复合题

Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.

Text 3 

Though it is mere 1 to 3 percent of the population, the upper class possesses at least 25 percent of the nation’s wealth. This class has two segments: upper-upper and lower-upper. Basically, the upper-upper class is the “old rich” —families that have been wealthy for several generations—an aristocracy of birth and wealth. Their names are in the Social Register, a listing of acceptable members of high society. A few are known across the nation, such as the Rockefellers, Roosevelts, and Vanderbilts. Most are not visible to the general public. They live in grand seclusion, drawing their income from the investment of their inherited wealth. In contrast, the lower-upper class is the “new rich”. Although they may be wealthier than some of the old rich, the new rich have hustled to make their money like everybody else beneath their class. Thus their prestige is generally lower than that of the old rich, who have not found it necessary to lift a finger to make their money, and who tend to look down upon the new rich. 

However its wealth is acquired, the upper class is very, very rich. They have enough money and leisure time to cultivate an interest in the arts and to collect rare books, painting, and sculpture. They generally live in exclusive areas, belong to exclusive social clubs, communicate with each other, and marry their own kind—all of which keeps them so distant from the masses that they have been called the out-of-sight class. More than any other class, they tend to be conscious of being members of a class. They also command an enormous amount of power and influence here and abroad, as they hold many top government positions, run the Council on Foreign Relations, and control multinational corporations. Their actions affect the lives of millions. 

单选题 All the following statements are true EXCEPT that _____.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】细节理解题。 通过文章第二段第三句可知上层阶级人士独居一处， 有专门的社交俱乐部， 彼此交往，与同阶层人士结婚——所有这些使他们远离大众， 因而他们被称为“隐士”阶层。 这里强调他们远离大众， 只和同阶层的人来往， 并非指他们真正与世隔绝过着孤独的日子。 因而C项错误， 故选C项。
单选题 The “old rich” get richer _____.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】细节理解题。 通过第一段中“They live in grand seclusion, drawing their income from the investment of their inherited wealth”可知， 他们是靠投资世袭财产， 从而获取收益。 故选C项。
单选题 The reason why the “old rich” look down upon the “new rich” is that _____.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】细节理解题。 通过第一段最后两句可知， 由于“新富”需要自己努力赚钱， 因此也不如“旧富”有威望。因此“旧富”瞧不起“新富”。 故B项正确。
单选题 The upper class is also called the out-of-sight class because _____.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】细节理解题。 通过第二段中“all of which keeps them so distant from the masses that they have been called the out-of-sight class”可知， 富人远离大众， 所以被称为“看不见的阶层”， 因此A项正确。
单选题 We can learn from the passage that _____.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】细节理解题。 从文章倒数第二句“They also command an enormous amount of power and influence here and abroad”可知， 上层阶级影响力很大， 因此A项正确， 故本题选A。 由第二段第一句可知， 上层阶级收集罕见的书是为了培养兴趣， 因此B项错误。 C项过于绝对， 应予以排除。 由第一段倒数第二句中“Although they may be wealthier than some of the old rich”可知， “新贵”可能比“旧贵”更加富有， 故D项错误。