2014年職稱英語(綜合類)教材閱讀理解文章及譯文8

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　　綜合類-閱讀理解　

　The Changing Middle Class

　　The United States perceives itself to be a middle-class nation. However, middle class is not a real designation, nor does it carry privileges.1 It is more of a perception, which probably was as true as it ever could be right after World WarⅡ. The economy was growing, more and more people owned their own homes, workers had solid contracts with the companies that employed them, and nearly everyone who wanted a higher education could have one. Successful people enjoyed upward social mobility. They may have started out poor, but they could become rich. Successful people also found that they had greater geographic mobility. In other words, they found themselves moving to and living in a variety of places.

　　The middle class collectively holds several values and principles. One strong value is the need to earn enough money to feel that one can determine one's own economic fate. In addition, middle-class morality embraces principles of individual responsibility, importance of family, obligations to others, and believing in something outside oneself.2

　　But in the 1990s those in the middle class found that there was a price for success. A U. S. News & World Report survey in 1994 indicated that 75 percent of Americans believed that middle-class families could no longer make ends meet.3 Both spouses now worked, as did some of the children, long commutes became routine; the need for child care put strains on the family; and public schools were not as good as they once were. Members of the middle class were no longer financing their lifestyles through earnings but were using credit to stay afloat. The understanding of just what middle class meant was changing.

　　詞匯：

　　designation /dezig'nei??n/ n.稱號

　　commute /k?'mju:t/n.上下班路程

　　mobility /m?u'bil?ti/ n.流動性

　　注釋：

　　1.However, middle class is not a real designation, nor does it carry privileges.然而，中產(chǎn)階級既不是一個真實的稱號，也不會帶來特別待遇。

　　2.In addition, middle-class morality embraces principles of individual responsibility, importance of family, obligations to others, and believing in something outside oneself.另外，中產(chǎn)階級的道德觀包括個人的責任感、家庭的重要性、對他人的使命感以及相信自我以外的事物。

　　3.make ends meet：收支相抵，維持生活

　　4.put strains on：帶來壓力

　　練習：

　　1.The information in this passage deals with ______.

　　A) an individual

　　B) a social and economic group

　　C) a political organization

　　D) government

　　2.A common middle class value is that ______.

　　A) people should always have fun

　　B) children should be seen and not heard

　　C) debt is nothing to worry about

　　D) the family is very important

　　3.In the years after World War Ⅱ, the middle class could be defined as ______.

　　A) overburdened and in debt

　　B) hard working and suspicious

　　C) prosperous and optimistic

　　D) young and foolish

　　4.The phrase "In other words" in the first paragraph means that the following statement is ______.

　　A) an exception to the previous idea

　　B) a denial of the previous idea

　　C) a restatement of the previous idea

　　D) a contrasting idea

　　5.The word collectively means ______.

　　A) as a group

　　B) hesitatingly

　　C) unknowingly

　　D) weakly

　　答案與題解：

　　1.B 本題的問題是：本文的信息是關(guān)于?本文通篇講述美國的中產(chǎn)階級，指的是社會和經(jīng)濟群體，因此選擇B。

　　2.D 本題的問題是：一個普遍的中產(chǎn)階級價值觀是?本篇第二段最后一句話講到，“中產(chǎn)階級的道德觀包括個人的責任感、家庭的重要性、對他人的使命感以及相信自我以外的事物”。A、B、C三個選項不包括在內(nèi)，因此正確答案是D。

　　3.C 本題的問題是：在二戰(zhàn)之后的幾年，中產(chǎn)階級可以被定義為，本篇第一段提到了當時美國經(jīng)濟不斷增長并且人們生活水平有了提高，因此選擇C選項，繁榮并且樂觀。

　　4.C 本題的問題是：第一段中的“In other words”這個短語與下列說法一致的是，"In other words”漢語意思是換句話來說，因此正確答案是C。

　　5.A 本題的問題是：單詞“collectively”的漢語意思是“相同地”，選擇A。

　　譯文：變化中的中產(chǎn)階級

　　美國把自己看成是一個中產(chǎn)階級的國家。然而，中產(chǎn)階級既不是一個真實的稱號，也不會帶 來特別待遇。它更是一個觀念，一個也許在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)之后會變得更加正確的觀念。那時， 美國經(jīng)濟不斷增長，越來越多的人擁有了自己的家庭，工人們和雇傭自己的公司簽訂了可靠的合 同，并且?guī)缀跛邢胧艿礁叩冉逃娜四軌蚪邮芙逃?。成功的人士享受這種上升的社會流動性。 他們也許之前很窮，但是他們能夠變得富有。成功人士同樣發(fā)現(xiàn)他們有更好的地理流動性。換句 話說，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)自己正移居并生活在各種各樣的地方。

　　這些中產(chǎn)階級都持有幾種相同的價值觀和原則。認為賺取足夠金錢就可以決定自己經(jīng)濟命運 的想法，是其中一種比較強烈的價值觀。另外，中產(chǎn)階級的道德觀包括個人的責任感、家庭的重 要性、對他人的使命感以及相信自我以外的事物。

　　但是在20世紀90年代，這些中產(chǎn)階級的人們發(fā)現(xiàn)了成功的代價。1994年，《美國新聞與世 界報道》的一篇調(diào)查稱，75%的美國人認為中產(chǎn)階級家庭無法收支相抵?，F(xiàn)在夫妻雙方以及他們 的一些孩子都在工作;遙遠的上下班路程變成了常態(tài)，兒童看護給家庭帶來了很大壓力，并且公 立學校已經(jīng)不如以前那樣好了。中產(chǎn)階級的成員不再通過薪水來支付他們的生活所需，而是通過 使用信用卡來維持生活。對于中產(chǎn)階級的理解正在發(fā)生變化。

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