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  3. If you see a diamond ring on the fourth finger of a woman’s left hand, you probably know what it means: in America, this has lon

If you see a diamond ring on the fourth finger of a woman’s left hand, you probably know what it means: in America, this has lon

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问题 If you see a diamond ring on the fourth finger of a woman’s left hand, you probably know what it means: in America, this has long been the digit of choice for betrothal jewelry, and the lore of the trade traces the symbolism back to ancient times. But if you see a diamond ring on the fourth finger of a woman’s right hand, you may or may not know that it signifies an independent spirit, or even economic empowerment and changing gender mores. "A lot of women have disposable income , "Katie Couric said recently on the "Today" show after showing viewers her Chanel right-hander. "Why wait for a man to give her a diamond ring?"
   This notion may be traced back, approximately, to September. That’s when the Diamond Information Center began a huge marketing campaign aimed at articulating the meaning of righthand rings — and thus a rationale for buying them.  "Your left hand says ’we, ’" the campaign declares. "Your right hand says’me. ’ " The positioning is brilliant: the wearer may be married or unmarried and may buy the ring herself or request it as a gift. And while it can take years for a new jewelry concept to work itself thoroughly into the mainstream, the right-hand ring already has momentum.
   At the higher end of the scale, the jewelry maker Kwiat, which supplies stores like Saks, offers a line of Kwiat Spirit Rings that can retail for as much as $ 5,000, and "we’re selling it faster than we’re manufacturing it," says Bill Gould, the company’s chief of- marketing. At the other end of the scale, mass-oriented retailers that often take a wait-and-see attitude have already jumped on the bandwagon.
   Firms like Kwiat were given what Gould calls "direction" from the Diamond Information Center about the new ring’s attributes — multiple diamonds in a north-south orientation that distinguishes it from the look of an engagement ring, and so on. But all this is secondary to the newly minted meaning. "The idea," Morrison says, "is that beyond a trend, this could become a sort of cultural imperative. "
   A tall order? Well, bear in mind that "a diamond is forever" is not a saying handed down from imperial Rome.  It was handed down from an earlier generation of De Beers marketers. Joyce Jonas, a jewelry appraiser and historian, notes that De Beers, in the 40’ s and 50’s, took advantage of a changing American class structure to turn diamond rings into a(n) (attainable) symbol for the masses. By now, Jonas observes, the stone alone "is just a commodity. "And this, of course, is what makes its invented significance more crucial than ever.
According to the author, "a diamond is forever" is ______.
选项 A、a sort of cultural tradition
B、a saying handed down from imperial Rome
C、a false symbol for the masses
D、a saying of made-up significance
答案D
解析 词汇语义题，"a diamond is forever"译成汉语也就是“钻石恒久远”。但作者引用Jonas的话：钻石只是一种商品(is just a commodity)，并用“其杜撰的重要性”(its invented significance)来表达自己的看法，这与选项D的意思完全一致，所以D为正确答案。
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