商务英语阅读题

Foryears,French,ItalianandAmericanluxurybrandshavethrivedasChina’smiddleclassdevelopedatasteforhigh-endfashionandjewelry.ButthatsalesboomisebbingbasedonthedisappointingresultsmanyWesternluxuryretailershavereportedoflate,thoughmuchsuggeststhisslowdownwillbeshort-lived.Lastyear,Chineseluxurysalesfell1%comparedto2013at115billionRMB($18.5billionatcurrentrates),accordingtoareportbyBain&Co.AslowingChineseeconomyandagovernmentcrackdownongraftandgift-givingthatwasparticularlybrutalonthewatchindustryismostlytoblame.FrenchluxurybrandHermessaidwatchsalesfell11%inlargepartbecauseofChina,andthecompanyisexpectingoverallgrowththisyeartoremainslowcomparedtorecentaverages.Meanwhile,PradasaiditexpectsthetoughtimesforluxurytocontinueafteritsChinasalesfell4%in2014.Atthesametime,Hermes,knownforitshighlycovetedBirkinbagsandhorse-themedsilkscarvesthatgoforthousandsofdollarseach,hascontinuedtoexpanditsstoresinChina.ThatincludesitsflagshipMaisonHermesinShanghaiafewmonthsago.Why?Becausethereisampledatatosuggestthatluxury’scurrentslowdowninChinaisbutaspeedbump.AccordingtoanewreportbytheEconomicIntelligenceUnitsponsoredbyCitigroup,China’swealthywillhavedoubletheassetsoftheirU.Scounterpartwithinfiveyears.By2020,thefinancialassetsofChineseworth$100,000to$2millionwillreach$53trillion,comparedto$27trillionintheUnitedStates,accordingtothereport.ThatmeansalotofpeoplewillbewantingtoshopatPrada,GucciandTiffany&CoTIF0.35%andbuyingexpensiveEstéeLauderEL0.58%beautyproducts.Andsuchcompaniesarehappytooblige.FashioncompanyMichaelKorsKORS-0.25%,whichisjustgettingstartedwithitsChinaexpansion,recentlysaidsalesthereare“startingtotakehold.”Kors’archrivalCoachCOH0.17%,whichplansseveralnewstoresinChina,sawitssalesthererise13%initsmostrecentquarter.TiffanyisfullsteamaheadwithitsChinaexpansiondespitedisappointingnumbersovertheholidaysatitsHongKongstores,afavoritehauntofmainlandcustomers.OtherWesterncompanies,includingnon-luxurybrands,alsohavebigplansforChina.GapIncGPS-0.58%,whosebrandsincludeOldNavy,planstoopen40newstoresinChinathisyear,whileRalphLaurenRL-0.10%seesChinaasoneofits“greatest”marketsonthebackofdouble-digitsalesgrowthlastyear.Soit’sclearthatanyChineseslowdownisseenbyluxuryandretailexecutivesasablip.“China’sprestigebeautygrowthremainsathighsingledigits,andweseewidespreadopportunitytoenteradditionalcities,doorsandchannels,andlaunchmorebrands,”EstéeLauderCEOFabrizioFredasaidlastmonth.1.Whatdowelearnfromthearticle？A、AnyChineseslowdownisseenbyluxuryandretailexecutivesasablip.B、TheluxuryindustryhashighspeeddevelopmentinChina.C、TheluxuryindustryisnotwelldevelopedinChina.2.WhydidChineseluxurysalesfell1%comparedto2013at115billionRMB？A、ByTheEconomicCrisis.B、AslowingChineseeconomy.C、Thegovernmentcrackdownongraftandgift-giving.D、B&C.3.Whichluxurybrand’ssalesgrewby13%latestquarterly？A、HermesB、CoachC、Gucci4.WhyalltheluxurybrandshaveconfidenceintheChinesemarket？A、China’smiddleclassdevelopedatasteforhigh-endfashionandjewelry.B、Luxury’scurrentslowdowninChinaisbutaspeedbump.C、HermeshascontinuedtoexpanditsstoresinChina.5.Whatistheauther’sattitudetowardtheluxuryindustryinChina？A、NegativeB、OptimisticC、Unclear6.Thebesttitleforthisarticleis______.A、AslowingChineseeconomy.B、Luxurybrands.C、LuxurywillmakeacomebackinChina.奢侈品将在中国东山再起PhilWahba2015年03月31日去年，中国奢侈品销售有所放缓。但一份新报告指出中国的富裕阶层正在不断壮大，表明高端品牌未来在华仍有很大的增长空间。这几年，随着中国中产阶层逐渐迷上高档时装和珠宝，来自法国、意大利和美国的众多奢侈品牌在中国发展得红红火火。但这种销售热潮正在消减，近来多家西方奢侈品零售商发布的令人失望的业绩就是明证。尽管也有很多迹象表明，这种放缓只是暂时的。据贝恩咨询公司统计，去年中国的奢侈品销售额比2013年下降了1%，跌至1150亿元人民币。中国经济放缓以及政府打击贪污腐败和送礼之风对手表行业的影响尤其明显，也是奢侈品销量走低的主要原因所在。法国奢侈品牌爱马仕表示，其腕表部门销售业绩去年下滑了11%，很大程度上受中国奢侈品市场萎缩影响。该公司预计，与近年平均水平相比，2015年的整体增长将依然缓慢。普拉达2014年中国市场的销售业绩则下滑了4%，其预计今年奢侈品牌依旧面临艰难处境。然而，以铂金包和丝巾等闻名的爱马仕一直在中国持续增设门店，就在几个月前，它在上海的新旗舰店——爱马仕之家开张。这一切是为什么？因为有充分数据表明，当前中国的奢侈品销售只是遇到了一个“减速带”。由花旗委托经济学人智库完成一份新研究报告称，五年内，中国富人拥有的资产将是美国富人的两倍。该报告指出，到2020年，身家在10万到200万美元的中国人拥有的金融资产总额将达53万亿美元，而美国仅为27万亿美元。也就是说，有很多人会想去普拉达、Gucci和蒂芙尼店里去购物，以及购买昂贵的雅诗兰黛美妆产品。这些公司对此乐意之至。刚着手在中国扩张业务的时装公司MichaelKors最近表示，其在华销售业绩“开始稳定下来”。这家公司的劲敌Coach则计划在中国新开几家门店，它最新一个季度的在华销售额增长了13%。另外，尽管深受内地游客喜爱的蒂芙尼香港门店的假期销售数字未达到