Pretty in pink: adult women do not remember being so obsessed with the colour, yet it is pervasive in our young girls’ lives. It is not that pink is intrinsically bad, but it is such a tiny slice of the rainbow and, though it may celebrate girlhood in one way, it also repeatedly and firmly fuses girls’ identity to appearance. Then it presents that connection, even among two-year-olds, between girls as not only innocent but as evidence of innocence. Looking around, I despaired at the singular lack of imagination about girls’ lives and interests.
Girls’ attraction to pink may seem unavoidable, somehow encoded in their DNA, but according to Jo Pa- oletti, an associate professor of American Studies, it is not. Children were not colour-coded at all until the early 20th century: in the era before domestic washing machines all babies wore white as a practical matter, since the only way of getting clothes clean was to boil them. What’s more, both boys and girls wore what were thought of as gender-neutral dresses. When nursery colours were introduced, pink was actually considered the more masculine colour, a pastel version of red, which was associated with strength. Blue, with its intimations of the Virgin Mary ,constancy and faithfulness, symbolized 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 realized 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 popularized 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. (408 words)
1.By saying “it is...the rainbow”(Para. 1)，the author means pink （ ）.
2.According to Paragraph 2, which of the following is true of colours?
3.The author suggests that our perception of children’s psychological development was much influenced by （ ）.
4.We may learn from Paragraph 4 that department stores were advised to（ ）.
5.It can be concluded that girls’ attraction to pink seems to be（ ）.
问题1选项
A.cannot explain girls’ lack of imagination
B.should not be associated with girls’ innocence
C.should not be the sole representation of girlhood
D.cannot influence girls’ lives and interests
问题2选项
A.Colours are encoded in girls’ DNA .
B.Blue used to be regarded as the colour for girls.
C.White is preferred by babies.
D.Pink used to be a neutral colour in symbolising genders.
问题3选项
A.the observation of children’s nature
B.the marketing of products for children
C.researches into children’s behaviour
D.studies of childhood consumption
问题4选项
A.classify consumers into smaller groups
B.attach equal importance to different genders
C.focus on infant wear and older kids’ clothes
D.create some common shoppers’ terms
问题5选项
A.fully understood by clothing manufacturers
B.clearly explained by their inborn tendency
C.mainly imposed by profit-driven businessmen
D.well interpreted by psychological experts
第1题:C
第2题:B
第3题:B
第4题:A
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
By saying “it is...the rainbow” (Para. 1), the author means pink_____. 通过说“这只是彩虹的一小部分”（第1段），作者指认为粉红色_____。
A. cannot explain girls’ lack of imagination A. 不能解释女孩缺乏想象力
B. should not be associated with girls’ innocence B. 不应该和女孩的天真联系在一起
C. should not be the sole representation of girlhood C. 不应该是少女时代的唯一代表
D. cannot influence girls’ lives and interests D. 不能影响女孩的生活和兴趣
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】根据题干出处提示Para. 1和it is such...the rainbow可定位至首段第二句：It is not that pink is intrinsically bad，but it is such a tiny slice of the rainbow and, though it may celebrate girlhood in one way…（不是说粉红色本身有什么不好，但它只是五颜六色彩虹的一小部分，尽管它能在某方面烘托少女的特质……）。说明粉红色只是烘托少女特质的一个小方面，还有其他诸多方面，因此C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、D选项在第一段的最后一句提到，但与题干无关，属于出处错位；
B选项在原文中Then it presents that connection, even among two-year-olds, between girls as not only innocent but as evidence of innocence.（然后，它提出了这种联系，甚至是在两岁的女孩之间，不仅是天真的，而且是天真的证据。）所以选项说不应该和女孩的天真联系在一起属于反向干扰。
第2题:
【选项释义】
