Question

According to the most recent census (人口普查) figures, nearly half of women between the ages of 15 and 44 don’t have children. Half of women is a lot of women, and yet, advertisers continue to behave as though they don’t exist. “The majority of marketing talks to adult women like they are all moms or want to be mothers,” Adrianna Bevilaqua, chief creative officer at M Booth, a public relations company, told The New York Times.

Industry experts explained to The Times that the absence of childless women in marketing materials is likely the result of inertia (惯性). Advertisers have long targeted moms because they buy their goods. In 2015, American moms were in charge of $3.4 trillion worth of spending decisions, which makes them the largest consumer group in the United States.

While they might not have the collective spending power of moms — many of whom, I suspect, would be very happy to give up some  power of choosing laundry detergent (洗衣粉) in exchange for power of choosing something else with equal pay — childless women also have the potential to improve a business’ bottom line. One report has found that they spend twice as much on beauty products as women with children, and spend 60 percent more time abroad. The Times also notes that they spend 35 percent more on groceries than moms.

Of course, advertising has had a long time to adapt to the ongoing change in gender (性别) roles, and still, brands has made sexist ads that many find degrading (降低品格的). And even when brands do try to get with the times, as is the case with Dove and Pantene, many women still think them unpleasant. These critics are angry about the way such campaigns overstate female empowerment when, in reality, such empowerment is far from being fully realized.

Earlier this year, ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi researched moms’ understanding of their representation in advertising and found that they weren’t happy either. They surveyed nearly 8,000 women from around the world, the majority of whom responded with feelings of frustration (挫败) at the outdated mom images, including the busy mom and the saintly (神圣的) and perfectionist mom we so often see. Above all, they resented the view of motherhood as a job. “Motherhood is about being, not doing,” said Mary Mills, worldwide director of strategic intelligence from Saatchi & Saatchi, when describing the findings.

So as it turns out, both childless women and moms are motivated by the same desire. They want advertisers to let go of motherhood as an all-consuming identity for women and instead present them as the varied and unique beings they’ve long known themselves to be.

1.What can we learn from the passage?

A. Few American women do not want to have children.

B. Moms are happy because they are targeted by advertisers.

C. Moms were the largest consumer group in America in 2015.

D. Half of American women have no children according to the recent census figures.

2.What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A. Childless women spend mainly on beauty products and travel.

B. A report about women’s spending power has been produced.

C. Moms spend less on groceries than childless women.

D. Childless women’s spending power is not lower than that of moms.

3.What does the underlined word “resented” mean in Paragraph 5?

A. Respected.    B. Hated.

C. Misunderstood.    D. Formed.

4.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Moms’ representation in advertising has been researched by ad agencies.

B. Most American women want to be seen as unique beings.

C. Advertisers should pay attention to childless women.

D. Advertisers misunderstand moms’ images.

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.B

4.C

【解析】

本文为说明文。根据最近的人口普查数据，15到44岁的妇女中几乎有一半没有孩子。但广告商却忽略了这些没有孩子的妇女。其实她们消费能力也不低于有子女的妇女，但广告商们却忽略了无子女的女性。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句In 2015, American moms were in charge of $3.4 trillion worth of spending decisions, which makes them the largest consumer group in the United States. 2015，美国的妈妈们消费了3兆4000亿美元，这使得他们成为美国最大的消费群体。分析选项可知C项（Moms是2015美国最大的消费群体）符合题意，故选C项。

2.推理判断题。第三段的后半部分childless women also have the potential to improve a business’ bottom line. One report has found that they spend twice as much on beauty products as women with children, and spend 60 percent more time abroad. The Times also notes that they spend 35 percent more on groceries than moms.可知，但无子女的女性也有可能改善企业的底线。一份报告发现，她们花在美容产品上的钱是有子女的女性的两倍，而且60%的时间花在国外。《泰晤士报》还指出，他们在食品杂货上的支出比妈妈多花了35%。由此可知，无子女的妇女花在美容上及食品杂货上也多，所以A错了。本段主要比较有子女和无子女妇女的消费，故B（一份关于妇女消费力的报告已制造。）错误。文中说花在食品杂货上而非杂货上，C项（有孩子的妈妈在杂货上的花费比没有孩子的妇女少）范围扩大，故错误。通过分析可知无子女的妇女的消费能力也不低于有子女的。故D项正确。

3.猜测词义题。第五段第一、二句“通过调查发现，对广告中对代表性的妈妈的形象的理解，发现他们不高兴。多数人对这些过时的妈妈形象做出了失望的反应，包括忙碌的妈妈和圣洁的母亲以及我们经常看到的完美主义母亲”。由此可知，妇女们对广告中的妈妈形象很失望，不满意，不喜欢这种母亲的形象。分析选项（A. Respected尊敬；B. Hated讨厌，不喜欢；C. Misunderstood误解； D. Forme 形成，构成），只有B项（最重要的是，他们憎恨这种对母亲看法）与之意义相符，故选B项。

4.主旨大意题。通读全文可知，根据最近的人口普查数据，15到44岁的妇女中几乎有一半没有孩子。但广告商却忽略了这些没有孩子的妇女。其实她们消费能力也不低于有子女的妇女，当然，广告要很长的一段时间才能适应这种不断的变化。不论有孩子的还是没孩子的妇女都希望广告商不再区别看待他们。由此可知，无子女的女性被忽略。分析选项可知C项（广告商应该注意无子女的女性）符合题意，故选C项。