单选题 Car makers have long used sex to sell their products. Recently, however, both BMW and Renault have based their latest European marketing campaigns around the icon of modern biology.
BMW's campaign, which launches its new 3-series sports saloon in Britain and Ireland, shows the new creation and four of its earlier versions zigzagging around a landscape made up of giant DNA sequences, with a brief explanation that DNA is the molecule responsible for the inheritance of such features as strength, power and intelligence. The Renault offering, which promotes its existing Laguna model, employs evolutionary theory even more explicitly. The company's television commercials intersperse clips of the car with scenes from a lecture by Steve Jones, a professor of genetics at University of London.
BMW's campaign is intended to convey the idea of development allied to heritage. The latest product, in other words, should be viewed as the new and improved scion of a long line of good cars. Renault's message is more subtle. It is that evolution works by gradual improvements rather than sudden leaps (in this, Renault is aligning itself with biological orthodoxy). So, although the new car in the advertisement may look like the old one, the external form conceals a number of significant changes to the engine. While these alterations are almost invisible to the average driver, Renault hopes they will improve the car's performance, and ultimately its survival in the marketplace.
Whether they actually do so will depend, in part, on whether marketers have read the public mood correctly. For, even if genetics really does offer a useful metaphor for automobiles, employing it in advertising is not without its dangers. That is because DNA's public image is ambiguous. In one context, people may see it as the cornerstone of modern medical progress. In another, it will bring to mind such controversial issues as abortion, genetically modified foodstuffs, and the sinister subject of eugenics.
Car makers are probably standing on safer ground than biologists. But even they call make mistakes. Though it would not be obvious to the casual observer, some of the DNA which features in BMW's ads for its nice, new car once belonged to a woolly mammoth—a beast that has been extinct for 10,000 years. Not, presumably, quite the message that the marketing department was trying to convey.

单选题 The campaign staged by both BMW and Renault are to market

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】本题问宝马和雷诺公司展开的营销计划是为了推广……。第三段前四句“BMW's campaign is intended to convey the idea of development allied to heritage．The latest product，in other words，should be viewed as the new and improved scion of a long line of good cars．Renault's message is more subtle．It is that evolution works by gradual improvements rather than sudden leaps”指出，宝马的营销计划意在传达发展与继承的相关性。换句话说，最新的产品可以看成是过去一系列好车的更新换代。雷诺的信息则更微妙。它说，进化是一个逐渐完善的过程而不是突然的飞跃。因此得知，[A]“基于老车型发展而成的新车”正确。
[B]根据DNA技术造出的车：第二段中“with a brief explanation that DNA is the molecule responsible for the inheritance of such features as strength，power and intelligence”涉及到DNA,是说DNA是遗传基因，并以此来比喻汽车的发展，说明新车是既有继承又有发展的；而不是说新车是建立在DNA技术之上的。
[C]用最先进技术生产的车：本文强调的是新车型和老车型的连续性，并不是说生产技术是最先进的。
[D]只改变外观，不改变本质的车：第三段第五句指出，新车外观变化不大，但是发动机有着质的提高，可见 [D]项错误。

单选题 The difference between BMW's and Renault's campaign is that

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】本题问宝马和雷诺两家的营销计划的差别在于……。第三段第三句说“Renault's message is more subtle．” subtle的意思是“微妙的”。[C]“雷诺的营销计划比宝马提供了更微妙的信息”与此句相符，故正确。
[A]宝马更加清楚地强调技术进步：在技术进步方面作者并未对两家公司进行比较。
[B]雷诺的营销行动被证明更成功：文中只说他们采取了商业行动，但没有说他们成功与否。虽然宝马在营销中出现了差错，但没说造成影响，没有说它失败。
[D]宝马使用了DNA作暗喻，而雷诺没有：两者都使用了这种暗喻。

单选题 It can be inferred that biological orthodoxy favors

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题问可以推断出正统生物学支持什么。第三段第四句“It is that evolution works by gradual improvements rather than sudden leaps(in this，Renault is aligning itself with biological orthodoxy)”指出，雷诺公司的营销理念是正统生物学的理念，也就是渐进式，而不是突变式，由此可知[B]“渐进的改变”是正确的。
[A]不改变；[C]突然的改变；[D]根本变革，均错误。

单选题 According to the author, the success of the campaigns may depend on

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题问作者认为促销运动的成功可能取决于……。第四段第一句“Whether they actually do so will depend， in part，on whether marketers have read the public mood correctly”指出两个公司的广告能否奏效取决于他们是否能真正地解读消费者的心态，随后谈到“DNA's public image is ambiguous”，可知作者所提到的“the public mood”是指公众对DNA的印象。故[B]“公众对DNA的认识”正确。
[A]产品质量感知：常识项。产品质量对营销当然很重要，但本文并没有强调顾客对产品质量的看法。
[C]组织者的努力：过于泛泛。文中虽然谈到“whether marketers have read the public mood”，但这不是强调要让 marketer努力工作，而是强调公众对于DNA的态度很重要。
[D]向顾客清晰地解释DNA的概念：第四段是关于广告中的DNA概念所能产生的正反两方面的联想，这种联想是自然而然的，而不是由于广告中的概念阐释不清所致。