids, or adults, into ever-tinier categories has proved a sure-fire way to boost profits. And one of the easiest ways to segment a market is to magnify gender differences - or invent them where they did not previously exist.
26.By saying \
[A]should not be the sole representation of girlhood [B]should not be associated with girls' innocence [C]cannot explain girls' lack of imagination [D]cannot influence girls' lives and interests
27.According to Paragraph 2, which of the following is true of colours？
[A]Colours are encoded in girls' DNA.
[B]Blue used to be regarded as the colour for girls. [C]Pink used to be a neutral colour in symbolising genders. [D]White is prefered by babies.
28.The author suggests that our perception of children's psychological development
was much influenced by_____.
[A]the marketing of products for children [B]the observation of children's nature [C]researches into children's behavior [D]studies of childhood consumption
29.We may learn from Paragraph 4 that department stores were advised to_____.
[A]focus on infant wear and older kids' clothes [B]attach equal importance to different genders [C]classify consumers into smaller groups [D]create some common shoppers' terms
30.It can be concluded that girls' attraction to pink seems to be____.
[A] clearly explained by their inborn tendency [B]fully understood by clothing manufacturers [C] mainly imposed by profit-driven businessmen [D]well interpreted by psychological experts 参考答案 26~30 ABACC
Text 3
In 2010, a federal judge shook America's biotech industry to its core. Companies had won patents for isolated DNA for decades-by 2005 some 20% of human genes were parented. But in March 2010 a judge ruled that genes were unpatentable. Executives were violently agitated. The Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO), a trade group, assured members that this was just a “preliminary step” in a longer battle.
On July 29th they were relieved, at least temporarily. A federal appeals court overturned the prior decision, ruling that Myriad Genetics could indeed hold patents to two genes that help forecast a woman's risk of breast cancer. The chief executive
of Myriad, a company in Utah, said the ruling was a blessing to firms and patients alike.
But as companies continue their attempts at personalised medicine, the courts will remain rather busy. The Myriad case itself is probably not over Critics make three main arguments against gene patents: a gene is a product of nature, so it may not be patented; gene patents suppress innovation rather than reward it; and patents' monopolies restrict access to genetic tests such as Myriad's. A growing number seem to agree. Last year a federal task-force urged reform for patents related to genetic tests. In October the Department of Justice filed a brief in the Myriad case, arguing that an isolated DNA molecule “is no less a product of nature... than are cotton fibres that have been separated from cotton seeds. ”
Despite the appeals court's decision, big questions remain unanswered. For example, it is unclear whether the sequencing of a whole genome violates the patents of individual genes within it. The case may yet reach the Supreme Court.
As the industry advances, however, other suits may have an even greater impact. Companies are unlikely to file many more patents for human DNA molecules-most are already patented or in the public domain .firms are now studying how genes interact, looking for correlations that might be used to determine the causes of disease or predict a drug’s efficacy, companies are eager to win patents for “connecting the dots,” explains Hans Sauer, a lawyer for the BIO.
Their success may be determined by a suit related to this issue, brought by the Mayo Clinic, which the Supreme Court will hear in its next term. The BIO recently held a convention which included sessions to coach lawyers on the shifting landscape for patents. Each meeting was packed.
31. It can be learned from Paragraph 1 that the biotech companies would like .
[A] their executives to be active [B] judges to rule out gene patenting [C] genes to be patentable [D] the BIO to issue a warning
32.Those who are against gene patents believe that .
[A] genetic tests are not reliable [B] only man-made products are patentable [C] patents on genes depend much on innovation [D] courts should restrict access to gene tic tests
33. According to Hans Sauer, companies are eager to win patents for .
[A] establishing disease correlations [B] discovering gene interactions [C] drawing pictures of genes [D] identifying human DNA
34. By saying “each meeting was packed”(Line4,Para.6) the author means that .
[A] the supreme court was authoritative [B] the BIO was a powerful organization [C] gene patenting was a great concern [D] lawyers were keen to attend conventions
35. Generally speaking, the author’s attitude toward gene patenting is .
[A] critical [B] supportive [C] scornful [D] objective 参考答案 31~35 CBBCD
The great recession may be over, but this era of high joblessness is probably beginning. Before it ends, it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults. And ultimately, it is likely to reshape our politics,
our culture, and the character of our society for years.
No one tries harder than the jobless to find silver linings in this national economic disaster. Many said that unemployment, while extremely painful, had improved them in some ways; they had become less materialistic and more financially prudent; they were more aware of the struggles of others. In limited respects, perhaps the recession will leave society better off. At the very last, it has awoken us from our national fever dream of easy riches and bigger houses, and put a necessary end to an ear of reckless personal spending.
But for the most part, these benefits seem thin, uncertain, and far off. In The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, the economic historian Benjamin Friedman argues that both inside and outside the U.S., lengthy periods of economic stagnation or decline have almost always left society more mean-spirited and less inclusive, and have usually stopped or reversed the advance of rights and freedoms. Anti-immigrant sentiment typically increases, as does conflict between races and classes.
In come inequality usually falls during a recession, but it has not shrunk in this one. Indeed, this period of economic weakness may reinforce class divides, and decrease opportunities to cross them-especially for young people. The research of Till Von Wachter, the economist at Columbia University suggests that not all people graduating into a recession see their life chances dimmed; those with degrees from elite universities catch up fairly quickly to where they otherwise would have been if they had graduated in better times; it is the masses beneath them that are left behind.
In the Internet age, it is particularly easy to see the resentment that has always been hidden within American society. More difficult, in the moment, is discerning precisely how these lean times are affecting society’s character. In many respects, the U.S. was more socially tolerant entering this recession than at any time in its history, and a variety of national polls on social conflict since then have shown mixed results. We will have to wait and see exactly how these hard times will reshape our social fabric. But they certainly it, and all the more so the longer they extend.
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