It may sound surprising,but you don't have to be interested in fashion, or even in history, to enjoy Dress Codes: How the Laws of fashion Made History. I happen to be interested in both, and ended up enjoying the book for completely different reasons.

Richard Thompson Ford is a law professor, and you probably won't forget that for even one page. His carefully reasoned arguments, packed with examples, sound almost like reading a court opinion, only maybe wordier. You will probably never think of fashion as a trifle again.

Ford's thesis is that the best way to understand what particular fashions meant in any given era is to look at the restrictions placed on them. through this lens, he shows us that the first laws passed in the 1200s to ensure that only the nobility were allowed to wear certain fabrics, colors and ornaments reflected the rise of the middle class, who were now able to imitate some of these fashions. The status of the upper classes was threatened; fashion was a tool to preserve it.

Ford takes the reader through the evolution of fashion while examining the underlying motivations of status, sex, power, and personality, which, he assumes, influenced all innovations in fashion in the past and which continue to influence us today. His writing is more than a little dense——dense with research, clauses, and precise adjectives and nouns. But there's also humor and enough interesting episodes to make the writing appealing. No one is spared his sharp analysis: not the easy targets of 19th century women's crippling (伤害 身体的) fashions nor the modern uniforms of Silicon Valley T-shirts.

But the greatest strength of this book (on fashion! ) is its intellectual profoundness. Ford asks us to question unconscious beliefs, to realize that we almost never do so, to understand that the simplest choices are charged with meaning, and yet that meaning can and does change all the time. consider the fact that a 1918 catalog insisted that boys and girls be dressed in the appropriate color. We believe our thinking today is evolved; Ford shows us it's not.

46.What does the author think of the book Dress Codes:How the Laws of Fashion Made History?

A)It is read by people for entirely different reasons

B)It is meant for those interested in fashion history

C)It makes enjoyable as well as informative reading.

D)It converts fashion into something for deliberation.

47.How can people best understand a particular fashion in an era,according to Ford?

A)By examining the restraints imposed on it. C)By glancing at its fabrics,colors and ornaments.

B)By looking at what the nobility were wearing. D)By doing a survey of the upper and middle classes.

48.What was the aim of the first laws passed regarding fashion in the 1200s?

A)To facilitate the rise of the middle class C)To help initiate some novel fashions.

B)To loosen restrictions on dress codes. D)To preserve the status of the nobles.

49.What does the author think of Ford's writing?

A)It uses comparison and contrast in describing fashions of different eras

B)It makes heavy reading but is not lacking in humor or appeal

C)It is filled with interesting episodes to spare readers intolerable boredom.

D)It is characteristic of academics in presenting arguments.

50.What does the author say is the greatest strength of Ford's book?

A)Plentiful information.

B)Meaningful choices.

C)Evolved thinking

D)Intellectual depth

答案解析：

由题干中的关键词“the author think of the book Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History”定位到第一段和第四段。第一段提到“I happen to be interested in both, and ended up enjoying the book for completely different reasons.”表明作者因不同原因享受这本书，第四段提到“But there's also humor and enough interesting episodes to make the writing appealing.”说明书有趣且有吸引力，综合可知这本书既有趣又能增长知识，所以选C。

由题干中的关键词“people best understand a particular fashion in an era”“according to Ford”定位到第三段。第三段提到“Ford's thesis is that the best way to understand what particular fashions meant in any given era is to look at the restrictions placed on them.”，说明福特认为理解特定时代时尚的最佳方式是看对其施加的限制，所以选A。

由题干中的关键词“the aim of the first laws passed regarding fashion in the 1200s”定位到第三段。第三段提到“The first laws passed in the 1200s to ensure that only the nobility were allowed to wear certain fabrics, colors and ornaments reflected the rise of the middle class, who were now able to imitate some of these fashions. The status of the upper classes was threatened; fashion was a tool to preserve it.”，说明12世纪关于时尚的法律目的是维护贵族地位，所以选D。

由题干中的关键词“the author think of Ford's writing”定位到第四段。第四段提到“His writing is more than a little dense——dense with research, clauses, and precise adjectives and nouns. But there's also humor and enough interesting episodes to make the writing appealing.”，说明福特的写作内容深奥但也不乏幽默和吸引力，所以选B。

由题干中的关键词“the greatest strength of Ford's book”定位到第五段。第五段提到“But the greatest strength of this book (on fashion! ) is its intellectual profoundness.”，说明这本书最大的优点是思想深刻，所以选D。

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