单选题
Statuses are marvelous human inventions that enable us to get along with one another and to determine where we "fit" in society. As we go about our everyday lives, we mentally attempt to place people in terms of their statuses. For example, we must judge whether the person in the library is a reader or a librarian, whether the telephone caller is a friend or a salesman, whether the unfamiliar person on our property is a thief or a meter reader, and so on. The statuses we assume often vary with the people we encounter, and change throughout life. Most of us can, at very high speed, assume the statuses that various situations require. Much of social interaction consists of identifying and selecting among appropriate statuses and allowing other people to assume their statuses in relation to us. This means that we fit our actions to those of other people based on a constant mental process of appraisal and interpretation. Although some of us find the task more difficult than others, most of us perform it rather effortlessly. A status has been compared to ready-made clothes. Within certain limits, the buyer can choose style and fabric. But an American is not free to choose the costume of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince. We must choose from among the clothing presented by our society. Furthermore, our choice is limited to a size that will fit, as well as by our pocketbook. Having made a choice within these limits we can have certain alterations made, hut apart from minor adjustments, we tend to be limited to what the stores have on their racks. Statuses too come ready made, and the range of choice among them is limited.
单选题
In the first paragraph, the writer tells us that statuses can help us ______. A. determine whether a person is fit for a certain job B. behave appropriately in relation to other people C. protect ourselves in unfamiliar situations D. make friends with other people
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。根据第一段第一句话Statuses are marvelous human inventions that enable us to get along with one another and to determine where we "fit" in society可知，身份让我们能够与他人相处，决定我们在社会中“适宜的”位置。由此可以推断出，身份告诉我们，在与他人交往过程中，我们该怎么做。B选项是基于原文的推断。A和C选项文中并未提及。D选项“与他人交朋友”属于过度推断。所以正确答案是B选项。
单选题
According to the writer, people often assume different statuses ______. A. in order to identify themselves with others B. in order to better identify others C. as their mental processes change D. as the situation changes
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据第二段第一句话和第二句话The statuses we assume often vary with the people we encounter，and change throughout life．Most of US can，at very high speed，assume the statuses that various situations require可知，当情况发生变化时，我们所认定的身份常常也会随之变化。所以正确答案是D选项。
单选题
The word "appraisal" (Sentence 4, Paragraph 2) most probably means ______. A. involvement B. appreciation C. assessment D. presentation
单选题
In the last sentence of the second paragraph, the pronoun "it" refers to "______". A. fitting our actions to those of other people appropriately B. identification of other people's statuses C. selecting one's own statuses D. constant mental process
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据第二段最后一句话Although some of US find the task more difficult than others，most of us perform it rather effortlessly可知，it在这里指代这句话中的the task。然后再根据上下文可知，the task指代的是前面一句话中的we fit our actions to those of other people based on a constant mental process of appraisal and interpretation，由此可推出，it指代we fit our actions to those of other people，所以正确答案是A选项。
单选题
By saying that "an American is not free to choose the costume of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince" (Sentence 3, Paragraph 3), the writer means ______. A. different people have different styles of clothes B. ready-made clothes may need alterations C. statuses come ready made just like clothes D. our choice of statuses is limited