单选题   Never mind the fight to get people to open their wallets in the recession—some companies are taking a different policy, and trying to get customers to open their purses instead. In America, where female consumers make more than 80% of discretionary (自由决定的) purchases, companies have started tailoring their products and messages to appeal to women, in an effort to boost their sales.
    Frito-Lay, a snack-food company owned by PepsiCo, has launched a campaign called 'Only In A Woman's World' to convince women that crisps and popcorn are not just for male, beer-guzzling (爆饮啤酒的) sport fans. OfficeMax, American second-largest office-supplies company, has redesigned its notebooks and file-holders to appeal to women and has run advertisements that encourage women to make their office more colourful. For the first time, McDonald's was a sponsor of New York Fashion Week in February, promoting a new line of hot drinks to trendsetting women.
    It is hardly news that women control the vast majority of consumer spending. But the recession has prompted companies to rethink their approach. SheSpeaks that helps companies including Citibank and Philips reach women consumers, has tripled its number of clients since the recession began. Some women's magazines, too, are benefiting as companies that had never before expressed interest in advertising with them are now doing so.
    Aside from their greater purchasing power, women are valuable customers for three reasons. First, they are loyal, says Marti Barletta, author of Marketing to Women, and more likely to continue to buy a brand if they like it. Second, women are more likely than men to spread information about products they like through word of mouth and social-networking sites. Third, most of the lay-offs so far in America have been in male-dominated fields, like manufacturing and construction. This means women may bring home a greater share of household income in the months ahead and have even more buying power.
    But marketing to women may not work for every company. In particular, for firms (such as some carmakers) with brands that are regarded as strongly male or trying to attract the opposite sex, could enhance short-term sales but cause a longer-term decline. Jill Avery of the Simmons School of Management in Boston researched this trend with cars. When Porsche released a sport-utility vehicle designed for women, sales temporarily increased, but men started to move away from the brand, on the basis that it had compromised its masculine image. But in this recession, having a tarnished (受损的) brand is better than having no brand at all.
单选题     According to the passage, companies in America begin to attract female consumers in order to ______.
 
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】由companies和attract female consumers定位到第一段最后一句。 细节辨认题。定位句指出，一些公司为了提高销量，已经开始为吸引女性而特别制造一些产品及宣传一些信息。因此，B正确。
单选题     The author provides the example of McDonald's in the second paragraph to show that McDonald's ______.
 
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】由the example of McDonald's定位到第二段最后一句。 推理判断题。由定位句可知，为了向那些喜欢开创新潮流的女士们推销一个新系列的热饮产品，麦当劳公司也首次成为在二月举行的纽约时装周的赞助商。因此，D正确。
单选题     What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
 
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】由the fourth paragraph定位到第四段。 推理判断题。由定位段最后一句可知，在未来的几个月里，女性会贡献更多的家庭收入并且有更大的购买力。因此，C正确。
单选题     The reason that men refused to buy a sport-utility vehicle by Porsche was that ______.
 
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】由a sport-utility vehicle by Porsche定位到最后一段倒数第二句。 细节辨认题。由定位句可知，男性消费者拒绝购买保时捷运动型多用汽车是因为它破坏了该品牌的阳刚形象。因此，答案为A。
单选题     What is the main idea of the passage?
 
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】由the main idea of the passage定位到整篇文章。 主旨大意题。从全文来看，本文说的是在金融危机面前，美国一些受危机影响的公司把营销目标转向了女性消费者，由于女性在这场危机中所受的影响相对来说轻于男性，因此一些公司推出了专为女性设计的商品以招徕顾客，提高公司产品的销量。因此，C为答案。