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考研英语阅读理解是重头戏,分值大,比重高,考生在复习总也要多做练习,提高阅读速度和做题技巧。下面新东方在线小编份上2015考研英语阅读理解强化练习及解析希望考生先做练习后看解析,多思考总结,提高自己的阅读水平。》》点击查看:2015年考研英语复习指导专题
2015考研英语阅读理解强化练习及解析(1)
In spite of “endless talkof difference,”American society is an amazing
machine for homogenizing people.There is “the democratizing uniformity of dress
and discourse, and thecasualness and absence of difference” characteristic
ofpopular culture. People are absorbed into “a culture ofconsumption” launched
by the 19th-century department stores that offered “vast arraysof goods in an
elegant atmosphere. Instead of intimate shops catering to aknowledgeable elite。”
these were stores “anyone could enter, regardless of class or background. This
turnedshopping 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 maynot be
altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous. Writing for the
NationalImmigration Forum, Gregory Rodriguez reports that today’simmigration is
neither at unprecedented level nor resistant to assimilation. In1998 immigrants
were 9.8 percent of population; in 1900, 13.6 percent .In the10 years prior to
1990, 3.1 immigrants arrived for every 1,000 residents; inthe 10years prior to
1890, 9.2 for every 1,000. Now, consider three indices ofassimilation-language,
home ownership and intermarriage。
The 1990 Census revealed that “a majority ofimmigrants from each of the
fifteen most common countries of origin spokeEnglish ‘well’ or ‘very well’ after
ten years of residence。” The children ofimmigrants tend to be bilingual and
proficient in English. “By the thirdgeneration, the original language is lost in
the majority of immigrant families。” Hence thedescription of America as a
“graveyard” for languages. By 1996 foreign–born immigrants whohad arrived before
1970 had a home ownership rate of 75.6 percent, higher thanthe 69.8 percent rate
among native-born Americans。
Foreign-born Asians and Hispanics “have higher rates ofintermarriage than
do U.S.–born whites and blacks。” By the third generation, one third of Hispanic
women are married tonon-Hispanics, and 41 percent of Asian–American women
aremarried to non-Asians。
Rodriguez notes that children in remote villages around the worldare fans
of superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks, yet “someAmericans
fear that immigrants living within the United States remain somehowimmune 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 whenviewed
against America’s turbulent past, today’s social indiceshardly suggest a dark
and deteriorating social environment。
21. The word “homogenizing”(Line 2, Paragraph 1) most probably means
[A] identifying.
[B] associating.
[C] assimilating.
[D] monopolizing。
22. According to the author, the department stores of the 19thcentury
[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。
23. 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。
24. Why are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks mentioned inParagraph
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。
25. In the author’s opinion, the absorption of immigrants into American
society is
[A] rewarding.
[B] successful.
[C]. fruitless.
[D]. harmful。
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