Question

The American self-image is spread with the golden glow of opportunity. We think of the United States as a land of unlimited possibility, not so much a classless society but as a place where class is mutable(可变的) -- a place where brains, energy and ambition are what count, not the environment of one’s birth. However, we are not who we think we are.

The Economic Mobility Project, an ambitious research led by Pew Charitable Trusts, looked at the economic fortunes of a large group of families over time, comparing the income of parents in the late 1960s with the income of their children in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Here is the finding: The “rags to riches” story is much more common in Hollywood than on Main Street. Only 6 percent of children born to parents with family income at the very bottom move to the top.

That is right, just 6 percent of children born to parents who ranked in the bottom of the study sample, in terms of income, were able to bootstrap their way into the top. Meanwhile, an incredible 42 percent of children born into that lowest are still stuck at the bottom, having been unable to climb a single rung of the income ladder.

It is noted that even in Britain -- a nation we think of as burdened with a hidebound(顽固的，死板的) class system(阶层体系) -- children who are born poor have a better chance of moving up. When the studies were released, most reporters focused on the finding that African-Americans born to middle-class or upper middle-class families are earning slightly less, in inflation-adjusted(扣除通胀后的) dollars, than did their parents.

One of the studies indicates, in fact, that most of the financial gains white families have made in the past three decades can be attributed to(归功于) the entry of white women into the labor force. This is much less true for African-Americans.

The picture that emerges is of a nation in which, overall, “the current generation of adults is better off than the previous one”, as one of the studies notes.

The median(中值的) income of the families in the sample group was $55,600 in the late 1960s; their children’s median family income was measured at $71,900. However, this rising tide has not lifted all boats equally. The rich have seen far greater income gains than have the poor.

Even more troubling is that our nation of America as the land of opportunity gets little support from the data. Americans move fairly easily up and down the middle rungs(横档) of the ladder, but there is “stickiness at the ends” -- four out of ten children who are born poor will remain poor, and four out of ten who are born rich will stay rich.

1.What did the Economic Mobility Project find in its research?

A. Children from low-income families are unable to move up to the top.

B. Hollywood actors and actresses can get rich easily.

C. The rags to riches story is more fiction than reality.

D. The rags to riches story is only true for a small minority of whites.

2.According to the passage, the author probably agrees that America should____.

A. perfect its self-image as a land of opportunity

B. have a lower level of upward mobility than Britain

C. enable African-Americans to earn more than whites

D. encourage the current generation to work harder than their parents

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The US is a land where brains, energy and ambition are what count

B. Inequality remains between whites and blacks in financial gains.

C. Middle-class families earn slightly less with inflation considered.

D. Children in lowest-income families manage to climb a single rung of the ladder.

4.What might be the best title for this passage?

A. Social Upward Mobility.    B. Incredible Income Gains.

C. Inequality in Wealth.    D. America Not Land of Opportunity

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，美国原本被认为是“机会之国”，只要你有能力就可以在美国取得成功。但是最近的一项研究发现情况并非如此，文章对此项研究的结果做了具体说明，并分析了出现这一情况的具体原因。

1.细节理解题。在第二段后两句“Here is the finding: The “rags to riches” story is much more common in Hollywood than on Main Street. Only 6 percent of children born to parents with family income at the very bottom move to the top.”研究发现“白手起家”的故事现在只存在于好莱坞的电影里，只有百分之6的出生于社会底部家庭的孩子长大以后能够成为社会顶尖阶层的成员。也就是说“白手起家”的故事现在更多是幻想而不是现实。故C项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据文章最后一段第一句“Even more troubling is that our nation of America as the land of opportunity gets little support from the data.”可知被认为是“机会之国”的美国在数据统计里并没有得到任何支持，研究发现现在的美国普通人很难得到平等的发展机会。所以作者认为美国人要重新塑造“机会之国”的形象。故A项正确。

3.推理判断题。根据文章第五段“…that most of the financial gains white families have made in the past three decades can be attributed to(归功于) the entry of white women into the labor force. This is much less true for African-Americans”可知美国白人挣得比黑人更多，主要是因为白人获得了更多的就业机会，白人和黑人之间经济上存在着不公平的现象。故B项正确。

4.主旨大意题。美国原本被认为是“机会之国”，只要你有能力就可以在美国取得成功。但是最近的一项研究发现情况并非如此，文章对此项研究的结果做了具体说明，并分析了出现这一情况的具体原因。所以D项符合文章中心思想。