Today, the government will release the information that will affect our spending over the next 365 days, leaving Brits tightening their belts accordingly. But for the super rich, the only way their belts are going is super-wide. 

New research has shown that men and women at the top end of the pay scale will be splashing the cash on clothes and accessories over the next 12 months. British women will spend 43 per cent more on dresses this year than they did in 2014, but the average amount of on a dress by the wealthy has increased from £172 to £245 in the past 12 months. They will also be spending an extra £50 on their favourite pairs of jeans - denim doesn't come cheap and a pair of trousers from brands like Frame Denim and J Brand can now cost £140 a pair.

Well-off men aren't immune to the grooming bug either - they are now spending more than women on their favourite pairs of shoes. Britain's wealthy men are spending upwards of £312 on a pair of designer trainers from brands like Balenciaga and Guiseppe Zanotti in 2015, whereas women in the same pay bracket will spend £245 on a pair of luxury heels.

The research was compiled by shopping website Lyst, who cater for three million high end customers with more than 9,000 brands like Balenciaga, Alexander Wang and Burberry on their books. 

With the recession now just a far distant memory for Britain's rich, they have now returned to their favourite designers with enthusiasm. While most of us would face a dilemma over whether to spend £70 on a new piece of outerwear from Topshop, the moneyed classes spent £250 on average on a new coat last year. 

Kalpana Fitzpatrick, founder of MummyMoneyMatters.com said: “However, although the recession may be a distant memory, many households are still struggling with finances and have not yet achieved a level of comfort they were in pre-recession – so it’s important that people continue to save and budget wisely.” 

本时文内容由奇速英语国际教育研究院原创编写，禁止复制和任何商业用途，版权所有，侵权必究！

1.What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A Economic recession prevents people buying clothes in 2015.

B Wealthy British men like wearing of designer trainers.

C Experts advise people to save and budget wisely.

D Wealthy British people will spend much on clothing in 2015.

解析：选D。D 主旨大意题。根据文章1、2段可知，英国的富人阶层在2015年在购买服装方面还是会大手大脚的。

2.What does Guiseppe Zanotti refer to?

A Name of a new published book.

B Brand name of outerwears.

C Brand name of designer trainers.

D Brand name of jeans.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据文章第3段 a pair of designer trainers from brands like判断，这是一个著名跑鞋的品牌名称。

3.What does the underlined word most probably mean in Paragraph Three?

A Free from diseases.

B Resistant.

C Addicted.

D Influential.

解析：选B。B 猜测词义题。根据语境可知，那些有钱的男人们也难以拒绝靓装的诱惑，继续追赶时尚，购买大牌服装。immune本意是“免疫的”，在这里意思是“抗拒的”。grooming bug 打扮的诱惑或冲动。

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A The British rich people haven’t learned a lesson from the recession.

B The rich people in Britain are fond of purchasing clothes of famous brands.

C The super rich people in Britain like wearing wide belts.

D Life of the rich in pre-recession was comfortable and luxurious.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据文章第5段With the recession now just a far distant memory for Britain's rich, they have now returned to their favourite designers with enthusiasm可知，经济不景气的梦魇才过去不远，那些有钱人们就兴致勃勃地来购买他们喜欢的品牌服饰了。由此判断，这些英国人并没有从经济衰退中吸取什么教训。

5.What is Mr. Fitzpatrick’s advice on people’s spending?

A The rich people should do something to help the ordinary families.

B People should be careful in spending to avoid the next recession.

C People who are rich now should save money and purchase wisely.

D People should save more money because the recession is not over.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据文章最后1段it’s important that people continue to save and budget wisely可知，鉴于经济衰退给人们的生活造成的影响，继续存钱、理性花钱是很重要的。