4.21 考研英语外刊阅读模拟试题【难度7.75】

Section II Reading Comprehension 

Part A 

Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. 

Text 3

Within the indie rock world, the New York band Geese was undoubtedly the breakout success story of the past year. After releasing their acclaimed record, the precocious zoomers embarked on a national tour, playing each show to a sold-out crowd. Thanks to mounting fascination with the band, ticket demand went through the roof, pushing resale prices to $2,000 in some cities. That it was almost immediately prohibitively expensive to see the hottest band in the US live has itself become part of the Geese narrative. While it’s impossible to intentionally replicate such a mainstream breakthrough, the music industry does have some leeway when it comes to lining up a string of sold-out dates.

Enter the underplay. Within the industry, the term is shorthand for booking an artist to play at a venue whose capacity is lower than the number of tickets the artist can be reasonably expected to sell. Historically, underplays were used to perform under the radar to test out new music in front of an intimate crowd. But lately, the underplay has emerged as a key tool. “When you put the ceiling really low on the capacity of a show, it kind of becomes speculative,” says Ric Leichtung, a music promoter, describing it as creating an illusion of perpetual demand and growth. Today’s sold-out tour is tomorrow’s festival slot, which then becomes the foundation for a high-grossing stadium tour.

The pandemic also changed the dynamics of booking live events. When artists resumed performing after lockdowns, there was industrywide uncertainty over how quickly the market could recover. Coupled with inflation-induced costs, many opted to play it safe, picking venues they had filled in the past even if demand for larger shows existed. A cohort of new musicians emerged from isolation having blown up online but without the live performance experience needed to command a big room. Consequently, the industrywide thinking became “the right venue is the one that sells out.”

There are practical reasons to shoot for sellouts in smaller rooms. When bands boast a bunch of sold-out shows on their social media, it drives sales for other markets. In lieu of centralized industry showcases like the now-defunct CMJ Music Marathon, up-and-coming artists and their teams often pick key shows meant to present the artist in the most flattering light. Artists opt to pack a smaller room with the right crowd to maximize the hype—increasing the likelihood of big opportunities tomorrow.

On a certain level, all of this seems a bit sneaky. Leichtung notes that venues have even installed retractable stages or used curtains to restrict access to balconies, manipulating their capacity to make the room seem smaller. The aim is to declare a show “sold out” if ticket sales surpass a certain threshold but interest has stalled.

However, this focus on filling rooms over maxing out ticket sales creates a misalignment of incentives. When an artist books too small a show, the uncaptured value leaks onto the secondary market, where fans face exorbitant prices or miss out altogether. Yet, manufacturing sold-out shows can also help counter financial risks. Booking agent Zachary Cepin cites dates he booked for legendary singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman at a 330-capacity Brooklyn venue. Although the septuagenarian could have played a much larger room, putting him there was a statement of his continued relevance. “It makes him look really cool,” Cepin says.

In the age of easily faked streaming counts and artificial intelligence bots, it’s hard to discern an artist’s true popularity from data alone. The real-life experience of seeing an artist live in a packed room, meanwhile, is much harder to fake. “It’s a weird system,” says Dylan Baldi, singer of the band Cloud Nothings. “The whole thing is fake in a way. But at the heart of it, people are playing music and other people are enjoying it.”

31. Why has the "underplay" emerged as a key tool for music promoters lately?[A] To secretly test unreleased tracks before a major album launch.[B] To generate an impression of surging popularity and future potential.[C] To intentionally inflate the base prices of primary concert tickets.[D] To accommodate emerging artists with extremely limited repertoires.

附注：根据历年考研英语真题阅读题源外刊等，摘选最新文章，模拟仿真出题。

参考答案见以下。

Quick look: BCDAB

31.【正确答案】B【解析】题型：事实细节题定位： 第二段第四、五、六句“But lately, the underplay has emerged as a key tool. ‘...it kind of becomes speculative,’ says Ric Leichtung... describing it as creating an illusion of perpetual demand and growth. Today’s sold-out tour is tomorrow’s festival slot...”分析： 原文指出，“underplay（小场地演出）”最近成为一个关键工具，发起人将其描述为“创造一种持续需求和增长的错觉（creating an illusion of perpetual demand and growth）”，并将今天的售罄作为未来获得更高收入（如音乐节、体育场巡演）的基础。选项 B“产生一种人气飙升和未来潜力的印象”是对原文“illusion of perpetual demand and growth”的完美同义替换。干扰项：[A] 秘密测试未发行的曲目，这是第二段第三句提到的“历史上（Historically）”的用法，而非“最近（lately）”的目的；[C] 故意抬高一手演唱会门票的基础价格，原文是说价值流向了二级市场（二手票贩子），并未说抬高一手基础票价；[D] 照顾曲目极其有限的新兴艺术家，属于无中生有。

