单选题
As regards social conventions, we must say a word about the
English class system. This is an embarrassing subject for English people, and
one they tend to be ashamed of, though during the present century
class-consciousness has grown less and less. But it still exists. Broadly
speaking, it means there are two classes, the "middle class" and the "working
class" (We shall ignore for a moment the old "upper class", since it is
extremely small in numbers; but some of its members have the right to sit in the
House of Lords, and some newspapers take a surprising interest in their private
life.) The middle class consists chiefly of businessmen and professional people
of all kinds. The working class consists chiefly of manual and unskilled
workers. The most obvious difference between them is in their
accent. Middle-class people use slightly varying kinds of "received
pronunciation", which is the kind of English spoken by BBC announcers and taught
to overseas pupils. Typical working-class people speak in many different local
accents which are generally felt to be rather ugly and uneducated. One of the
biggest barriers of social equality in England is the two-class education
system. To have been to a so-called "public school" immediately marks you out as
one of the middle class. The middle classes tend to live a more formal life.
Their midday meal is "lunch" and they have a rather formal evening meal called
"dinner", whereas the working man's dinner, if his working hours permit, is at
midday, and his small, late evening meal called supper. It has
been government policy to reduce class distinctions. Working-class students
commonly receive a university education and enter the professions, and
working-class incomes have grown so much recently. However, regardless of one's
social status, certain standards of politeness are expected of everybody, and a
well-bred person is polite to everyone he meets, and treats a laborer with the
same respect he gives an important businessman. Servility inspires both
embarrassment and dislike. Even the word "sir", except in school and in certain
occupations (e.g. commerce, the army etc.) sounds too servile to be commonly
used.
单选题
The "upper class" in England today ______.
A. are extremely small in number so that media pays no attention to
them
B. still uses old words like "sir" in their everyday life