单选题 {{B}}Passage Two{{/B}}

The percentage of immigrants (including those unlawfully present) in the United States has been creeping upward for years. At 12.6 percent, it is now higher than at any point since the mid-1920s.
We are not about to go back to the days when Congress openly worried about inferior races polluting America's bloodstream. But once again we are wondering whether we have too many of the wrong sort of newcomers. Their loudest critics argue that the new wave of immigrants cannot, and indeed do not want to, fit in as previous generations did.
We now know that these racist views were wrong. In time, Italians, Romanians and members of other so-called inferior races became exemplary Americans and contributed greatly, in ways too numerous to detail, to the building of this magnificent nation. There is no reason why these new immigrants should not have the same success.
Although children of Mexican immigrants do better, in terms of educational and professional attainment, than their parents, UCLA sociologist Edward Telles has found that the gains don't continue. Indeed, the fourth generation is marginally worse off than the third. James Jackson, of the University of Michigan, has found a similar trend among black Caribbean immigrants. Telles fears that Mexican-Americans may be fated to follow in the footsteps of American blacks--that large parts of the community may become mired (陷入) in a seemingly permanent state of poverty and underachievement. Like African- Americans, Mexican-Americans are increasingly relegated to (降入) segregated, substandard schools, and their dropout rate is the highest for any ethnic group in the country.
We have learned much about the foolish idea of excluding people on the presumption of ethnic/racial inferiority. But what we have not yet learned is how to make the process of Americanization work for all. I am not talking about requiring people to learn English or to adopt American ways; those things happen pretty much on their own. But as arguments about immigration heat up the campaign trail, we also ought to ask some broader questions about assimilation, about how to ensure that people, once outsiders, don't forever remain marginalized within these shores.
That is a much larger question than what should happen with undocumented workers, or how best to secure the border, and it is one that affects not only newcomers but groups that have been here for generations. It will have more impact on our future than where we decide to set the admissions bar for the latest wave of would-be Americans. And it would be nice if we finally got the answer right.

单选题 How were immigrants viewed by U.S. Congress in early days?

单选题 What does the author think of the new immigrants?

单选题 What does Edward Telles' research say about Mexican-Americans?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】推理题。根据题干信息Edward Telles' research定位至原文第四段。原文提到：Indeed，the fourth generation is marginally worse off than the third，与[A]选项意思相反，故排除[A]。[B]选项是强干扰项，其内容是客观事实(见第四段首句)，而非Telles的研究结果；本段倒数第二句提到...Mexican- Americans may be fated to follow in the footsteps of American blacks(墨西哥裔美国人可能注定会步美国黑人的后尘)，而非melt into the African-American community(融入非裔美国人社区)，故可排除[C]。由破折号之后的mired in a seemingly permanent state of poverty and underachievement可以得出答案选[D]。

单选题 What should be done to help the new immigrants?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】推理题。根据题干信息定位到文章倒数第二段最后一句...how to ensure that people，once outsiders， don't forever remain marginalized within these shores(…如何确保曾经的外来人口无需永远在国内边缘化)，对应[C]选项的内容。[A]选项“帮助他们摆脱低等民族的情结”文中未提及；[B]选项“督促他们接受美国的习俗”和[D]选项“教授他们标准的美国英语”与本段第三句意思相反，故可以排除。

单选题 According to the author, the burning issue concerning immigration is ______ .

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】推理题。题干中的burning issue意为“很重要的迫切问题，当务之急”，据此可以定位至文章最后一段段首的That is a much larger question。最后一段首先将其与其他问题，如：无证工人问题、边境安全问题进行对比，而后讲述这一问题所带来的现实和长远的影响，最后淡到目前还没有解决办法。各句句首的代词that和it都是指代题干中的burning issue。弄清楚这几个代词的所指，我们就可以再回到倒数第二段最后一句：ask some broader question about assimilation，about how to ensure that people．once outsiders，don't forever remain marginalized within these shores，正好对应[B]选项。