32.【正确答案】C【解析】题型：因果细节题定位： 第三段第二、三、五句“When artists resumed performing after lockdowns, there was industrywide uncertainty... Coupled with inflation-induced costs, many opted to play it safe... Consequently, the industrywide thinking became ‘the right venue is the one that sells out.’”分析： 文章指出，由于疫情后的不确定性、通货膨胀带来的成本增加，以及许多缺乏现场经验的网红歌手的出现，许多人选择“求稳（play it safe）”，导致全行业的共识变成了“合适的场地就是能售罄的场地”。这说明疫情使得行业在预订时更倾向于有保障的售罄。选项 C“它驱使整个行业倾向于安全、有保障的售罄，而不是更大的场地”精准概括了这一因果关系。干扰项：[A] 迫使经验丰富的音乐家无限期放弃体育场巡演，“无限期放弃（abandon... indefinitely）”过于绝对；[B] 大幅降低了通胀引发的巡演成本，与原文“Coupled with inflation-induced costs（加上通胀引发的成本）”事实相反；[D] 促使艺术家完全依赖在线流媒体收入，文中并未提及完全依赖流媒体。

33.【正确答案】D【解析】题型：事实细节题定位： 第六段第二句“When an artist books too small a show, the uncaptured value leaks onto the secondary market, where fans face exorbitant prices or miss out altogether.”分析： 原文明确指出，当艺术家预订的演出场地过小时，未能捕获的价值就会泄漏到“二级市场（secondary market，即二手票市场）”，在那里“粉丝面临极其高昂的价格或完全错失机会（fans face exorbitant prices or miss out altogether）”。选项 D“粉丝被迫向第三方转售商支付过高的价格”完美对应了原文的负面后果（third-party resellers 对应 secondary market）。干扰项：[A] 场地遭受酒水销售的急剧且不可持续的下降，原文并未具体提及酒水销售的下降；[B] 艺术家在与大型唱片公司谈判时失去议价能力，无中生有；[C] 主要票务平台面临垄断的严重法律处罚，这在删减前的原外刊中虽有提及，但在当前编辑后的文本中并未出现。

34.【正确答案】A【解析】题型：例证推断题定位： 第六段第四、五、六句“...Jonathan Richman at a 330-capacity Brooklyn venue. Although the septuagenarian could have played a much larger room, putting him there was a statement of his continued relevance. ‘It makes him look really cool,’ Cepin says.”分析： 预订代理人Cepin为70多岁（septuagenarian）的传奇歌手Jonathan Richman预订了一个仅容纳330人的小场地，尽管他本可以去更大的场地。这样做的目的是为了宣告他“持续的相关性（continued relevance）”，即他依然受到年轻观众的追捧，这让他“看起来非常酷（makes him look really cool）”。选项 A“投射出他在年轻人群中持久吸引力的形象”精准揭示了这一举动的核心目的。干扰项：[B] 防止他在整体收入上被大幅削减，原文强调的是形象塑造而非单纯防止收入减少；[C] 测试新的多场演出巡回模式的可行性，未提及测试新模式；[D] 掩盖他在主流市场迅速下降的人气，原文明确说他“本可以去更大的场地（could have played a much larger room）”，说明他的人气并没有下降。

35.【正确答案】B【解析】题型：主旨推断题定位： 第七段第一、二句“In the age of easily faked streaming counts and artificial intelligence bots, it’s hard to discern an artist’s true popularity from data alone. The real-life experience of seeing an artist live in a packed room, meanwhile, is much harder to fake.”分析： 作者在文章末尾总结了这种“小场地售罄（underplay）”策略在当今时代的深层意义：在流媒体数据和AI机器人水军可以轻易造假的今天，光看数据很难辨别一个艺术家的真正受欢迎程度。然而，“在一个爆满的房间里看艺术家现场演出的真实体验，则要难伪造得多”。这说明“underplay”带来的爆满现场，成为了衡量艺术家真实市场号召力的有形标尺。选项 B“作为衡量艺术家真正市场吸引力的有形标尺（tangible gauge）”是对这一结论的深度概括。干扰项：[A] 欺骗忠实粉丝参加收费过高且拥挤的演唱会，作者认为虽然这有点“假（fake）”，但核心还是大家在享受音乐，并非将其定性为恶意的“欺骗”；[C] 挑战大型企业票务平台的绝对垄断，无中生有；[D] 弥补全球现场音乐消费的整体下降，原文并未说现场音乐消费在整体下降。

