单选题 U. S. direct marketers are taking advantage of the trends of the market and natural advantages which provide good opportunities in Japan. And the future looks promising; too. In particular, the appreciation of the yen, or what the Japanese refer to as endaka, has made many U. S. products much more affordable and desirable to the Japanese consumers. Also, through direct marketing U. S. companies can bypass the multitier distribution channels and provide the Japanese consumers with a product that is priced very competitively to the retail product. Another advantage is that the Japanese market consists of a very affluent society with a high per capita income. Direct marketing allows the Japanese consumers to increase their leisure time by staying at home and shopping. This is very important since leisure time is a very precious commodity in a society which typically has a long work week. (Japanese direct marketers have also taken note of this factor, as evidenced by the trend of stagnant traditional retail sales in Japan while direct marketing
sales have continued to expand. ) Japanese consumers also prefer the cachet of such imported goods. This is similar to many consumers around the world who prefer the distinction of French perfume of Italian leather.

单选题 What is the passage mainly about?

A、 The reason why U. S. products are now welcomed in Japan.
B、 S. marketers want to expand their markets to Japan.
C、 The author gives a comparison between U.S. and Japanese products.
D、 With their high percapita, Japanese people can now afford U. S. products.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】主旨大意题。本文第一句就指出美国商人们正在利用目前的市场趋势和在日本能够提供大量机会的天然优势。接着又指出由于日元的升值和美国企业采用直销方式等原因，导致日本消费者非常青睐美国进口产品。故答案为A。

单选题 What does the word "appreciation" mean?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】语义理解题。该词来源于文中第三句In particular，the appreciation of the yen，or what the Japanese refer to as endaka，has made many U．S．products much more affordable and desirable to the Japanese consumers，句中appreciation是与the yen“日元”连用， B和C明显不符合逻辑；而根据后面所说日元的“appreciation”使得更多的人购买美国进口产品，这说明日元的购买力上升，可推知“appreciation”在这里应该是指升值。

单选题 S. marketers are able to offer a fairly low price because

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】事实细节题。根据文章第四句Through direct marketing U．S．companies can bypass the multitier distribution channels and...可知，美国商人能够提供相对低的价格是因为他们采用直销手段，从而避开了多层分销渠道。选项中avoid与句中bypass的同义。

单选题 What is the problem in Japanese market?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】事实细节题。根据文章倒数第三句This is very important since leisure time is a very precious commodity in a society which typically has a long work week可知，日本社会工人工作时数很长；再根据后面括号中的内容(Japanese direct marketers have also taken note of this factor，as evidenced by the trend of stagnant traditional retail sales in Japan while direct marketing sales have continued to expand．)可知，正是由于这一点，日本传统零售商才停滞发展。故答案为C。注意while在本句中是表示对比，故可根据后面直销的不断扩展推出前面零售业的发展停滞。

单选题 According to the author, people around the world sometimes enjoy imported goods because

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】推理判断题。根据文章最后两句Japanese consumers also prefer the cachet of such imported goods．This is similar to many consumers around the world who prefer the distinction of French perfume of Italian leather“日本人也喜欢进口商品的标志，就和全世界消费者都喜欢法国香水和意大利的皮具一样”，可反过来推知答案D的内容。