单选题 Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
Japan is going through a complex national identity crisis. That may be no bad thing, says a new book by an American researcher. The economy is ceased making progress, but the society is in motion. Japan is a difficult country to report on and analyze because things do not change in big, noticeable ways. They change in an increasing process, generally of small steps but which, over time, can add up to big movements. And just such a big movement seems to be taking place.
Mr. Nathan has been observing Japan since the 1960s. Whereas most people look at economic data or the comings and goings of prime ministers, he is more interested in schools, novels, comic books, and the minds of young entrepreneurs and maverick (持有不同意见的) local politicians. In particular, his focus is on whether Japan's famously cohesive, conformist society may be breaking under the strain of economic stagnation (停滞), and on how such strains have been affecting the country's sense of purpose and of national identity.
Fractures (分裂) are what he looks for and fractures are what he finds. On balance, they are neither obviously dangerous nor obviously positive, but they are, as he says, signs of motion which could, in time, lead in unpredictable directions. The most worrying factures he writes about are in the schools where violence and truancy (逃学) have risen remarkably. Old Japan hands shrug wearily at such things, for worries about violence have long existed but have never really seemed terribly serious. Now, though, Mr. Nathan's numbers do make the situation look grave.
Such trends appear to be symptoms of two related phenomena: a widespread feeling of disillusionment, alienation, uncertainty or plain anger, which has spread to children, too; and a gradual breakdown of old systems of discipline — part familial, part social, part legal — which, appear to prevent schools and parents from dealing effectively with children behaving in a bad way.
Japan is, in short, passing through a national identity crisis. However, there are plenty of positive aspects to it, too. One is a considerable increase in the number of actual or budding young entrepreneurs. The numbers remain modest, but are nevertheless surprisingly high given the state of the economy in recent years. Another is a new eagerness among popular writers and maverick politicians to try to define and encourage a new national pride.

单选题 What is said about the social changes in Japanese society?

【正确答案】

【答案解析】[设题处] 转折处设题：定语从句处设题
D[解析] 文章首段第五句提到，日本社会的变化是一个渐进的过程，发生的一系列变化虽然总的来说很小，但随着时间推移，这能够积聚成大的变革。D)“事物发生小变化，但能产生巨大的累积后果”与原文意思相符，故为答案。A)与原文意思相反，故排除。首段第三句提到，经济停滞但社会却在发生变化，该句并未说明日本社会的变化总伴随着民族认同危机，故排除B)。首段第四句提到，日本是个难以分析的复杂的国家，但这并不代表其社会变化不被人们分析，故排除C)。

单选题 It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[设题处] 宾语从句处设题
[解析] 第二段第三句提到，Nathan关注的是日本这个有凝聚力的、遵循传统的社会是否可能被经济停滞的压力所毁坏，以及这种压力是如何影响这个国家的目标感和民族认同感的。由此可推断出，停滞的经济可能会对社会产生负面影响，故答案为C)，其中motionless economy与原文中的economic stagnation对应。A)在文中未提及，故排除。文中提到“经济停滞”，但未提及“很多人面临失业压力”，故排除B)。D) 是针对the comings and goings of prime ministers设的干扰项。

单选题 What can we know about the school violence and truancy in Japan?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[设题处] 因果处设题；转折处设题
[解析] 文章第三段第三和第四句提到，最令人担忧的分裂是在学校，校园暴力和逃学现象迅速增加。老一辈日本人已对此倦怠，因为对暴力的担忧长期存在，但似乎没有被高度重视。B)“它们长时间令日本家长感到精疲力竭”与原文意思相符，故为答案。文中提到校园暴力和逃学现象显著增加，A)与之矛盾，故排除。校园暴力和逃学现象显著增加说明这一现象比人们担忧的还严重，故排除C)。 D)在文中未提及。

单选题 What contributed to school violence and truancy in Japan?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[设题处] 因果处设题；特殊标点符号处设题；非限制性定语从句处设题
[解析] 文章第四段提到两个与暴力和逃学有关的症候：普遍的幻灭感、疏离感、不稳定或愤怒也波及到了孩子；以及旧的(家庭的、社会的、法律的)纪律体系逐渐瓦解。D)“成人世界的问题波及到了孩子以及不够严格的法规”与原文意思相符，故为答案。第四段末句提到，旧纪律体系的瓦解使学校和家长无法有效处理行为不端的孩子，由此可知，并非学校和家长拒绝处理孩子的不良行为，故排除A)。文章并未提及家长与孩子的交流问题，故排除B)。文中没有提及学生认为暴力事件令人兴奋刺激，故排除C)。

单选题 What can we learn from the last paragraph?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[设题处] 转折处设题
[解析] 文章末段第四句提到，青年企业家的数量虽然不多，但考虑到国家近几年的经济状况，这一数字还是大得惊人。由此可知，日本近几年的经济状况不好，故答案为A)。文中提到日本涌现出许多青年企业家，这并不意味着很多年轻人因民族认同危机而被辞退，故排除B)。文章末句提到，日本流行作家和持不同意见的政治家力图定义新的民族自豪感并鼓励其发展，C)和D)与该句意思不符，故排除。