距離2012年4月7日的職稱英語(yǔ)考試僅剩兩個(gè)月的時(shí)間，廣大考生要抓緊時(shí)間復(fù)習(xí)了，小編為大家整理了職稱英語(yǔ)備考資料，祝大家考試順利過(guò)關(guān)。
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 War II. 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 on4 the family; and public schools were not as good as they once were. Members of the middle cIass 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 n. 稱號(hào)
commute n. 上下班路程
mobility n. 流動(dòng)性
注釋?zhuān)?
1. However，middle c1ass is not a real designation，nor does it carry privileges. 然而，中產(chǎn)階級(jí)既不是一個(gè)真實(shí)的稱號(hào)，也不會(huì)帶來(lái)特別待遇。
2. In addition，middle-c1ass morality embraces principles of individual responsibility，importance of family，obligations to others，and believing in something outside onesèlf. 另外，中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的道德觀包括個(gè)人的責(zé)任感、家庭的重要性、對(duì)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(lái)壓力
練習(xí)：
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. ln 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(wèn)題是：本文的信息是關(guān)于？本文通篇講述美國(guó)的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)，指的是社會(huì)和經(jīng)濟(jì)群體，因此選擇B。
2. D本題的問(wèn)題是：一個(gè)普遍的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)價(jià)值觀是？本篇第二段最后一句話講到，"中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的道德觀包括個(gè)人的責(zé)任感、家庭的重要性、對(duì)他人的使命感以及相信自我以外的事物"。A、B、C三個(gè)選項(xiàng)不包括在內(nèi)，因此正確答案是D。
3. C 本題的問(wèn)題是：在二戰(zhàn)之后的幾年，中產(chǎn)階級(jí)可以被定義為，本篇第一段提到了當(dāng)時(shí)美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)不斷增長(zhǎng)并且人們生活水平有了提高，因此選擇C選項(xiàng)，繁榮并且樂(lè)觀。
4. C 本題的問(wèn)題是：第一段中的"ln other words"這個(gè)短語(yǔ)與下列說(shuō)法一致的是，"In other words"漢語(yǔ)意思是換句話來(lái)說(shuō)，因此正確答案是C。
5. A 本題的問(wèn)題是：?jiǎn)卧~"collectively"的漢語(yǔ)意思是"相同地"，選擇A。
【輔導(dǎo)招生】
24小時(shí)開(kāi)通報(bào)名咨詢熱線：010-82318888 4008104588
京公網(wǎng)安備 11010802044457號(hào)