According to Paragraph 2, which of the following is true of colours? 根据第二段，关于颜色，下列哪项是正确的？
A. Colours are encoded in girls’ DNA A. 颜色被刻在女孩的DNA中
B. Blue used to be regarded as the colour for girls B. 蓝色过去被认为是女孩的颜色
C. White is preferred by babies C. 婴儿更喜欢白色
D. Pink used to be a neutral colour in symbolising genders D. 粉红色曾是象征性别的中性色
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据题干Paragraph 2定位到第二段。其中B选项‘Blue’与第二段第五句Blue...symbolized femininity.（蓝色是女性的标志）对应，所以B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项在第二段的第一句中“…somehow encoded in their DNA…it is not”可知颜色并不刻在女孩的DNA中，属于反向干扰；
C选项文中提到婴儿穿白色是因为以前婴儿的衣服要煮，并没有提及婴儿是否喜欢白色，属于曲解原文；
D选项，原文涉及到的内容When nursery colours were introduced, pink was actually considered the more masculine colour, a pastel version of red, which was associated with strength.（当托儿所的颜色被引入时，粉红色实际上被认为是更男性化的颜色，一种柔和的红色，它让人联想到力量），粉色不是D项所说的象征中性的颜色而是象征男性，所以D选项属于偷换概念。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The author suggests that our perception of children’s psychological development was much influenced by______. 作者认为，我们对儿童心理发展的认知受到______的很大影响。
A. the observation of children’s nature A. 对儿童天性的观察
B. the marketing of products for children B. 儿童产品的销售
C. researches into children’s behaviour C. 研究儿童的行为
D. studies of childhood consumption D. 儿童消费研究
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据题干The author suggests和our perception of children’s psychological development was much influenced可定位至第三段首句I had not realized how profoundly marketing trends dictated our perception of what is natural to kids, including our core beliefs about their psychological development.（我原来没有意识到，市场营销的潮流对我们有关儿童天性的理解，包括我们对儿童心理发育的核心观念，都产生着巨大影响。）由此可知B选项的‘儿童产品的市场营销’正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、D选项在原文没有提及，属于无中生有；
C选项根据第三段I assumed that phase was something experts developed after years of research into children’s behaviour: wrong.（我以为这个阶段是专家们在对儿童行为进行多年研究后发展出来的：错了。）可知研究没有对认知产生影响，属于反向干扰。
第4题:
【选项释义】
We may learn from Paragraph 4 that department stores were advised to_____. 我们可以从第4段得知，百货公司被建议_____。
A. classify consumers into smaller groups A. 对消费群体进行细分
B. attach equal importance to different genders B. 对不同性别一视同仁
C. focus on infant wear and older kids’ clothes C. 专注于婴儿服装和大一点的孩子的衣服
D. create some common shoppers’ terms D. 创建一些常见的购物术语
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据题干Paragraph 4和department stores were advised to可定位至最后一段首句 Trade publications counselled department stores that...they should create a “third stepping stone” between infant wear and older kids ’clothes.（当时商业刊物建议百货商场：应在婴儿装与大童装之间创造“第三块踏脚石”。）和Splitting kids, or adults, into ever-tinier categories has proved a sure-fire way to boost profits.（事实证明，把孩子或成年人分成更小的类别是提高利润的一个可靠方法。）所以A选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
B、C、D选项不属于定位句所表达的信息。
第5题:
【选项释义】
It can be concluded that girls’ attraction to pink seems to be_____. 可以得出结论，女孩对粉红色的吸引力似乎是_____。
A. fully understood by clothing manufacturers A. 被服装制造商完全摸透了
B. clearly explained by their inborn tendency B. 被他们的先天倾向清楚地解释
C. mainly imposed by profit-driven businessmen C. 主要是由逐利的商人强加的
D. well interpreted by psychological experts D. 被心理专家解释得很好
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】根据题干girl’s attraction to pink seems可定位至第二段首句，但词句只是细节，结论性信息往往出现在相关话题的结尾，所以有关粉红色话题的收尾处，即本段的尾句可以找到答案。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.（直到20世纪80年代中期，当放大年龄和性别差异成为一种占主导地位的儿童营销策略时，粉色才完全发挥了自己的作用，当它对女孩来说似乎具有内在吸引力时，至少在最初的几个关键年份里，它是女性定义的一部分。）根据关键词marketing strategy可知C选项‘主要由唯利是图的商人实施’与原文信息相符，正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项在原文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
B选项在第二段的第一句中“…somehow encoded in their DNA…it is not”可知颜色并不刻在女孩的DNA中，即与女孩的天性无关，不能被先天倾向解释清楚，属于反向干扰；
D选项根据第三段I assumed that phase was something experts developed after years of research into children’s behaviour: wrong.（我以为这个阶段是专家们在对儿童行为进行多年研究后发展出来的：错了。）可知专家并没有解释的很好，属于反向干扰。的商人实施’与原文信息相符，正确。
