标题: 朱泰奇讲义2007（1） [打印本页] 作者: rubby 时间: 2006-6-19 13:33 标题: 朱泰奇讲义2007（1） 2007北京太奇培训学校考研英语强化班授课讲义(一) 2007 – KY-- 1 I. Reading Comprehension 内部资料 翻印必究
Text I [2006, RC Text 1]
In spite of "endless talk of difference," American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people. There is "the democratizing uniformity of dress and discourse, and the casualness and absence of deference" characteristic of popular culture. People are absorbed into "a culture of consumption" launched by the 19th-century department stores that offered "vast arrays of goods in an elegant atmosphere. Instead of intimate shops catering to a knowledgeable elite" these were stores "anyone could enter, regardless of class or background. This turned shopping into a public and democratic act." The mass media, advertising and sports are other forces for homogenization.
Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous. Writing for the National Immigration Forum, Gregory Rodriguez reports that today’s immigration is neither at unprecedented levels nor resistant to assimilation. In 1998 immigrants were 9.8 percent of the population; in 1900, 13.6 percent. In the 10 years prior to 1990, 3.1 immigrants arrived for every 1,000 residents; in the 10 years prior to 1890, 9.2 for every 1,000. Now, consider three indices of assimilation -- language, home ownership and intermarriage.
The 1990 Census revealed that "a majority of immigrants from each of the fifteen most common countries of origin spoke English ‘well’ or ‘very well’ after ten years of residence." The children of immigrants tend to be bilingual and proficient in English. "By the third generation, the original language is lost in the majority of immigrant families." Hence the description of America as a "graveyard" for languages. By 1996 foreign-born immigrants who had arrived before 1970 had a home ownership rate of 75.6 percent, higher than the 69.8 percent rate among native-born Americans.
Foreign-born Asians and Hispanics "have higher rates of intermarriage than do U.S.-born whites and blacks." By the third generation, one third of Hispanic women are married to non-Hispanics, and 41 percent of Asian-American women are married to non-Asians.
Rodriguez notes that children in remote villages around the world are fans of superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks, yet "some Americans fear that immigrants living within the United States remain somehow immune to the nation’s assimilative power."
Are there divisive issues and pockets of seething anger in America? Indeed. It is big enough to have a bit of everything. But particularly when viewed against America’s turbulent past, today’s social indices hardly suggest a dark and deteriorating social environment. (400 words)
Notes: homogenize vt. 使匀质。uniformity n. 千篇一律，无变化。discourse n. 讲演；会话；论文。deference n. 遵从，服从，顺从。an array of (=arrays of) 一系列；大量。elegant adj. 高雅的。cater to v. 迎合；满足。regardless of 不管，不顾。fit into 适合；符合。elevating adj. 提高思想修养的。poisonous adj. 有毒的；败坏道德的。forum n. 论坛。unprecedented adj. 前所未有的。prior to 在…以前。index n. [pl.] indices(=indexes) 索引；指数；标志。 intermarriage n.（种族、宗教等之间的）通婚。countries of origin 起源国。bilingual adj. 能说两种语的。proficient adj. 精通的，熟练的。graveyard n. 墓地，坟场。Hispanic n. 西班牙的；拉丁美洲的（说西班牙语的）。seethe vi. 因 … 而骚动。 www.etestedu.com
1. The word "homogenizing" (Line 1, Paragraph 1) most probably means
[A] identifying. [B] associating. [C] assimilating. [D] monopolizing.
2. According to the author, the department stores of the 19th century
[A] played a role in the spread of popular culture. [B] became intimate shops for common consumers.
[C] satisfied the needs of a knowledgeable elite. [D] owed its emergence to the culture of consumption.
3. The text suggests that immigrants now in the U.S.
[A] are resistant to homogenization. [B] exert a great influence on American culture.
[C] are hardly a threat to the common culture. [D] constitute the majority of the population. www.etestedu.com
4. Why are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks mentioned in Paragraph 5?
[A] To prove their popularity around the world. [B] To reveal the public's fear of immigrants.
[C] To give examples of successful immigrants. [D] To show the powerful influence of American culture.
5. In the author’s opinion, the absorption of immigrants into American society is
[A] rewarding. [B] successful. [C] fruitless. [D] harmful.