阅读试题

According to sociologists(社会学家), every modern industrial society has some form of social stratification(阶层). Class, power and status are important in deciding people's rank in society.

Class means a person's economic position in society. A commonly used classification is lower class, middle class and upper class. While sociologists disagree on how these terms should be exactly defined, they do describe societies like the United States quite well. One study shows that 53% of Americans belong to the lower class, 46% the middle class, and 1% the upper class. Interestingly, a surgeon earning $500,000 a year and a bus driver earning $50,000 a year both regard themselves as the middle class!

Power refers to the amount of control a person has over other people. Obviously, people in positions of great power (such as governors) exercise(行使) big power, but people who take orders from others have less power. Power and class do not always go hand in hand, however. For example, the governor of a state has great power, but he or she may not belong to a corresponding (相应的) economic class. Generally, however, there is a relationship between power and class. To our knowledge, there aren't too many people who aren't millionaires in the U.S. Senate!

Status is the honor or respect attached to a person's position in society. It can also be affected by power and class, but not necessarily so. For example, a university professor may have a high status but not belong to a high social class or have a lot of power over others.

阅读试题

54. What can we learn about "the middle class" from Paragraph 2?

A. People earning $50,000 a year belong to the middle class.

B. Nearly half Americans belong to the middle class.

C. People generally consider bus drivers as the middle class.

D. Sociologists have a clear definition of the middle class.

55. According to the text, we know that _____.

A. power and class do not always correspond with each other

B. status refers to a person's economic position in society

C. people with high status have a lot of control over others

D. class is less important in deciding a person's social rank

56. Which of the following shows the structure of the whole text?

参考译文

根据社会学家所说，每一个现代工业国家都有某种形式的社会阶级。在决定人的社会等级时，阶级、权力以及社会地位都很重要。

阶级意味着一个人的社会经济地位。常用的阶层分类是下层阶级、中产阶级和上层阶级。虽然社会学家在如何给出阶级的准确定义上没有达成一致，但他们都认为像美国这样的国家是最好的。一项调查研究显示，53%的美国人属于下层阶级，46%的美国人属于中产阶级，还有1%的美国人属于上层阶级。有趣的是，外科医生每年赚50万美元，而公共汽车司机的年收入是5万美元，但他们都认为自己是中产阶级！

权力是指一个人有凌驾于他人之上的掌控权。显然，大权在握的人如统治者行驶的权力大，而服从管理的人行驶的权利小。然而，权力和阶级并不总是齐头并进的。例如，一个州的州长享有相当大的权力，但他或她不一定属于他或她所在的经济阶层。但是，一般来说，权力和阶级之间是有关系的。据我们所知，美国参议院议员没有不是百万富翁的。

社会地位是与个人在社会的职位相关的荣誉或尊敬。它受到权力和阶层的影响，但这些并不是必要的。例如，一个大学教授可能有很高的社会地位，但他不一定属于高的社会阶层，也不一定有很多凌驾他人之上的权力。

答案解析

54. B 考查细节理解。根据第二段中的"One study shows that 53% of Americans belong to the lower class, 46% the middle class, and l% the upper class."可知，将近一半的美国人属于中产阶级。

55. A 考查细节理理解。根据第三段中的"Power and class do not always go hand in hand"可知，权力和阶级并不木总是一致的。

56. A 考查文章结构。根据文章的结构来看，文章首先在第一段总述了"Class, power and status are important in deciding people's rank in society."然后分别在第二、三、四段说明了class，power以及status。故答案为A。