单选题 The Super Bowl is one of the biggest events on the advertising calendar, as companies vie to produce the most memorable and innovative ads. The battle for the National Football League's ultimate prize attracts more viewers than anything else on American television and provides a "symbolic pulsetaking" for the advertising industry every February, says John Frelinghuysen, an analyst at Bain and Company, a consultancy. But this year the patient is in poor health. All the advertising slots(广告摊位) for the 2008 Super Bowl had been sold by the end of November 2007, despite the $ 2.6 million price of each. For 2009 the price has risen to $ 3 million, but at least, ten slots (out of 67) are still looking for a buyer.
General Motors, which ran 11 ads on Super Bowl Sunday in February 2008, has already said that it will not run any in 2009. America's two other big carmakers, Ford and Chrysler, are likely to follow suit. Tellingly, Monster com, an online job-search company, said recently that it was buying a slot. Instead of the usual parade of expensive ads paying tribute to American consumerism, 2009's Super Bowl will reflect a country in recession and indicate a hard year for the advertising industry.
Most forecasts for next year say that ad spending in America will decline by 5% or more. Much depends on the fate of the automotive industry: carmakers and dealers normally spend around $ 20 billion a year on advertising, but Chrysler and Ford scaled back their expenditure by more than 30% in the first nine months of 2008, and are expected to make further cuts in 2009 as they struggle for survival.
The car industry's situation will hurt all media, but especially television. Analysts at BMO Capital Markets predict that total spending on television ads will fall by almost 9% next year. Only newspapers, where a decline of 12% is expected, are forecast to fare worse. Carmakers have already shifted some of their advertising spending to the Internet, and are likely to go further in 2009. Car ads make up 25% of advertising revenues for local television channels, and carmakers have been among the most consistent buyers of high-priced ads on national television.
So far local stations have been most affected by falling spending oil advertising. National stations have been safer, because they operate on longer-term contracts with advertisers. But in the New Year they will also feel the chill, as companies fail to renew their contracts. Television, which has remained strong as print media have lost advertising dollars and readers to the Internet, could enter a decline of its own. "Next on the list is TV stations," says Anthony Diclemente, a media analyst at Barclays Capital.

单选题 Why does the author give the example of Super Bowl?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[定位] 由题干中的the example of Super Bowl可将本题定位于第一段第一句The Super Bowl is one of the biggest events on the advertising calendar，．．[精解] 推理判断题。由定位句可知，Super Bowl是广告界的大事，很多公司借此机会打广告宣传自己的产品。通读全文可知本文主要讨论广告业的暗淡现状，可推断Super Bowl一例肯定与此有关，由定位句下文可知2008年Super Bowl的所有广告摊位到2007年11月份时已全部售罄，但2009年的摊位到目前却还有剩余，这就表明广告商原来的热情减少了，也就说明广告业目前的艰难处境，B)符合题意。[避错]A)、D)两项在文中都有提及，但作者举例Super Bowl并不只是因为它是最流行的体育赛事和2009年上演，而是因为它与广告业的联系，A)、D)错误；第一段第一句确实提到Super Bowl会吸引来很多公司打广告，但作者旨在对比2008和2009年广告商的不同态度，C)错误。

单选题 Why can't at least ten slots find a buyer (Last sentence, Para. 1 ) according to the passage?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[定位] 由题干中的at least ten slots can not find a buyer可将本题定位于第一段最后一句．．．but at least ten slots (out of 67) are still looking for a buyer。[精解] 推理判断题。定位句提到了2009年广告摊位有剩余的事实。文章第二段最后一句提到2009's Super Bowl will reflect a country in recession and indicate a hard year for the advertising industry，可见广告摊位的剩余反映了经济的不景气和广告业的艰难境况， C)符合题意。[避错]第一段倒数第二句提到All the advertising slots for the 2008 Super Bowl had been sold by the end of November 2007，despite the $2.6 million price of each，可知虽然2008年的摊位是 $2.6 million的高价，但到2007年11月份时已全部售罄，可推断本次摊位剩余的原因应该不是摊位价格问题，A)、D)错误；第一段第二句提到The battle．．．provides a "symbolic pulse-taking" for the advertising industry every February，可知2009年它同样是一个盛事，变化的只是广告业而已，B)错误。

单选题 What may the carmakers resort to for promoting their automobiles and cutting down expenditure?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[定位] 由题干中的the carmakers resort to for promoting their automobiles可将本题定位于第四段第四句Carmakers have already shifted some of their advertising spending to the Internet，and are likely to go further in 2009．[精解] 推理判断题。由定位句可知，汽车制造商会将其广告开销用在网络上，C)符合题意。[避错]第四段最后一句提到carmakers have been among the most consistent buyers of high-priced ads on national television，可推知国家电台的广告费用很高，A)错误；最后一段第三句提到companies fail to renew their contracts，可见他们不会和国家电台续约，B)错误；文章倒数第二句提到print media have lost advertising dollars and readers to the Internet，可见印刷媒体已经没有市场，汽车制造商也不会依赖于此类媒体，D)错误。

单选题 What does the sentence "Next on the list is TV stations" ( last paragraph) said by Anthony Diclemente mean?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[定位] 由题干中的"Next on the list is TV stations"可将本题定位到最后一段最后一句。[精解] 语义理解题。定位句前一句提到television，which has remained strong as print media have lost advertising dollars and readers to the Internet，could enter a decline of its own，可知原来比较强大的电视媒体也要步印刷媒体的后尘，失去自己的市场，可推知“Next on the list is TV stations”是指电视台将继印刷媒体之后被网络击败，C)符合题意。[避错]由精解可知，这里的list指的是被淘汰的媒体类型，不是Anthony Diclemente本人所要分析或使用的媒体，也不是汽车制造商倾向使用的媒体，A)、B)、D)错误。

单选题 We can learn from the passage that ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[定位] 由题干可知本题是对整篇文章的理解。[精解] 事实细节题。第三段第二句提到ad spending in America．．．Much depends on the fate of the automotive industry，可见汽车业的业绩很大程度上决定了广告的开销，D)符合题意。[避错]第二段第一、二句提到General Motors．．．said that it will not run any in 2009．．．Ford and Chrysler，are likely to follow suit，可见福特和克莱斯勒和通用汽车一样，可能不竞标摊位，A)错误；第二段第四句提到Instead of the usual parade of expensive ads．．．2009's Super Bowl will reflect a country in recession and indicate a hard year for the advertising industry，可见2009年的Super Bowl不会有华丽的广告盛宴，B)错误；第三段第一句提到Most forecasts for next year say that ad spending in America will decline by 5% or more，可见这是对美国明年广告开销的预测，并不是今年，C)错误。