六级阅读.docx
《六级阅读.docx》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《六级阅读.docx(47页珍藏版)》请在冰点文库上搜索。
六级阅读
2007-6
Youheartherefrainallthetime:
theU.S.economylooksgoodstatistically,butitdoesn’tfeelgood.Whydoesn’tever-greaterwealthpromoteever-greaterhappiness?
Itisaquestionthatdatesatleasttotheappearancein1958ofTheAffluent(富裕的)SocietybyJohnKennethGalbraith,whodiedrecentlyat97.
TheAffluentSocietyisamodernclassicbecauseithelpeddefineanewmomentinthehumancondition.Formostofhistory,“hunger,sickness,andcold”threatenednearlyeveryone,Galbraithwrote.“Povertywasfoundeverywhereinthatworld.Obviouslyitisnotofours.”AfterWorldWarII,thedreadofanotherGreatDepressiongavewaytoaneconomicboom.Inthe1930sunemploymenthadaveraged18.2percent;inthe1950sitwas4.5percent.
ToGalbraith,materialismhadgonemadandwouldbreeddiscontent.Throughadvertising,companiesconditionedconsumerstobuythingstheydidn’treallywantorneed.Becausesomuchspendingwasartificial,itwould beunfulfilling.Meanwhile,governmentspendingthatwouldmakeeveryonebetteroffwasbeingcutdownbecausepeopleinstinctively—andwrongly—labeledgovernmentonlyas“anecessaryevil.”
It’softensaidthatonlythericharegettingahead;everyoneelseis standingstillorfallingbehind.Well,therearemanyundeservingrich—overpaidchiefexecutives,forinstance.Butoveranymeaningfulperiod,mostpeople’sincomesareincreasing.From1995to2004,inflation-adjustedaveragefamilyincomerose14.3percent,to$43,200.peoplefeel“squeezed”becausetheirrisingincomesoftendon’tsatisfytheirrisingwants—forbiggerhomes,morehealthcare,moreeducation,fasterInternetconnections.
Theothergreatfrustrationisthatithasnoteliminatedinsecurity.Peopleregardjobstabilityaspartoftheirstandardofliving.Ascorporatelayoffsincreased,thatparthaseroded.Moreworkersfearthey’vebecome“thedisposableAmerican,”asLouisUchitelleputsitinhisbookbythesamename.
Becausesomuchprevioussufferingandsocialconflictstemmedfrompoverty,thearrivalofwidespreadaffluencesuggestedutopian(乌托邦式的)possibilities.Uptoapoint,affluencesucceeds.Thereismuchlesphysicalmiserythanbefore.Peoplearebetteroff.Unfortunately,affluencealsocreatesnewcomplaintsandcontradictions.
Advancedsocietiesneedeconomicgrowthtosatisfythemultiplyingwantsoftheircitizens.Butthequestforgrowthletsloosenewanxietiesandeconomicconflictsthatdisturbthesocialorder.Affluenceliberatestheindividual,promisingthateveryonecanchooseauniquewaytoself-fulfillment.Butthepromiseissoextravagantthatitpredestinesmanydisappointmentsandsometimesinspireschoicesthathaveanti-socialconsequences,includingfamilybreakdownandobesity(肥胖症).Statisticalindicatorsofhappinesshavenotrisenwithincomes.
Shouldwebesurprised?
Notreally.We’vesimplyreaffirmedanoldtruth:
thepursuitofaffluencedoesnotalwaysendwithhappiness.
注意:
此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
52. WhatquestiondoesJohnKennethGalbraithraiseinhisbookTheAffluentSociety?
A)Whystatisticsdon’ttellthetruthabouttheeconomy.
B)Whyaffluencedoesn’tguaranteehappiness.
C)Howhappinesscanbepromotedtoday.
D)Whatliesbehindaneconomicboom.(B)
53. AccordingtoGalbraith,peoplefeeldiscontentedbecause________.
A)publicspendinghasn’tbeencutdownasexpected
B)thegovernmenthasprovedtobeanecessaryevil
C)theyareinfearofanotherGreatDepression
D)materialismhasrunwildinmodernsociety(D)
54. Whydopeoplefeelsqueezedwhentheiraverageincomerisesconsiderably?
A)Theirmaterialpursuitshavegonefaraheadoftheirearnings.
B)Theirpurchasingpowerhasdroppedmarkedlywithinflation.
C)Thedistributionofwealthisunevenbetweenther5ichandthepoor.
D)Healthcareandeducationalcosthavesomehowgoneoutofcontrol.(A)
55. WhatdoesLouisUchitellemeanby“thedisposableAmerican”(Line3,Para.5)?
A)Thosewhoseejobstabilityaspartoftheirlivingstandard.
B)Peoplefullofutopianideasresultingfromaffluence.
C)PeoplewhohavelittlesayinAmericanpolitics.
D)Workerswhonolongerhavesecurejobs.(D)
56. WhathasaffluencebroughttoAmericansociety?
A)Renewedeconomicsecurity.
B)Asenseofself-fulfillment.
C)Newconflictsandcomplaints.
D)Miseryandanti-socialbehavior.(C)
PassageTwo
Questions57to61arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
Theuseofdeferential(敬重的)languageissymbolicoftheConfucianidealofthewoman,whichdominatesconservativegendernormsinJapan.Thisidealpresentsawomanwhowithdrawsquietlytothebackground,subordinatingherlifeandneedstothoseofherfamilyanditsmalehead.Sheisadutifuldaughter,wife,andmother,masterofthedomesticarts.ThetypicalrefinedJapanesewomanexcelsinmodestyanddelicacy;she“treadssoftly(谨言慎行)intheworld,”elevatingfemininebeautyandgracetoanartform.
