单选题Directions: In this section you will read several passages.
Each one is followed by several questions about it. You are to choose ONE best
answer, A. B. C. or D. to each question. "They
treat us like mules," the guy installing my washer tells me, his eyes narrowing
as he wipes his hands, I had just complimented him and his partner on the speed
and assurance of their work. He explains that it's rare that customers speak to
him this way. I know what he's talking about. My mother was a waitress all her
life, in coffee shops and fast-paced chain restaurants. It was hard work, but
she liked it, liked "being among the public", as she would say. But that work
had its sting, too—the customer who would treat her like a servant or, her
biggest complaint, like she was not that bright. There's a
lesson here for this political season: the subtle and not-so-subtle insults that
blue-collar and service workers endure as part of their working lives. And those
insults often have to do with intelligence. We like to think of
the United States as a classless society. The belief in economic mobility is
central to the American Dream, and we pride ourselves on our spirit of
egalitarianism. But we also have a troubling streak of aristocratic bias in our
national temperament, and one way it manifests itself is in the assumptions we
make about people who work with their hands. Working people sense this bias and
react to it when they vote. The common political wisdom is that hot-button
social issues have driven blue-collar voters rightward. But there are other
cultural dynamics at play as well. And Democrats can be as oblivious to these
dynamics as Republicans—though the Grand Old Party did appeal to them in St.
Paul. Let's go back to those two men installing my washer and
dryer. They do a lot of heavy lifting quickly—mine was the first of 15
deliveries—and efficiently, to avoid injury. Between them there is ongoing
communication, verbal and nonverbal, to coordinate the lift, negotiate the tight
fit, move in rhythm with each other. And all the while, they are weighing
options, making decisions and solving problems—as when my new dryer didn't match
up with the gas outlet. Think about what a good waitress has to
do in the busy restaurant: remember orders and monitor them, attend to a
dynamic, quickly changing environment, prioritize tasks and manage the flow of
work, make decisions on the fly. There's the carpenter using a number of
mathematical concepts—symmetry, proportion, congruence, the properties of
angles—and visualizing these concepts while building a cabinet, a flight of
stairs, or a pitched roof. The hairstylist's practice is a mix
of technique, knowledge about the biology of hair, aesthetic judgment, and
communication skill. The mechanic, electrician, and plumber are troubleshooters
and problem solvers. Even the routinized factory floor calls for working smarts.
When has any of this made its way into our political speeches? From either
party. Even on Labor Day. Last week, the GOP masterfully
invoked some old cultural suspicions: country folk versus city and east-coast
versus heartland education. But these are symbolic populist gestures, not the
stuff of true engagement. Judgments about intelligence carry great weight in our
society, and we have a tendency to make sweeping assessments of people's
intelligence based on the kind of work they do. Political
tributes to labor over the next two months will render the muscled arm, sleeve
rolled tight against biceps. But few will also celebrate the thought bright
behind the eye, or offer an image that links hand and brain. It would be fitting
in a country with an egalitarian vision of itself to have a truer, richer sense
of all that is involved in the wide range of work that surrounds and sustains
us. Those politicians who can communicate that sense will tap a
deep reserve of neglected feeling. And those who can honor and use work in
explaining and personalizing their policies will find a welcome
reception.
单选题
To illustrate the intelligence of the working class, the author cites
the examples of all of the following EXCEPT ______.