Proposals, Raised Expenses toMark Valentine’s Day

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Consumers will be digging deeper into their pockets to buy flowers, gift cards and chocolates on Valentine’s Day ①with average spending expected to rise eight percent over last year to nearly ＄200.

And along with their expanding wallets 4 million Americans are expected to receive a proposal on Feb. 14. ②“We’ve seen a consistent trend of consumers saying they will spend more, from holiday shopping to 2012 travel plans, and spending plans for Feb. 14 are no exception,” said Sonali Chakravorti, vice president at American Express.

In its latest spending and savings tracker American Express questioned 2 000 adults across the United States to estimate how much and on what consumers will be spending their money on Cupid’s big day. Nearly half of people said they intend to celebrate at a favorite restaurant, seven percent more than last year. ③Flowers are still the most popular gift for a Valentine, followed by gift cards, jewelry and electronics.

Among couples getting betrothed, 30 percent said they would propose during a weekend vacation. ④To make the deal, 48 percent of people think an engagement ring costing between ＄1 000 to ＄5 000 would be appropriate but 22 percent said ⑤up to ＄2 000 for a ring would be more realistic, while five percent thought nothing of spending ＄10 000 or more on a ring.

⑥Although nearly 40 percent of women think whoever asked for the date should pay for it, 14 percent said the bill should be split, but most unmarried men said they would cover the cost of the date.

Finances can be a sensitive subject, so half of people don’t talk about money until they have been together six months and 20 percent of married couples did not mention the subject until after they have ⑦tied the knot. ⑧After marriage money matters can be a cause of disagreements, although the poll showed arguments over household budgets, spending on the children and everyday purchases have declined since last year. More men than women take credit for paying credit cards, property and school taxes and for filing（申报） income taxes, according to the poll, but 70 percent of women said they managed the household budgets.

【阅读理解】

1. We can learn from the passage that Americans spent about ________ on average on Valentine’s Day last year.

A. ＄216 B. 185 C. ＄192 D. ＄208

2. In the eyes of Sonali Chakravorti, in 2012 American consumers will spend more money on the following except ________.

A. travel plans B. holiday shopping

C. buying engagement rings D. the celebration of 2012 Valentine’s Day

3. The underlined word “betrothed” in the fourth paragraph probably means “_______”.

A. married B. engaged C. divorced D. separated

4. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage？

A. Nearly half of people think an engagement ring costing ＄10 000 or more would be appropriate to make a deal.

B. The favorite gifts for a Valentine’s Day are jewelry and electronics.

C. In a sense, more women than men manage the household budgets in America.

D. Fewer unmarried people said they would cover the cost of the date.

5. The main idea of the last paragraph is ________.

A. finances during engagement

B. how the couples get their money

C. money matters after marriage

D. the cause of the disagreements between the couples

【长难句和短语分析】

① ...with average spending expected to rise eight percent over last year to nearly ＄200. 预计今年情人节的人均花费将接近200美元，比去年上涨8%。

句中“with average spending expected...”是“with+ 宾语+过去分词”构成的介词with复合结构，在句中作状语（该结构是高考常见考点）。

② We’ve seen a consistent trend of consumers saying they will spend more, from holiday shopping to 2012 travel plans, and spending plans for Feb. 14 are no exception.我们看到消费者一致倾向于更多消费，无论是假日购物还是2012旅游计划，2月14日的消费计划也不例外。

句中含有句型“see sb. doing”，其中doing作宾语补足语；另外，“no exception”是固定短语，意为“无例外”。又如：

The law applies to all European countries, Britain is no exception. 这项法律适用于所有的欧洲国家，英国也不例外。

③ Flowers are still the most popular gift for a Valentine, followed by gift cards, jewelry and electronics. 鲜花依然是情人节最受欢迎的礼物，其次是贺卡、珠宝和电子产品。

句中“followed by gift cards, jewelry and electronics”是过去分词短语作状语，表示伴随情况（该用法也是高考常见考点）。

④ make the deal是固定短语（也可以说strike/cut/do a deal），意为“达成一项协议”（=produce or make an agreement）。

⑤ up to是固定短语，此处意为“多至，高达”。又如：

Up to six people can sleep in the caravan. 篷车至多可睡6个人。

注意：up to还可意为“（时间上）一直到；胜任（工作等），有资格做，适于；达到（标准）；干坏（违法）的事情，偷偷地干”等。

⑥ Although nearly 40 percent of women think whoever asked for the date should pay for it, 14 percent said the bill should be split, but most unmarried men said they would cover the cost of the date. 虽然近40%的女性认为约会邀请者应该买单，14%的女性却认为费用应该平摊，不过大多数未婚男性称他们会为约会买单。

句中although引导让步状语从句；whoever是连接代词，意为“无论是谁”，引导宾语从句，同时在从句中作主语（该知识点也是高考常见考点）。另外，cover the cost of是固定短语，意为“支付……的费用”。又如：

You will have to pay an extra amount to cover the cost of insurance. 你要另外付一笔钱支付保险费用。

⑦ tie the knot 是固定短语，意为“结婚”（= get married），是非正式用法。

⑧ After marriage money matters can be a cause of disagreements, although the poll showed arguments over household budgets, spending on the children and everyday purchases have declined since last year. 结婚以后钱财问题可能会导致分歧，不过民意调查显示，自去年以来有关家庭预算、孩子花销、日常开支的争吵已有所减少。

句中although引导让步状语从句；另外，有since引导时间状语时，句中谓语动词常用现在完成时或现在完成进行时（这也是一个历年高考常见考点）。

答案与解析

1. B 细节推断题。根据文章第一段的信息“...with average spending expected to rise eight percent over last year to nearly 200”可知，去年美国消费者在情人节上的花费为：200÷(1＋8%),结果是大约185美元，因此正确答案为B项。

2. C 细节理解题。根据第二段中Sonali Chakravorti所说的话可知，2012年美国消费者会在假期购物、旅行计划和2月14日（情人节）计划方面花费更多的钱，而没有提到“购买订婚戒指”，因此正确答案为C项。

3. B 词义推断题。根据该词后面的信息“...30 percent said they would propose during a weekend vacation”（30%的人说他们将会在周末短假期间求婚），由此可知，该画线单词的含义应是“订婚的”，而非A项“已婚的”、C项“离婚的”和D项“分居的”。

4. C 细节推断题。根据文章最后一段最后一句信息“...but 70 percent of women said they managed the household budgets”（但也有70%的女性称她们是家里的管账人）可知C项正确。根据第四段中的相关信息可知，A项和D项均不正确；根据文章第三段最后一句可知，B项与原文内容不符。

5. C 主旨大意题。总结最后一段内容可知，该段主要谈及的是婚后的家庭理财问题，因此最佳答案应为C项。