Nowadays,itiscommonlyobservedthatyoungwomenarenotconformingtothefemininelinguistic(语言的)ideal.Theyareusingfeweroftheverydeferential“women’s”forms,andevenusingthefewstrongformsthatareknowas“men’s.”This,ofcourse,attractsconsiderableattentionandhasledtoanoutcryintheJapanesemediaagainstthedefeminizationofwomen’slanguage.Indeed,wedidn’thearabout“men’slanguage”untilpeoplebegantorespondtogirls’appropriationofformsnormallyreservedforboysandmen.Thereisconsiderablesentimentaboutthe“corruption”ofwomen’slanguage—whichofcourseisviewedaspartofthelossoffeminineidealsandmorality—andthissentimentiscrystallizedbynationwideopinionpollsthatareregularlycarriedoutbythemedia.
YoshikoMatsumotohasarguedthatyoungwomenprobablyneverusedasmanyofthehighlydeferentialformsasolderwomen.Thishighlypolitestyleisnodoubtsomethingthatyoungwomenhavebeenexpectedto“growinto”—afterall,itisassignnotsimplyoffemininity,butofmaturityandrefinement,anditsusecouldbetakentoindicateachangeinthenatureofone’ssocialrelationsaswell.Onemightwellimaginelittlegirlsusingexceedinglypoliteformswhenplayinghouseorimitatingolderwomen—inafashionanalogoustolittlegirls’useofahigh-pitchedvoicetodo“teachertalk”or“mothertalk”inroleplay.
ThefactthatyoungJapanesewomenareusinglessdeferentiallanguageisasuresignofchange—ofsocialchangeandoflinguisticchange.Butitismostcertainlynotasignofthe“masculization”ofgirls.Insomeinstances,itmaybeasignthatgirlsaremakingthesameclaimtoauthorityasboysandmen,butthatisverydifferentfromsayingthattheyaretryingtobe“masculine.”KatsueReynoldshasarguedthatgirlsnowadaysareusingmoreassertivelanguagestrategiesinordertobeabletocompetewithboysinschoolsandout.Socialchangealsobringsnotsimplydifferentpositionsforwomenandgirls,butdifferentrelationstolifestages,andadolescentgirlsareparticipatinginnewsubculturalforms.Thuswhatmay,toanolderspeaker,seemlike“masculine”speechmayseemtoanadolescentlike“liberated”or“hip”speech.
注意:
此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
57. Thefirstparagraphdescribesindetail________.
A)thestandardssetforcontemporaryJapanesewomen
B)theConfucianinfluenceongendernormsinJapan
C)thestereotypedroleofwomeninJapanesefamilies
D)thenormsfortraditionalJapanesewomentofollow(B)
58. Whatchangehasbeenobservedintoday’syoungJapanesewomen?
A)Theypaylessattentiontotheirlinguisticbehavior.
B)Theusefewerofthedeferentiallinguisticforms.
C)Theyconfusemaleandfemaleformsoflanguage.
D)Theyemployverystronglinguisticexpressions.(B)
59. Howdosomepeoplereacttowomen’sappropriationofmen’slanguageformsasreportedintheJapanesemedia?
A)Theycallforacampaigntostopthedefeminization.
B)Theseeitasanexpressionofwomen’ssentiment.
C)Theyacceptitasamoderntrend.
D)Theyexpressstrongdisapproval.(D)
60. AccordingtoYoshikoMatsumoto,thelinguisticbehaviorobservedintoday’syoungwomen________.
A)mayleadtochangesinsocialrelations
B)hasbeentrueofallpastgenerations
C)isviewedasasignoftheirmaturity
D)isaresultofrapidsocialprogress(A)
61. TheauthorbelievesthattheuseofassertivelanguagebyyoungJapanesewomenis________.
A)asuresignoftheirdefeminizationandmaturation
B)anindicationoftheirdefianceagainstsocialchange
C)oneoftheirstrategiestocompeteinamale-dominatedsociety
D)aninevitabletrendoflinguisticdevelopmentinJapantoday(C)
2007-12
Likemostpeople,I’velongunderstoodthatIwillbejudgedbymyoccupation,thatmyprofessionisagaugepeopleusetoseehowsmartortalentedIam.Recently,however,IwasdisappointedtoseethatitalsodecideshowI’mtreatedasaperson.
LastyearIleftaprofessionalpositionasasmall-townreporterandtookajobwaitingtables.Assomeonepaidtoservefoodtopeople.IhadcustomerssayanddothingstomeIsuspectthey’dneversayordototheirmostcasualacquaintances.Onenightamantalkingonhiscellphonewavedmeaway,thenbeckoned(示意)mebackwithhisfingerminutelater,complaininghewasreadytoorderandaskingwhereI’dbeen.
Ihadwaitedtablesduringsummersincollegeandwastreatedlikeapeon(勤杂工)plentyofpeople.Butat19yearsold,IbelievedIdeservedinferiortreatmentfromprofessionaladults.Besides,peoplerespondedtomedifferentlyafterItoldthemIwasincollege.CustomerswouldjokethatonedayI’dbesittingattheirtable,waitingtobeserved.
OnceIgraduatedItookajobatacommunitynewspaper.Frommyfirstday,Iheardarespectfultonefromeveryonewhocalle