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浩雨：用心做好每一个1北京师范大学2014年3月考博英语真题与答案详解第一部分：试题PartI：ReadingComprehensionDirections:Therearesixpassagesinthispart.Eachofthepassagesisfollowedbyfivequestionsorunfinishedstatements.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA,B,CandD.ChoosethebestoneandmarkyouranswerontheANSERSHEET.Passage1Takentogether,income,occupation,andeducationaregoodmeasuresofpeople‟ssocialstanding.Usingalayeredmodelofstratification,mostsociologistsdescribetheclasssystemintheUnitedStatesasdividedintoseveralclasses:upper,uppermiddle,middle,lowermiddle,andlowerclass.Eachclassisdefinedbycharacteristicssuchasincome,occupationalprestige,andeducationalattainment.Thedifferentgroupsarearrayedalongacontinuumwiththosewiththemostmoney,education,andprestigeatthetopandthosewiththeleastatthebottom.IntheUnitedStates,theupperclassownsthemajorshareofcorporateandpersonalwealth;itincludesthosewhohaveheldwealthforgenerationsaswellasthosewhohaverecentlybecomerich.Onlyaverysmallproportionofpeopleactuallyconstitutetheupperclass,buttheycontrolvastamountsofwealthandpowerintheUnitedStates.Theyexerciseenormouscontrolthroughoutsociety.Mostoftheirwealthisinherited.Despitesocialmythstothecontrary,thebestpredictoroffuturewealthisthefamilyintowhichyouareborn.Eachyear,thebusinessmagazineForbespublishesalistofthe“Forbes400”-thefourhundredwealthiestfamiliesandindividualsinthecountry.OfallthewealthrepresentedontheForbes400list,morethanhalfisinherited.Thoseonthelistwhocouldbecalled“self-made”werenottypicallyofmodestorigins;mostinheritedsignificantassets(Forbes,1997;SklarandCollins,1997).Thoseintheupperclasswithnewlyacquiredwealthareknownasthenouveauniche.Althoughtheymayhavevastamountsofmoney,theyareoftennotaccepted浩雨：用心做好每一个2into“oldrich”circles.Theuppermiddleclassincludesthosewithhighincomesandhighsocialprestige.Theytendtobewell-educatedprofessionalsorbusinessexecutives.Theirearningscanbequitehighindeed-successfulbusinessexecutivescanearnmillionsofdollarsayear.Itisdifficulttoestimateexactlyhowmanypeoplefallintothisgroupbecauseofthedifficultyofdrawinglinesbetweentheupper,uppermiddle,andmiddleclass.Indeed,theuppermiddleclassisoftenthoughtofas“middleclass”becausetheirlifestylesetsthestandardtowhichmanyaspire,butthislifestyleissimplybeyondthemeansofamajorityofpeopleintheUnitedStates.Themiddleclassishardtodefine;inpart,being“middleclass”ismorethanjusteconomicposition.ByfarthemajorityofAmericansidentitythemselvesasmiddleclasseventhoughtheyvarywidelyinlifestyleandinresourcesattheirthoughtheyvarywidelyinlifestyleandinresourcesattheirdisposal.ButtheideathattheUnitedStatesisanopen-classsystemleadsmanytothinkthatthemajorityhaveamiddle-classlifestylebecause,ingeneral,peopletendnottowanttorecognizeclassdistinctionsintheUnitedStates.Thus,themiddleclassbecomestheubiquitousnormeventhoughmanywhocallthemselvesmiddleclasshaveatenuousholdonthisclassposition.Inthehierarchyofsocialclass,thelowermiddleclassincludesworkersintheskilledtradesandlow-incomebureaucraticworkers,manyofwhommayactuallydefinethemselvesasmiddleclass.Examplesareblue-collarworkers(thoseinskilledtradeswhodomanuallabor)andmanyserviceworkers,suchassecretaries,hairdressers,waitresses,police,andfirefighters.Mediumtolowincome,education,andoccupationalprestigedefinethelowermiddleclassrelativetotheclassgroupsaboveit.Theterm“lower”inthisclassdesignationreferstotherelativepositionofthegroupinthestratificationsystem,butithasapejorativesoundtomanypeople,especiallytopeoplewhoaremembersofthisclass.Thelowerclassiscomposedprimarilyofthedisplacedandpoor.Peopleinthisclasshavelittleformaleducationandareoftenunemployedorworkingin浩雨：用心做好每一个3minimum-wagejobs.Fortypercentofthepoorwork;10percentworkyear-roundandfulltime—aproportionthathasgenerallyincreasedovertime.Recently,theconceptoftheunderclasshasbeenaddedtothelowerclass.Theunderclassincludesthosewhohavebeenleftbehindbycontemporaryeconomicdevelopments.Rejectedfromtheeconomicsystem,thoseintheunderclassmaybecomedependentonpublicassistanceorillegalactivities.1.WhydoestheauthormentiontheForbes400inparagraph3?A.ToexplainthemeaningofthelistingthatappearseveryyearB.TocastdoubtontheclaimthatfamilyincomepredictsindividualwealthC.TogiveexamplesofsuccessfulpeoplewhohavemodestfamilyconnectionsD.Tosupportthestatementthatmostwealthypeopleinherittheirmoney2.Theauthorstatesthatbusinessandprofessionalpeoplewitheducationaladvantagesaremostoftenmembersofthe_____.A.lowermiddleclassB.uppermiddleclassC.nouveauricheD.upperclass3.WhydomostpeopleidentifythemselvesasmiddleclassintheUnitedStates?A.TheyhaveaboutthesamelifestyleaseveryoneelseinthecountryB.Theydon‟treallyknowhowtodefinetheirstatusbecauseitisunclearC.TheyprefernottoadmitthatthereareclassdistinctionsintheUnitedStatesD.Theyidentifythemselveswiththemajoritywhohavenormallifestyles4.WhatcanbeinferredaboutpoorpeopleintheUnitedStates?A.Theyarenotabletofindentry-leveljobsB.TheyworkinjobsthatrequirelittleeducationC.TheyareserviceworkersandmanuallaborersD.Theydonottrytofindemployment5.Accordingtoparagraph7,whyhastheunderclassemerged?A.Thenewtermwasnecessarybecausethelowerclass