【词汇注释】

【参考译文】

在独立摇滚界，纽约乐队 Geese 无疑是过去一年中最突出的成功案例。在发行了广受好评的唱片后，这些早熟的Z世代年轻人开启了全国巡演，每一场演出都座无虚席。由于人们对这支乐队的痴迷与日俱增，门票需求暴涨，在一些城市，转售价格被推高至 2000 美元。几乎在瞬间，想要去现场看这支美国最火乐队的演出就变得高不可攀，这本身已经成为了 Geese 传奇故事的一部分。虽然想要刻意复制这种主流突破是不可能的，但在安排一系列“售罄”演出日期时，音乐产业确实有一些回旋的余地。

这就是“小场地演出（underplay）”的由来。在行业内，这个词是行业黑话，指的是为艺术家预订一个容量低于其合理预期售票数量的场地。从历史上看，小场地演出被用来在私密的观众面前悄悄测试新音乐。但最近，它已成为一种关键工具。“当你把演出的容量上限设得很低时，它就变成了一种投机，”音乐推广人里奇·莱希通（Ric Leichtung）说，他将其描述为一种制造持续需求和增长错觉的手段。今天售罄的巡演，就是明天音乐节的入场券，进而成为高票房体育场巡演的基础。

疫情也改变了预订现场活动的动态。当艺术家在封锁后恢复演出时，整个行业都对市场能多快复苏感到不确定。再加上通货膨胀引发的成本上升，许多人选择求稳，挑选那些他们过去曾填满的场地，即使对更大场地的需求是存在的。一批新的音乐人从隔离期中走出来，他们在网络上爆红，但却没有那种能驾驭大场地的现场表演经验。因此，全行业的共识变成了“合适的场地就是能售罄的场地”。

在较小房间里追求售罄也有实际原因。当乐队在他们的社交媒体上吹嘘一系列售罄的演出时，这会带动其他市场的销售。由于缺乏像如今已停办的 CMJ 音乐马拉松那样集中的行业展示会，崭露头角的艺术家及其团队通常会挑选关键的演出，旨在以最讨喜的光环展示艺术家。艺术家们选择用合适的观众填满一个小房间，以最大化炒作效果——从而增加明天获得大机会的可能性。

在某种程度上，所有这些似乎都有点偷偷摸摸。莱希通指出，一些场馆甚至安装了可伸缩的舞台或使用窗帘来限制通往阳台的通道，以此操纵其容量，让房间看起来比实际更小。这样做的目的是，如果门票销售超过了一定阈值但后续兴趣停滞，就能宣布演出“售罄”。

然而，这种重在填满房间而非最大化门票销售的做法，会导致利益错位。当艺术家预订的演出场地过小时，未能捕获的价值就会泄漏到二级市场（二手票市场），在那里，粉丝们面临着极高的价格或完全错失机会。不过，人为制造售罄的演出也有助于抵御财务风险。预订代理人扎卡里·塞平（Zachary Cepin）举例说，他为70多岁的传奇创作歌手乔纳森·里奇曼（Jonathan Richman）预订了布鲁克林一个容量仅330人的场地。虽然这位七旬老人本可以去大得多的场地，但把他放在那里，是他在年轻观众中持续具有吸引力的一种宣告。“这让他看起来非常酷，”塞平说。

在这个流媒体播放量极易造假、评论区充斥着AI水军的时代，光看数据很难辨别一个艺术家的真正人气。然而，在一个爆满的房间里看艺术家现场演出的真实体验，则要难伪造得多。“这是一个奇怪的系统，”Cloud Nothings 乐队的歌手迪伦·巴尔迪（Dylan Baldi）说。“在某种程度上，这整件事都是假的。但在其核心，人们在演奏音乐，而其他人在享受音乐。”

附注：

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