阅读理解
One thing almost everyone is agreed on, including Americans, is that they place a very high valuation upon success. Success does not necessarily mean material rewards, but recognition of some sort—preferably measurable. If a boy turns out to be a preacher (传道者) instead of a businessman, that''s all right. But he bigger his church is, the more successful he is judged to be.
A good many things contributed to this accent on success. There was the Puritan (清教徒的) belief in the virtue of work, both for its own sake and because the rewards it brought were regarded as signs of God''s love. There was the richness of opportunity in a land waiting to be settled. There was the lack of a settled society with fixed ranks and classes, so that a man was certain to rise through achievement.
There was the determination of an immigrant to gain in the new world what had been denied to him in the old, and on the part of his children an urge to throw off the immigrant onus(负担) by still more success and still more rise in a fluid and classless society. Brothers did not compete within the family for the favor of the parents as in Europe, but worked hard for success in the outer world, along paths of their own choosing.
单选题
According to the first paragraph,______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】解答本题时，应通过将四个选项与原文对照来进行判断。A项不正确，因为人们同意“成功很重要”这个看法，而不是“人们同意成功是什么”；B项不正确，在文章中已经被否定掉(Success does not necessarily mean material rewards．)；C项不正确，因为equal一词有误，与原句的意思不一致。只有D项的内容在第一段可以得到明确的确认，因此正确答案为D。
单选题
In this passage, the author indicates that______.
单选题
The word "accent" (Line 1, Para. 2)most probably means______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】解答此类词汇题的关键是要找到上下文的同义词或支持线索。在“A good many things contributed to this accent on success．”中的代词this意味着前面肯定有一个同义词(组)。仔细分析可以看出，前面的high valuation就是accent的意思。A、B、D三项不正确，因为它们的意思和搭配有误。而emphasis与high valuation意思相近，并且也与介词on／upon搭配，因此正确答案为C。
单选题
Which of the following does NOT account for people's desire for Success?