阅读理解。
If women are mercilessly exploited (剥削) 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 (衣柜) 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 cannot afford to
throw away clothing in this way, waste hours of their time changing the dresses they have. Skirts are
lengthened or shortened; neck-lines are lowered or raised, and so on.
No one can say that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society. Fashion
designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth, comfort and durability (耐用).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 carefully picking
her way through deep snow in high heeled 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 wonders, reflect basic qualities of
inconstancy (易变) 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.
1. How do designers and big stores take advantage of women?
A. By mercilessly exploiting women workers in the clothing industry.
B. By attaching great importance to quality in women's clothing.
C. By constantly changing the fashions in women's clothing.
D. By producing large number of new clothes.
2. To the writer, the fact that women change their old-fashioned dresses is seen as .
A. a waste of money
B. a waste of time
C. an expression of taste
D. an expression of creativity
3. Perhaps the writer would not be so critical .
A. if fashion designers could pay attention to the comfort of clothing
B. if fashion industry could contribute more to society
C. if women took their safety and health in consideration
D. if women didn't put up with any discomfort
4. By saying "the conclusions to be drawn are obvious" in Paragraph 4 the writer means that .
A. women's inconstancy in their choice of clothing is often laughed at
B. women are better able to put up with discomfort
C. men are also exploited greatly by fashion designers
D. men are more reasonable in the matter of fashion
5. What's the passage mainly about?
A. Men are wiser than women in choosing clothes.
B. Women are taken advantage of because they always follow clothing fashions.
C. Women should be blamed for following clothing fashions.
D. Changing fashions have greatly contributed to social development.
