单选题 Many video games feature an invincibility power-up that makes the players impervious to damage, at least for a while. As the economic crisis hit in late 2008, some said the same about the industry itself. The theory went that sales of video games, which had been strong in 2008, would also be strong in 2009, because games are a relatively cheap form of entertainment that let people escape from gloomy economic reality.
At first glance the sales figures seem to debunk the idea that video games are recession-proof. In June 2009, for example, sales of games in America were 31% lower than in June 2008, according to NPD, a market-research firm. In July sales were down 26% , the fifth successive monthly decline. But the year ended with a record-breaking December, as people bought consoles and games for Christmas. Globally, says Piers Harding-Rolls of Screen Digest, a consuhancy, sales of games were down by 6.3% in 2009. The number of Nintendo Win and Microsoft Xbox 360 consoles sold was flat in 2009 ; sales of Sow"s PlayStation 3 were up by 22% after a price cut.
In some respects, this stumble reflects gaming"s new popularity. When it was less of a mainstream activity it was not so connected to the wider economic cycle. The success of the family-friendly Wii has broadened gaming"s appeal, but the new players it has attracted are less fanatical garners who are more likely to cut back in hard times. During 2009 more people turned to mobile, web-based or second-hand games, says Mr Harding-Rofls.
Another way of looking at things, however, is to say that spending on gaming is driven by big hits, and that the slight decline in 2009 reflects creative rather than economic weakness. Entertainment industries always have their ups and downs, says Shigeru Miyamoto, the creative force behind many of Nintendo"s biggest games. There was an unusually large number of hits in 2008, which boosted sales, and fewer big releases in 2009 until late in the year, which may explain the weak mid-year sales. The biggest hit was "Modern Warfare 2", released in November, which became the fastest-selling game in history, selling 7 million copies worldwide on its first day. The top 20 games took a larger share of sales in 2009 than in 2008, which shows that the games industry is becoming increasingly polarised between hits and misses. Hence the hit-and-miss results of the big publishers of video games.
Overall, says Mr Miyamoto, 2009"s crop of games may just have been less compelling. "We were not able to produce fun-enough products," he says. That highlights the importance of continued innovation, he says—but it leaves unanswered the question of whether gaming is indeed recession-proof.
单选题 In America, which month is the most highest sales of video games?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 事实判断题
[解析] 文中第二段是讲电玩游戏的销量变化情况,故可定位到该段。由第二段三句知,2009年12月因为圣诞的原因电玩游戏的销量创下了新的记录,所以D选项正确。
单选题 What does the third paragraph that gives the examples of Wii infer?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 推理判断题
[解析] Wii的事例出现在第三段二、三句。正确选项是A选项,因为如果广意上经济周期与游戏行业关联很大的话,那些被Wii吸引来的玩家应该削减开支,而不是购买游戏。B选项以偏概全,这不是事例想说明的主要内容。C选项曲解原文,文中只是说吸引了less fanatical garners,未说失去对发烧友的投入。D选项过于绝对,文中只是说经济对游戏行业影响不大,不代表不影响玩家的投入。
单选题 From the fourth paragraph, we can know that______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 推理判断题
[解析] 第四段三、四句提到,“在2009年底以前推出的游戏较少,这或许可以解释2009年中期的销售不景气”,说明了游戏销量增加与是否有热门游戏推出有关,后面又举《现代战争2》的例子说明了热门游戏的推出对销量的影响,故C项正确。A项是对第四段二句中“Entertainment industries always have their ups.and downs,...”的曲解;B项过度推断,有创造性的游戏不一定卖得好;D项张冠李戴。
单选题 Which of the opinion that the sales figures of the video game industry reduced in 2009 not because of economy crisis is not supportive?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 推理判断题
[解析] 根据题干要求,正确答案应该不会导致2009年电玩游戏销量下降。由第三段末句可知,手机游戏,网页游戏或者二手游戏等吸引了一部分游戏玩家,这部分玩家的流失可以导致销量下降,故A不是答案。第四段说明了电玩游戏衰退的另一个因素,所以c不是正确答案。同样,less fanatical gamers并未削减开支也说明了经济危机无法影响到游戏的销量,故D不是答案。B选项电动游戏处于下滑期也说明了游戏销量下滑不是因为经济危机,而是因为整个行业发展的规律。
单选题 In the light of what Shigeru Miyamoto said, we can infer______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 推理判断题
[解析] Shigeru Miyamoto的话出现在第四、五段,在第四段三句提到,“在2008年推出了非常多的热门游戏,刺激了销量,而在2009年底以前推出的游戏较少,这或许可以解释2009年中期的销售不景气”,说明了可能是创新性导致销量下跌,而第五句又用《现代战争2》的例子说这一点,故A选项是正确的。全文最后一句只是说Shigeru Miyammoto没有回答是否是经济危机导致了销量下跌,并不代表他不知道,故B错误。C项曲解原文,D项没有依据,均为错误选项。