单选题 In spite of "endless talk of difference", American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people. There is "the democratizing uniformity of dress and discourse, and the casualness and absence of deference" characteristic of popular culture. People are absorbed into "a culture of consumption" launched by the 19th-century department stores that offered "vast arrays of goods in an elegant atmosphere. Instead of intimate shops catering to a knowledgeable elite" these were stores "anyone could enter, regardless of class or background. This turned shopping into a public and democratic act." The mass media, advertising and sports are other forces for homogenization. Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous. Writing for the National Immigration Forum, Gregory Rodriguez reports that today's immigration is neither at unprecedented levels nor resistant to assimilation. In 1998 immigrants were 9.8 percent of population; in 1900, 13.6 percent. In the 10 years prior to 1990. 3.1 immigrants arrived for every 1, 000 residents; in the 10 years prior to 1890, 9.2 for every 1, 000. Now, consider three indices of assimilation—language, home ownership and intermarriage. The 1990 Census revealed that "a majority of immigrants from each of the fifteen most common countries of origin spoke English 'well' or 'very well' after ten years of residence." The children of immigrants tend to be bilingual and proficient in English. "By the third generation, the original language is lost in the majority of immigrant families." Hence the description of America as a "graveyard" for languages. By 1996 foreign-born immigrants who had arrived before 1970 had a home ownership rate of 75.6 percent, higher than the 69.8 percent rate among native-born Americans. Foreign-born Asians and Hispanics "have higher rates of intermarriage than do U.S.-born whites and blacks." By the third generation, one third of Hispanic women are married to non-Hispanics, and 41 percent of Asian-American women are married to non-Asians. Rodriguez notes that children in remote villages around the world are fans of superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks, yet "some Americans fear that immigrants living within the United States remain somehow immune to the nation's assimilative power." Are there divisive issues and pockets of seething anger in America? Indeed. It is big enough to have a bit of everything. But particularly when viewed against America' s turbulent past, today' s social indices hardly suggest a dark and deteriorating social environment.

单选题 The word "homogenizing"(Para. 1)most probably means______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：词义题。返回原文第一句找到“homogenizing”，这句话以“in spite of”开头，表示一种让步，换而言之．“homogenizing”应该和前文中的“difference”形成对比；另外在后半句的解释中又出现了“uniformity”，必然是“homogenizing”的同义替换。通过上下文能知道“homogenizing”应该是“同化，一致”的意思，因此选C项。identifying“识别，鉴别”；associating“使联系，使联合”；monopolizing“独占，垄断”均排除。

单选题 According to the author, the department stores of the 19th century______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据关键词“department stores of the 19th century”定位到第一段，此题可用排除法。根据Instead of intimate shops catering to a knowledgeable elite，these were stores…可知department stores不同于intimate shops，且intimate shops是面向知识精英阶层的，由此排除B、C两项。D项因果倒置，根据Peo—ple are absorbed into “a culture of consumption” launched by the 19th-century department stores可知是the e—mergence of 19th-department stores在前，the culture of consumption在后。A项意为“在传播大众文化中起了重要作用”，正确。

单选题 The text suggests that immigrants now in the U.S. ___

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：推断题。根据关键词“immigrants now in the U．S．”定位到第二段。C项就是第二段首句“but is hardly poisonous”的同义替换。该段首句的特殊结构not…but说明了现在美国移民的特点：能融入共同文化(common culture)，表达这一意思的只有C项。A项与第二段第二句“nor resistant to assimilation”明显相反；B项与第二段首句“not be altogether elevating”相反；文中只讲述了三个同化的标志“language，home ownership andintermarriage．”并没有提及人口的问题，因此D项是一个文中未提及的信息。

单选题 Why are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks mentioned in Paragraph 5?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：细节题。第五段就一句话，前半句说全世界遥远乡村里的孩子都是像施瓦辛格和布鲁克斯这样的超级明星的粉丝，后半句说一些美国人害怕美国的移民仍在一定程度上不受美国同化力量的影响。Yet提示转折，这表明前半句含有“美国的移民受到了美国同化力量影响”的意思，也就是说，美国文化有强大的影响力，故D项正确。本文的主题是美国在吸收移民方面的成功，即美国文化的同化能力很强，并不讨论移民个人的成功，由此可排除A、C项。B项“揭示了公众对移民的害怕”，既与主题不符，也与原文中some Americans不符，偷换概念。

单选题 In the author's opinion, the absorption of immigrants into American society is______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：态度题。通读全文，可以发现作者从好几个方面讲到了美国吸收移民的成功，比如说移民到第三代的时候基本上忘掉了原来的语言，新移民的家庭一般高于50％的人都拥有自己的房子等等，所以正确答案为B项。注意题干中的“absorption”就是文中的“homogenize”和“assimilate”两个词的“同义替换”。文章第二段第一句话 “Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture，which may not be altogether elevating butis hardly poisonous．”讲了移民融入美国文化“is hardly poisonous”=“is hardly harmful”，所以D项不能选。本文并没有着重强调美国吸收移民是有好处的、有回报的，而只是强调吸收移民的过程的成功，所以A项是偷换概念。