学位英语

第四部分：阅读理解（第31~45题，每题3分，共45分）

下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题。请根据短文内容，为每题确定1个最佳选项。

第一篇

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第四部分：阅读理解(第31～45题，每题3分，共45分)

下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题。请根据短文内容，为每题确定1个最佳选项。

第一篇

The Changing Middle Class

The United States perceives itself to be a middle-class nation. However，middle class is not a real designation，nor does it carry privileges(特权). It is more of a perception，which probably was as true as it ever could be right after World War II. The economy was growing，more and more people owned their own homes，workers had solid contracts with the companies that employed them，and nearly everyone who wanted a higher education could have one. Successful people enjoyed upward social mobility. They may have started out poor，but they could become rich. Successful people also found that they had greater geographic mobility. In other words，they found themselves moving to and living in a variety of places.

The middle class collectively holds several values and principles. One strong value is the need to earn enough money to feel that one can determine one’s own economic fate. In addition, middle-class morality(道德观) embraces principles of individual responsibility, importance of family, obligations to others，and believing in something outside oneself.

But in the 1990s those in the middle class found that there was a price for success. A U. S. News & World Report survey in 1994 indicated that 75 percent of Americans believed that middle class families could no longer make ends meet . Both spouses（配偶） now worked, as did some of the children,long commutes（通勤） became routine, the need for child care put strains on the family, and public schools were not as good as they once were. Members of the middle class were no longer financing their lifestyles through earnings but were using credit to stay afloat（透支）. The understanding of just what middle class meant was changing.

31. This passage gives information about____  _  .

A. an individual

B. a social and economic group

C. a political organization

D. a government department

32. In the years after World War II, the middle class were____  _  .

A. overburdened and in debt

B. hard working and doubtful

C. happy and full of hope

D. young and upset

33. One important middle-class value is that____  _  .

A. people should always have fun

B. children should believe in themselves

C. debt is nothing to worry about

D. they should earn enough to finance their lifestyles

34. In the second paragraph, the word "collectively”means____  _  .

A. commonly

B. hesitatingly

C. unknowingly

D. weakly

35. The 1994 survey showed most Americans thought the middle class____  _.

A. took pleasure in raising children

B. had a regular journey to work

C. could not earn enough money to maintain their lifestyles

D. could easily maintain their lifestyles

本题分数（15）

第4部分：阅读理解

31  B  本篇讲的是美国中产阶级的变化，中产阶级毫无疑问是一个社会人群，不是某一个个人，更不会是政治组织或者政府部门。

32  C  这道题的答题依据在第一段。第二次世界大战给美国经济的发展带来了巨大的生机，经济的繁荣造就了一个社会阶层——中产阶级，从第4行开始一直到本段的结束都是对当时中产阶级这个特定社会人群的具体描述，从中不难得出happy and full of hope这个结论。

33  D  中产阶级一些主要的价值观和原则可以在第二段里找到．其中之一就是要赚足够的钱以决定自己的经济命运，这和选项中所说的they should earn enough to finance their lifestyles（赚足够的钱来维持自己的生活方式）实际上是一个意思。

34  A  这个词是从形容词collective派生而来的。原意是“集体的”，和“个人的”相对。在这里则是指中产阶级的成员所共有的，而不是个别人具有的价值观和原则，所以和commonly同义。

35  C  文章的最后一段谈的是20世纪末期美国中产阶级的变化，几乎每一句话讲到的变化都是负面的，即变得越来越糟糕。“Could not make ends meet”这个成语的意思是“收不抵支、入不敷出”，中产阶级已无法通过自己的收入来维持自己的生活方式，而只能用信用卡来透支( Members of the middle class were no longer financing their lifestyles through earnings but were using credit to stay afloat)。

（责任编辑：vstara）

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