阅读理解 The American dream is that any child can make it from the bottom to the top. That may still be true in politics: the son of a Kenyan immigrant, raised partly by his grandparents, is now president of the United States. But it is much less true, in economic terms, than most Americans think. Social mobility is less easy in America than in other countries. For example, three-quarters of Danes born in the lowest-earning 20% of the population escape their plight in adulthood. Seven out of ten poor children in supposedly class-ridden Britain achieve the same feat. But fewer than six in ten Americans do so.
Similarly, with rags-to-riches stories. It is far less common for Americans from the bottom 20% in childhood to move into the top 20% in adulthood than it is in Denmark or in Britain. On the whole, America's wealthy prosper while the average citizen struggles. The pay workers get has failed to move in line with productivity in the past 30 years. But Americans have yet to realise the extent of this tectonic shift.
Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel prize-winner in economics and a regular critic of liberal capitalism, addresses this issue in his new book, which he wrote in response to the Occupy Wall Street protesters. Indeed, he argues that their slogan, "We are the 99% " , echoes an article entitled, "Of the 1% , by the 1% , for the 1% " , that he wrote in Vanity Fair in May 2011.
To Mr Stiglitz, this inequality is the result of public policy being captured by an elite who have feathered their own nests at the expense of the rest. They have used their power to distort political debate, pushing through tax cuts to favour the rich and adjusting monetary policy to favour the banks. Many of the new rich are not entrepreneurs but "rent-seekers" , he says, who use monopoly power to boost profits.
When it comes to solutions to the inequality problem, Mr Stiglitz wants a top income tax rate of "well in excess of" 50% , targeted fiscal stimulus and greater bank regulation. Here, perhaps, he might have been more open about the tradeoffs. Controls on bank leverage, caps on interest rates and greater protection for bankrupts are all likely to reduce bank lending at a time when there already is a credit squeeze. He admits that the 2009 fiscal stimulus was " not as well designed as it could have been" , but blithely hopes that the convoluted American budget-setting process will result in much better stimulus packages in future.
Whether or not he has the right answers, Mr Stiglitz is surely right to focus on the issue. Across the developed world, the average worker is suffering a squeeze in living standards while bankers and chief executives are still doing very nicely. This dichotomy is bound to have social and political consequences.
单选题 31.It can be inferred from the first two paragraphs that
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】本题是一道上下段落关联题。根据题干中“the first two paragraphs(前两段)”的提示以及这类题型的答题规律,应该首先针对第二段首句进行上下段之间相互关系的研究。第二段首句中的“Similarly(同样地)”是破解本题的关键。该词表明:第二段所涉及的“rags-to-riches(由贫致富)”问题与第一段所涉及的问题在某个方面存在共性。第一段第四句“Social mobility is less easy in America than in other countries.(在美国,社会流动不如在其他国家容易。)”暗示第二段首句所涉及的“rags-to-riches(由贫致富)”之事也不容易实现。由此推断,选项D“a dream from being extremely poor to being very rich is hardly realized in the States(美国由贫致富的梦想难以实现)”应该是本题的正确答案。解答本题时,应该注意段落之间承上启下的词语,否则就无法进行清晰的推断和分析。
单选题 32.The figures noted in the third paragraph indicate______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】本题是一道代词指代题型。本题的答案信息来源是第四段首句中的主语“this inequality(这种不平等)”,其中的代词“this”指代的是第三段所涉及的内容。由此推断,第三段中所出现的数字均是用来具体列举“不平等(inequality)”。因此,选项A“social inequality(社会不平等)”应该是本题的正确答案。解答此题时,一定要注意上下段之间所出现的代词,否则就无法迅速而准确地答题。
单选题 33.According to the text, the culprit of the social phenomenon revealed in the 3rd paragraph is______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】本题是一道细节信息题型。第四段首句的主语“this inequality(这种不平等)”暗示第三段解释了一种社会现象,即:社会不公平。但是第三段并没有指出造成这种“社会不公平”的“根本原因”(culprit)。所以,应该继续阅读第四段,寻找产生这种“社会不公平”现象的原因。第四段首句中的“the result of...(……的结果)”表达的恰恰是“因果关系”。第四段首句的主系表结构“…this inequality is the result of public policy…(这种不公平是公共政策的结果)”表明:选项B“a sort of public policy(一种公共政策)”应该是本题的正确答案。解答此题时,应该抓住题干核心词“culprit(根源)”在原文中的相应词语,否则就无法判定答案的来源。
单选题 34.What advice does the author give to Mr Stiglitz?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】本题是一道虚拟语气题型。因为本题题干中的名词“advice(建议)”一词与第五段首句中的名词“solutions(解决办法)”是相互替换词语,所以首先确定本题的答案信息来源在第五段。在本段第二句中,本文作者以虚拟语气的句式给施蒂格利茨提出了建议和忠告。第五段第二句“Here,perhaps,he might have been more open about the trade-offs.(在这一点上,或许他可以对平衡协调采取更开放的态度。)”暗示:本文作者建议施蒂格利茨可以对平衡协调方法更加包容一些。由此推断,选项A“Be more tolerant of balancing.(多包容平衡协调方法。)”应该是本题的正确答案。解答本题时,除了对题干与原文中的核心词语有识别能力之外,还要对虚拟语气有敏感的识别和理解能力,否则就丧失了解题的思路。
单选题 35.According to the concluding paragraph, the author has yet to comment upon______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】本题是一道细节信息题型。但是本题的难点在于题干中的这一固定表达形式“have/has yet to do…(还未做某事)”。如果对这一固定表达形式理解有误,就无法确定本题答案的信息来源。尾段首句涉及本文作者对施蒂格利茨的“评论(comment)”。但是,该句只是对施蒂格利茨聚焦该问题做出了肯定的评论,却未对其“回答(answers)”的正确与否做出评论。原句如下:“Whether or not he has the right answers,Mr Stiglitz is surely right to focus on the issue.(不管他给出的答案是否正确,施蒂格利茨对这个问题的关注无疑是正确的。)”由此推断,选项C“the answers advanced by Mr Stiglitz(施蒂格利茨所给出的答案)”是本题的正确选项。解答此题时,一定要认真审题,另外更要对题干中的固定表达形式进行精准的理解,否则就迷失了解题思路。