2021年考博英语阅读理解模拟题（五二）

When times get tough, people with an abundance of disposable income are inclined to keepdisposing of it while the rest of us are forced to keep our thinner wallets inour pockets. With that in mind, Tobias Levkovich, Citigroup's chiefUnited Statesequity strategist, has created the Living Large Index, comprising stocks ofbusinesses that cater to affluent consumers. Profits and share prices ofluxury-goods makers, higher-end retailers and travel and entertainmentcompanies should hold up even if businesses serving them suffer from difficulteconomic conditions, he said.

The indexis a new creation, but back-testing shows that building a portfolio fromits component stocks would have been a far more lucrative long-termstrategy than mimicking the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. A $100investment in Living Large at the end of 1995 would have grown to $1,013 byOct. 31, compared with $252 for the S.& P. No wonder the logic behind theindex wins high marks from investment advisers. ''It certainly makes senseconceptually,'' said Charles L. Norton, manager of the Vice fund, which investsin companies like tobacco makers, gambling emporiums and purveyorsof alcohol. ''Usually in a recession, people at the lower end of the food chainare hurt most and so those catering to the luxury end tend to be relativelyinsulated.'' Mr. Norton holds one index constituent, Wynn, the owner of casinos,including one in Macaothat has become a popular destination for Asian gamblers. Asiais expected to be a source of tremendous growth for the gambling industry.

Ifcatering to well-heeled Americans is profitable, doing the same forwealthy people around the globe may be even more so. As economies develop, thenumber of rich people soars, and they have the same expensive tastes asAmericans do. ''The next big frontier for many of these luxury retailers isemerging countries, where growth is faster and the number of affluent people isgrowing even faster,'' said Andrew Peck, manager of the Baron Asset fund.'' Thereare opportunities ahead for them in markets likeChinaandIndia,where many new millionaires are being created every day.'' He expects Wynn andTiffany to benefit from those opportunities, along with a retailer not in Mr.Levkovich's index, Polo Ralph Lauren.

JohnBuckingham, chief investment officer of Al Frank Asset Management, recentlyrecommended Nordstrom and Callaway Golf. He cautioned against dependingon them and other Living Large stocks to hold their value if weakness persistsin the economy and stock market, however. Much of their sales come fromso-called aspirational buyers, those who hope to be affluent one day but arenot yet in that category. The already affluent can afford cruises and top-nameaccessories when times are tough; the would-be affluent cannot. He notedthat some of the index companies, notably Coach, Tiffany and Nordstrom,have recently reported earnings lower than analysts' estimates, a result of''aspirational buyers' slowing their purchases.

Mr. Peck'squibble is with the selection of companies from disparate industries tocreate an index that purports to track a single phenomenon. Their share pricesmay be driven by myriad factors other than the appeal of their products andservices to affluent consumers, he said. Still, the index ''makes intuitivesense to me, within reason,'' he said. ''As a result of gains on Wall Streetand a reduction of the top tax rate, the rich are getting richer. They aregoing to continue to be able to afford luxuries.''

1. When times get tough, rich people will probably_____

[A] keep an indifferent attitude towards whatever the change is.

[B] reduce their expenditure on luxury products but to a lesser degree than common people.

[C] tend to have their purchase power enhanced.

[D] have no change in their affluent spending.

2. Towards the prospect of the Living Large Index, Charles L. Norton’s attitude can be said to be _____

[A] positive.

[B] negative.

[C] indifferent.

[D] unclear.

3. The word “lucrative” (Line 2 Paragraph 2) most probably means_____

[A] profitable.

[B] mature.

[C] reasonable.

[D] intuitive.

4. Which one of the following is NOT true of John Buckingham?

[A] He did not suggest people to buy Living Large stocks recently.

[B] He thought the Living Large Index could not be immune from the weak economy condition

[C] He thought would-be affluent would reduce their expenditure on luxury when times are tough

[D] He thought it was dangerous to buy Living Large stocks if economy continues to deteriorate

5. Of the Living Large Index, Mr. Peck’s opinion is _____

[A] that the index itself is intuitive rather than reasonable.

[B] that there exist certain problem in selecting the component companies.

[C] that the logic behind the index is not reasonable.

[D] that the index cannot reflect the share prices exactly.

[答案]

1. D

2. A

3. A

4. A

5. B

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