单选题 When Rupert Murdoch sees beams of light in the American advertising market, it is not necessarily time to reach for the sunglasses. Last October, when the impact of September 11th was only beginning to tell, the boss of NASCAR, a media group, had already identified " strong rays of sunshine". With ad sales still languishing, Mr. Murdoch declared last month that " there are some hints of a modest upswing in tile US advertising market". His early optimism turned out to be misplaced. Now, however, other industry observers are beginning to agree with him.
Advertising usually exaggerates the economic cycle, falling sharply and early in a downturn, and rebounding strongly once the economy has begun to recover. This is because most managers prefer to trim their ad budgets rather than their payrolls, and restore such spending only once they feel sure that things are looking up. Last year, America's ad market shrank by 9. 8% , according to CMIR, a research firm. Although ad spending has not yet recovered across all media, some analysts now expect overall ad spending to start to grow in the third quarter.
The signs of improvement are patchy, however. Ad spending on radio and television seems to be inching up—advertising on American National Radio was up 2% in January on the same period last year, according to Aegis—while spending on magazines and newspapers is still weak. Even within any one market, there are huge differences; just pick up a copy of one of the now-slimline high-teeh magazines that once bulged with ads, and compare it with the hefty celebrity or women's titles. Advertisers in some categories, such as the travel industry, are still reluctant to buy space or airtime, while others, such as the car and movie businesses, have been bolder. The winter Olympics, held last month in Salt Lake City, has also distorted the spending on broadcast advertising in the first quarter.
Nonetheless, there is an underlying pattern. One measure is the booking of ad spots for national brands on local television. By early March, according to Mr. Westerfield's analysis, such bookings were growing fast across eight out of the top ten advertising sectors, led by the financial and motor industries. UBS Warburg now expects the " upfront" market, which starts in May when advertisers book advance ad spots on the TV networks for the new season in September, to be up 4% on last year. On some estimates, even online advertising could pick up by the end of the year.

单选题 What does the author mean by "it is not necessarily time to reach for the sunglasses" (Para. 1)?
[A] The sunshine is not terribly strong.
[B] It is not good time to develop advertising.
[C] There is no need to worry about economy now.
[D] The real economic recovery has yet to take place.

单选题 Mr. Murdoch's early market estimation was______.
[A] exaggerating the situation
[B] being too cautious
[C] underestimating the development
[D] probably describing the reality

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查推理引申。由第一段可知，去年十月，这位新闻集团的老总就已经认为是“强烈的阳光”(即广告市场开始真正复苏了)。但随着广告销售的衰退，他于上个月宣布只是“中度复苏的迹象”。该段最后两句提到，他先前的乐观看来是错了，然而，现在其他业内观察员却开始认同他的观点。可见，他预测的可能是真实的情况。故正确选项为D。

单选题 Which of the following is true according to the text?
[A] Advertising is a sensitive marker of economic change.
[B] Managers will first cut salary during economic downturn.
[C] CMR was wrong about last year's US ad market.
[D] Advertising spending has started overall growing.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查第二段的事实细节。该段第一句指出，广告业的行情通常放大这样的经济规律：广告业在经济不景气的初期就明显下降，一旦经济开始复苏就迅猛回升。因此可推出A选项正确。该段第二句分析其原因：经济不景气时，绝大多数企业主宁愿先削减广告开支而不愿意先减薪。由此排除B选项。第三句提到CMR对美国广告市场的调查结果，但没有说明它的判断准确与否，因此排除C选项。最后一句提到，分析家预测第三季度广告费会全面上升，D选项错在“已经开始”。故正确选项为A。

单选题 Signs of improvement are visible in the advertising of______.
[A] high-tech magazines and sports industry
[B] celebrity magazines and travel industry
[C] women's magazines and car industry
[D] movie industry and high-teeh magazines

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查事实细节。第三段第三句提到，即使在同一个行业里，(广告业务增长的情况)也会有巨大的差异。接着，该句将“高科技杂志”与“名人或妇女杂志”相比，指出前者曾经充斥着各种广告而现在却变得很薄，由此可推知，高科技杂志的广告少，妇女杂志的广告多，所以排除A和D两个选项。该段第四句话提到，广告主对旅游栏目舍不得花钱，但对汽车和电影这样的栏目却从不犹豫。因此可排除B选项。故正确选项为C。

单选题 What is the author's view of the prospect of US advertising market?
[A] Recovery will be slow but sure.
[B] There will be a big jump.
[C] Patchy improvement will occur.
[D] The situation will remain pessimistie.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查作者观点。作者通篇以客观的口吻陈述美国广告市场行情的变化。9·11事件以后经济形势一直低迷，广告市场也一片惨淡，但是近来广告市场显示了复苏的微弱迹象。第二段倒数第二句话，“尽管根据调查去年广告市场萎缩了9.8%，但专家预测今年第三季度广告支出会有所增长”。第三段主要谈广告市场行情回升的不均匀性，有的领域形势很好，有的领域如旅游业广告仍然不景气。最后一段的例子说明电视、网络等媒体上的广告订单开始增加。总体看来，作者认为广告业在慢慢恢复。故正确选项为A。