单选题 China's corruption crackdown is helping fuel a second-hand luxury market. As fur coats and Swiss watches {{U}}fall out of vogue{{/U}} among China's elites, another luxury sector is quietly thriving. The second-hand luxury market has seen a jump this year, according to a survey of stores by Fortune Character Institute, a Chinese luxury lifestyle publication.
China's second-hand luxury stores range from independent boutiques to chains like Hong Kong's Milan Station or Japan's Brand Off, both of which have stores on the mainland. Online operations have sprung up too, such as Secoo.com, which has around 600,000 registered users. Second-hand designer goods can cost as little as a third of their original price. On Secco, a Louis Vuitton bag sells for 2,750 yuan or ＄450, compared to a retail price of 8,350 RMB. Rare or limited-edition items can even fetch more second-hand than the original price. According to the FCI survey of about 200 second-hand luxury shops in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, sales totalled about 3 billion yuan (＄490 million) in the first half of 2013. That's pretty small compared to China's overall luxury market, worth about ＄13 billion in 2012 according to Bain & Company. But it's a 30% jump from the year before. FCI posits that the second-hand luxury market could grow 20% this year, which is about how much sales in China's traditional luxury sector grew in 2012. (Analysts are expecting the traditional luxury sector to grow a measly 5% to 7% this year.) The number of second-hand stores has grown too, to a little over 800, from just over 500 last year. "Stores have been setting up in smaller cities like Changsha, Hangzhou and Chengdu as well as in larger, wealthier urban centers," the publication said.
While China's austerity campaign and the increasing check of officials' behavior by Chinese bloggers are likely helping, second-hand stores have been around for a while, as a way for wealthy Chinese to sell off unwanted goods. Pawn shops began appearing in the country in the 1990s and copycat stores of Milan Station, the second-hand luxury chain from Hong Kong, were all over the country by 2011. Today, second-hand stores always see extra business after the holidays when the most "gifting" occurs. Another explanation is that as more Chinese travel abroad—especially in Asia where second-hand luxury stores have been popular for years, such as in Japan and South Korea—they've become more accepting of the idea of wearing someone else's expensive hand-me-downs.

单选题 Which of the following is NOT the cause of the popularity of second-hand luxury market?

A.China's crackdown on corruption.
B.China's campaign for austerity.
C.China's boom in traveling abroad.
D.China's development in economy.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。文章第一段第一句“China's corruption crackdown is helping fuel a second-hand luxury market.”与A项内容相符；第三段第一句“While China's austerity campaign and the increasing check of officials' behavior by Chinese bloggers are likely helping, second-hand stores have been around for a while...”与B项内容相符；第三段最后一句“...more Chinese travel abroad...they've become more accepting of the idea of wearing someone else's expensive hand-me-downs.”与C项内容相符。利用排除法可知，本题的正确答案为D。

单选题 In 2011, how much is the overall luxury market in China?

A.＄3 billion.
B.＄10 billion.
C.＄13 billion.
D.＄15.6 billion.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。由文章第二段第七句“That's pretty small compared to China's overall luxury market, worth about ＄13 billion in 2012...”可知：2012年中国的奢侈品市场总额是“＄13 billion”；又由第二段第八句“But it's a 30% jump from the year before.”可知：2012年的总额是在前一年基础上增长了30%后的总量。由此，我们可以计算出2011年中国的奢侈品市场总额是“＄10 billion”。所以本题的正确答案为B。