Taken together, income, occupation, and education are good measures of people's social standing. Using a layered model of stratification, most sociologists describe the class system in the United States as divided into several classes: upper, upper middle, middle, lower middle, and lower class. Each class is defined by characteristics such as income, occupational prestige, and educational attainment. The different groups are arrayed along a continuum with those with the most money, education, and prestige at the top and those with the least at the bottom.
In the United States, the upper class owns the major share of corporate and personal wealth; it includes those who have held wealth for generations as well as those who have recently become rich. Only a very small proportion of people actually constitute the upper class, but they control vast amounts of wealth and power in the United States. They exercise enormous control throughout society. Most of their wealth is inherited.
Despite social myths to the contrary, the best predictor of future wealth is the family into which you are born. Each year, the business magazine Forbes publishes a list of the "Forbes 400"--the four hundred wealthiest families and individuals in the country. Of all the wealth represented on the "Forbes 400" list, more than half is inherited. Those on the list who could be called "self-made" were not typically of modest origins; most inherited significant assets (Forbes,1997; Sklar and Collins, 1997). Those in the upper class with newly acquired wealth are known as the nouveau riche. Although they may have vast amounts of money, they are often not accepted into "old rich" circles.
The upper middle class includes those with high incomes and high social prestige. They tend to be well-educated professionals or business executives. Their earnings can be quite high indeed successful business executives can earn millions of dollars a year. It is difficult to estimate exactly how many people fall into this group because of the difficulty of drawing lines between the upper, upper middle, and middle class. Indeed, the upper middle class is often thought of as "middle class" because their lifestyle sets the standard to which many aspire, but this lifestyle is simply beyond the means of a majority of people in the United States.
The middle class is hard to define; in part, being "middle class" is more than just economic position. By far the majority of Americans identify themselves as middle class even though they vary widely in lifestyle and in resources at their disposal. But the idea that the United States is an open- class system leads many to think that the majority have a middle-class lifestyle because, in general, people tend not to want to recognize class distinctions in the United States. Thus, the middle class becomes the ubiquitous norm even though many who call themselves middle class have a tenuous hold on this class position.
In the hierarchy of social class, the lower middle class includes workers in the skilled trades and low-income bureaucratic workers, many of whom may actually define themselves as middle class. Examples are blue-collar workers (those in skilled trades who do manual labor) and many service workers, such as secretaries, hairdressers, waitresses, police, and firefighters. Medium to low income, education, and occupational prestige define the lower middle class relative to the class groups above it. The term "lower" in this class designation refers to the relative position of the group in the stratification system, but it has a pejorative sound to many people, especially to people who are members of this class.
The lower class is composed primarily of the displaced and poor. People in this class have little formal education and are often unemployed or working in minimum-wage jobs. Forty percent of the poor work; 10 percent work year-round and full time--a proportion that has generally increased over time. Recently, the concept of the underclass has been added to the lower class. The underclass includes those who have been left behind by contemporary economic developments. Rejected from the economic system, those in the underclass may become dependent on public assistance or illegal activities.

单选题 The word "those" in the passage refers to ______.
A. characteristics B. groups C. classes D. continuum

单选题 The word "enormous" in the passage is closest in meaning to ______.
A. very large B. very new C. very early D. very good

单选题 Which of the sentences below best expresses the information in the highlighted statement in the passage? The other choices change the meaning or leave out important information.
A. Although it is not generally accepted, your family provides the best prediction of your future wealth.
B. You can achieve great future wealth in spite of the family in which you may have been born.
C. It is not true that your family will restrict the acquisition of your future wealth and level of social status.
D. Social myths are contrary to the facts about the future wealth and social status of your family.

单选题 Why does the author mention the "Forbes 400" in paragraph 3? ______
A. To explain the meaning of the listing that appears every year.
B. To support the statement that most wealthy people inherit their money.
C. To cast doubt on the claim that family income predicts individual wealth.
D. To give examples of successful people who have modest family connections.

单选题 In paragraph 4, the author states that business and professional people with educational advantages are most often members of the ______.
A. lower middle class B. upper middle class
C. nouveau fiche D. upper class

单选题 The word "primarily" in the passage is closest in meaning to ______.
A. mostly B. somewhat C. finally D. always

单选题 The word "contemporary" in the passage is closest in meaning to ______.
A. unexpected B. modern C. strategic D. reliable

单选题 According to paragraph 5, why do most people identify themselves as middle class in the United States? ______
A. They have about the same lifestyle as everyone else in the country.
B. They prefer not to admit that there are class distinctions in the United States.
C. They don't really know how to define their status because it is unclear.
D. They identify themselves with the majority who have normal lifestyles.

单选题 What can be inferred about poor people in the United States?
A. They are not able to find entry-level jobs.
B. They work in jobs that require little education.
C. They are service workers and manual laborers.
D. They do not try to find employment.

单选题 According to paragraph 7, why has the underclass emerged? ______
A. The new term was necessary because the lower class enjoyed a higher lifestyle than it had previously.
B. The increase in crime has supported a new class of people who live by engaging in illegal activities.
C. Changes in the economy have caused an entire class of people to survive by welfare or crime.
D. Minimum-wage jobs no longer support a class of people at a standard level in the economic system.

单选题 All of the following are indicators of prestige in the United States EXCEPT ______.
A. the level of education that a person has achieved
B. the amount of money that an individual has acquired
C. the type of employment that someone pursues
D. the hard work that a person does on a consistent basis

单选题 Look at the four squares, , , and

填空题 Directions: An introduction for a short summary of the passage appears below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that mention the most important points in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not included in the passage or are minor points from the passage. This question is worth 2 points.
The levels of education, the acquisition of wealth, and occupational prestige determine social status in the United States.
·______
·______
·______

A. People who have made their money more recently tend not to be accepted by those who have inherited their wealth from family holdings.
B. The lower class includes working people with low incomes and a new underclass of people who are dependent on welfare or engage in crime.
C. The upper class tends to acquire wealth through inheritance, whereas the upper middle class has a high income that they earn in their professions.
D. Although the lifestyle of the upper middle class is the goal for the majority, it is difficult for many people to maintain this standard of living.
E. Most people identify themselves as middle class, including blue-collar workers and service workers as well as bureaucratic employees.

F. It is still possible to move from one social class to another in the United States by working your way up the ladder in a corporate environment.