Researchers have
studied the poor as individuals, as families and households, as members of poor
communities, neighborhoods and regions, as products of larger poverty creating
structures. They have been analyzed as victims of crime and criminals, as mem
bers of minority cultures, as passive consumers of mass culture and active
producers of a "counterculture", as an economic burden and as a reserve army of
labor—to mention just some of the preoccupations of poverty research.
The elites, who occupy the small upper stratum within the category of the
non-poor, and their functions in the emergence and reproduction of poverty are
as interesting and im portant an object for poverty research as the poor
themselves. The elites have images of the poor and of poverty which shape their
decisions and actions. So far, little is known about those images, except as
they are sketchily portrayed in popular stereotypes. The elites may well ignore
or deny the external effects of their own actions (and omissions) upon the liv
ing conditions of the poor. Many social scientists may take a very different
view. As poverty emerged and was reproduced, legal frameworks were created to
contain the problems it caused with profound, and largely unknown, consequences
for the poor themselves. In general, political, educational and social
institutions tend to ignore or even damage the in terests of the poor. In
constructing a physical infrastructure for transport, industry, trade and
tourism, the settlements of the poor are often the first to suffer or to be left
standing and exposed to pollution, noise and crowding. Most
important are the economic functions of poverty, as for lack of other options
the poor are forced to perform activities considered degrading or unclean. The
poor are more likely to buy second-hand goods and leftover foodstuffs, thus
prolonging their economic utility. They are likely to use the services of
low-quality doctors, teachers and lawyers whom the non poor shy away from.
Poverty and the poor serve an important symbolic func- tion, in reminding
citizens of the lot that may befall those who do not heed the values of thrift,
diligence and cleanliness, and of the constant threat that the rough, the
immoral and the violent represent for the rest of society.
Physically, the poor and the non-poor are kept apart, through differential land
use and ghettoization. Socially, they are separated through differential
participation in the labor market, the consumption
economy, and in political, social and
cultural institutions. Conceptually, they are divided through stereotyping and
media cliche. This separation is even more pronounced between the elites and the
poor.
单选题
According to the author, studying the elites also sheds light on
poverty research be cause______.
A. they are also members of the same society as the poor
B. they play an important role in creating and reproducing poverty
C. solution of the poverty problem is at their mercy
D. they know the living conditions of the poor better than other
groups
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题的依据句是第二段中第一句话“The elites，who occupy…as the poor themselves．”从中可知，在贫困研究中，研究少数上层社会的名流以及他们在产生和再现 贫穷方面所起的作用是一项有趣、重要的课题。因此B项为正确答案。
单选题
While social scientists are devoting much of their effort to poverty
research,______.
A. not enough legal frameworks have been created to relieve the condition of
the poor
B. they have done little to actually provide relief programs for the
poor
C. they ignore the role of the elites as an object for poverty
research
D. the poor people themselves do not much appreciate such effort
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题的依据句是第二段的“The elites have images of…in popular stereo- types．”从中可知，这些精英名流对穷人与贫困有自己的概念，这些概念可促使他们形成 决策和采取行动。可至今，对这些概念的研究不多，知之甚少。由此推断研究人员或社会 科学家在研究贫困课题中，不注意研究精英名流的作用。因此C项为正确答案。
单选题
In the eyes of the society,______.
A. the poor tend to symbolize what lazy and evil people turn out to he
B. the poor are not worthy of the sympathy the society shows them
C. economic prejudice is more of an obstacle to the solution of
poverty
D. the non-poor should show more sympathy for the poor
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题的依据句是第三段最后一句“Povety and the poor serve…for the rest of socity．(贫困和穷人起着某种重要的象征性作用，提醒每一位公民：忽视勤俭、勤奋和 清洁的价值观，受穷的命运必降临头上，即是说世人认为穷人象征懒惰、不洁身自好的人 最终的下场)”。据此可知A项为正确答案。
单选题
The word "pronounced" in the last sentence of the passage probably
means______.