C
They wear the latest fashions with the most up-to-date accessories (配饰). Yet these are not girls in their teens or twenties but women in their sixties and seventies. A generation which would once only wear old-fashioned clothes is now favouring the same high street looks worn by those half their age.
Professor Julia Twigg, a social policy expert, said, “Women over 75 are now shopping for clothes more frequently than they did when they were young in the 1960s. In the 1960s buying a coat for a woman was a serious matter. It was an expensive item that they would purchase only every three or four years—now you can pick one up at the supermarket whenever you wish to. Fashion is a lot cheaper and people get tired of things more quickly.”
Professor Twigg analysed family expenditure (支出)data and found that while the percentage of spending on clothes and shoes by women had stayed around the same — at 5 or 6 per cent of spending — the amount of clothes bought had risen sharply.
The professor said, “Clothes are now 70 per cent cheaper than they were in the 1960s because of the huge expansion of production in the Far East. In the 1960s Leeds was the heart of the British fashion industry and that was where most of the clothes came from, but now almost all of our clothes are sourced elsewhere. Everyone is buying more clothes but in general we are not spending more money on them.”
Fashion designer Angela Barnard, who runs her own fashion business in London, said older women were much more affected by celebrity (名流) style than in previous years.
She said, “When people see stars such as Judi Dench and Helen Mirren looking attractive  and  fashionable  in  their sixties, they want  to follow  them. Older women are much more aware of celebrities.  There’s also the boom in TV programmes showing people how they can change their look, and many of my older customers do yoga to stay in shape well in their fifties. When I started my business a few years ago, my older customers tended to be very rich, but now they are what I would call ordinary women. My own mother is 61 and she wears the latest fashions in a way she would never have done ten years ago.”
59. Professor Twigg found that, compared with the 1960s, _________________.
A. the price of clothes has generally fallen by 70%
B. the spending on clothes has increased by 5% or 6%
C. people spend 30% less than they did on clothes
D. the amount of clothes bought has risen by 5% or 6%
60. What can we learn about old women in temps of fashion’?
A. They are often ignored by fashion designers.
B. They are now more easily influenced by stars.
C. They are regarded as pioneers in the latest fashion.
D. They are more interested in clothes because of their old age.
61. It can be concluded that old women tend to wear the latest fashions today mainly because _______________.
A. they get tired of things more quickly
B. TV shows teach them how to change their look
C. they are in much better shape now
D. clothes are much cheaper than before
62. Which is the best possible title of the passage?
A. Age Is No Barrier for Fashion Fans
B. The More Fashionable, the Less Expensive
C. Unexpected Changes in Fashion
D. Boom of the British Fashion Industry

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