问答题 ThePlaceWherethePoorOnceThrivedA)Thisisthelandofopportunity.Ifthatweren’talreadyimpliedbythelandscape—rollinggreenhills,palmtrees,sun-kissedflowers—thenit’sevidentinthemanystoriesofpeoplewhogrewuppoorinthesesleepyneighborhoodsandrosetoenormoussuccess.PeoplelikeTriTran,whofledVietnamonaboatin1986,showedupinSanJosewithnothing,madeittoMIT,andthenfoundedthefood-deliverystart-upMunchery,whichisvaluedat$300million.B)Indeed,datasuggeststhatthisisoneofthebestplacestogrowuppoorinAmerica.Achildbornintheearly1980sintoalow-incomefamilyinSanJosehada12.9percentchanceofbecomingahighearnerasanadult,accordingtoalandmarkstudyreleasedin2014bytheeconomistRajChettyandhiscolleaguesfromHarvardandBerkeley.Thatnumber—12.9percent—maynotseemremarkable,butitwas:KidsinSanJosewhosefamiliesfellinthebottomquintile(五分位数)ofincomenationallyhadthebestshotinthecountryatreachingthetopquintile.C)Bycontrast,just4.4percentofpoorkidsinCharlottemoveduptothetop;inDetroitthefigurewas5-5percent.SanJosehadsocialmobilitycomparabletoDenmark’sandCanada’sandhigherthanotherprogressivecitiessuchasBostonandMinneapolis.D)ThereasonskidsinSanJoseperformedsowellmightseemobvious.Someoftheworld’smostinnovativecompaniesarelocatedhere,providingopportunitiessuchastheoneseizedbya12-year-oldMountainViewresidentnamedSteveJobswhenhecalledWilliamHewletttoaskforsparepartsandsubsequentlyreceivedasummerjob.Thisisacityofimmigrants—38percentofthecity’spopulationtodayisforeign-born—andimmigrantsandtheirchildrenhavehistoricallyexperiencedsignificantupwardmobilityinAmerica.Thecityhaslonghadalargeforeign-bornpopulation(26.5percentin1990),leadingtobroaderdiversity,which,theHarvardandBerkeleyeconomistssay,isagoodpredictorofmobility.E)Indeed,thestreetsofSanJoseseem,insomeways,toembodythebestofAmerica.It’spossibletodriveinamatterofminutesfromsleek(光亮的)officetowersneartheairportwherepeoplepitchideastoinvestors,tosingle-familyhomeswithorangetreesintheiryards,ortoaVietnamesemall.Thelibrarieshereofferprogramsin17languages,andthereareareasfilledwithsmallbusinessesownedbyVietnameseimmigrants,Mexicanimmigrants,Koreanimmigrants,andFilipinoimmigrants,tonameafew.F)Butresearchersaren’tsureexactlywhypoorkidsinSanJosedidsowell.Thecityhasalowprevalenceofchildrengrowingupinsingle-parentfamilies,andalowlevelofconcentratedpoverty,bothfactorsthatusuallymeanacityallowsforgoodintergenerationalmobility.ButSanJosealsoperformspoorlyonsomeofthemeasurescorrelatedwithgoodmobility.Itisoneofthemostunequalplacesoutofthe741thattheresearchersmeasured,andithashighdegreesofracialandeconomicsegregation(隔离).Itsschoolsunderperformbasedonhowmuchmoneythereisinthearea,saidBenScuderi,apredoctoralfellowattheEqualityofOpportunityProjectatHarvard,whichusesbigdatatostudyhowtoimproveeconomicopportunitiesforlow-incomechildren."There’salotgoingonherewhichwedon’ttotallyunderstand,"hesaid."It’sinteresting,becauseitkindofdefiesourexpectations."G)TheChettydatashowsthatneighborhoodsandplacesmatteredforchildrenbornintheSanJoseareaofthe1980s.Whetherthecitystillallowsforupwardmobilityofpoorkidstoday,though,isupfordebate.Someoftheindicatorssuchasincomeinequality,measuredbytheEqualityofOpportunityProjectfortheyear2000,haveonlyworsenedinthepast16years.H)SomeSanJoseresidentssaythatasinequalityhasgrowninrecentyears,upwardmobilityhasbecomemuchmoredifficulttoachieve.AsSiliconValleyhasbecomehometomoresuccessfulcompanies,thefloodofpeopletotheareahascausedhousingpricestoskyrocket.Bymostmeasures,SanJoseisnolongeraplacewherelow-income,orevenmiddle-incomefamilies,canaffordtolive.RentsinSanJosegrew42.6percentbetween2006and2014,whichwasthelargestincreaseinthecountryduringthattimeperiod.Thecityhasagrowinghomelessnessproblem,whichittriedtoaddressbyshuttingdown"TheJungle,"oneofthelargesthomelessencampments(临时住处)inthenation,in2014.Inequalityisextreme.TheHumanDevelopmentIndex—ameasureoflifeexpectancy,educationandpercapita(人均的)income—givesEastSanJoseascoreof4.85outof10,whilenearbyCupertino,whereApple’sheadquarterssits,receivesa9.26.SanJoseusedtohaveahappymixoffactorscheaphousing,closenesstoarapidlydevelopingindustry,tightly-knitimmigrantcommunities—thattogetheropenedupthepossibilityofprosperityforevenitspoorestresidents.Butinrecentyears,housingpriceshaveskyrocketed,theregion’srichandpoorhavesegregated,andmiddle-classjobshavedisappeared.Giventhis,thefuturefortheregion’spoordoesn’tlooknearlyasbrightasitoncedid.I)LeadersinSanJosearedeterminedtomakesurethatthecityregainsitsstatusasaplacewhereevenpoorkidscanaccesstheresourcestosucceed.WithSiliconValleyinitsbackyard,itcertainlyhasthechancetodoso."IthinkthereisabroadconsciousnessintheValleythatwecandobetterthantoleavethousandsofourneighborsbehindthroughaperiodofextraordinarysuccess,"SanJoseMayorSamLiccardosaid.J)Butintoday’sAmerica—alandofrisinginequality,increasingsegregation,andstagnating(不增长的)middle-classwages—cantheSanJoseregionreallyonceagainbecomeaplaceofopportunity?K)TheideathatthoseatthebottomcanrisetothetopiscentraltoAmerica’sideasaboutitself.ThatsuchmobilityhasbecomemoredifficultinSanJoseraisesquestionsabouttheenduranceofthatfoundationalbelief.Afterall,iftheone-timelandofopportunitycan’tbefixed,whatdoesthatsayfortherestofAmerica?问：IftheproblemsofSanJosecan’tbesolved,oneofAmerica’sfundamentalbeliefsaboutitselfcanbeshaken.
【正确答案】K
【答案解析】细节归纳题。定位段提到，美国自我观念的核心是认为底层的人可以上升到上层。而这种流动性在圣何塞变得越来越困难，这引起了人们对该基本信念的持久性质疑。如果无法修复这片曾经的机会之地，那对美国其他地区来说又意味着什么呢?题干中的the problems of San Jose can’t be solved是对定位段中the one-time land of opportunity can’t be fixed的归纳概括，题干中的America’s fundamental beliefs对应定位句中的that foundational belief，故答案为K)。