We are not who we think we are.

The American self-image is spread with the golden glow of opportunity. We think of the United States as a land of unlimited possibility, not so much a classless society but as a place where class is mutable—a place where brains, energy and ambition are what counts, not the circumstances of one's birth.

The Economic Mobility Project, an ambitious research led by Pew Charitable Trusts, looked at the economic fortunes of a large group of families over time, comparing the income of parents in the late 1960s with the income of their children in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Here is the finding: "The 'rags to riches' story is much more common in Hollywood than on Main Street. Only 6 percent of children born to parents with family income at the very bottom move to the top.

That is right, just 6 percent of children born to parents who ranked in the bottom of the study sample, in terms of income, were able to bootstrap their way into the top . Meanwhile, an incredible 42 percent of children born into that lowest are still stuck at the bottom, having been unable to climb a single rung of the income ladder.

It is noted that even in Britain---a nation we think of as burdened with a hidebound class system-children who are born poor have a better chance of moving up. When the studies were released, most reporters focused on the finding that African-Americans born to middle-class or upper middle-class families are earning slightly less, in inflation-adjusted dollars, than did their parents.

One of the studies indicates, in fact, that most of the financial gains white families have made in the past three decades can be attributed to the entry of white women into the labor force. This is much less true for African-Americans.

The picture that emerges from all the quintiles, correlations and percentages is of a nation in which, overall, "the current generation of adults is better off than the previous one", as one of the studies notes.

The median income of the families in the sample group was $55,600 in the late 1960s; their children's median family income was measured at $71,900. However, this rising tide has not lifted all boats equally. The rich have seen far greater income gains than have the poor.

Even more troubling is that our nation of America as the land of opportunity gets little support from the data. Americans move fairly easily up and down the middle rungs of the ladder, but there is "stickiness at the ends" —four out of ten children who are born poor will remain poor, and four out often who are born rich will stay rich.

1.What did the Economic Mobility Project find in its research?

A. Children from low-income families are unable to bootstrap their way to the top.

B. Hollywood actors and actresses are upwardly mobile from rags to riches.

C. The rags to riches story is more fiction than reality.

D. The rags to riches story is only true for a small minority of whites.

2.It can be inferred from the undertone of the writer that America, as a classless society, should ________.

A. perfect its self-image as a land of opportunity

B. have a higher level of upward mobility than Britain

C. enable African-Americans to have exclusive access to well-paid employment

D. encourage the current generation to work as hard as the previous generation

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The US is a land where brains, energy and ambition are what counts.

B. Inequality persists between whites and blacks in financial gains.

C. Middle-class families earn slightly less with inflation considered.

D. Children in lowest-income families manage to climb a single rung of the ladder.

4.What might be the best title for this passage?

A. Social Upward Mobility.                                     

B. Incredible Income Gains.

C. Inequality in Wealth.                                          

D. America Not Land of Opportunity.

When you are in Nanoko, be sure to stay at the Garden Hotel, whether you come on business or on holiday you will find everything as comfortable and convenient as you would expect in a first class international hotel.
Every bedroom has its own bathroom, telephone, and colorful modern materials and furniture in the local style. In the Mistu Restaurant, you can choose your meals from a lot of dishes, both Eastern and European, as you will find anywhere in the country. In the Beach Bar, you can drink with your family and friends in air-conditioned comfort, listen to the music of internationally known artists. Or you can take your drink outside into the beautiful garden that gives the hotel its name, or to the tables that surround the swimming pool. Throughout the motel, you will find the service is both friendly and efficient.
By day the pool is alive with the holiday spirit and the happy shouting of children and by night, soft light and music make it a perfect place for a party, or simply for an after-dinner drink and conversation.
The Garden Hotel has its own minibus service. Give us a ring and we will arrange to collect you at the airport or in the city center.
If you prefer, we can arrange for you to visit the wainiri Islands that lie just off the coast. Here you can swim in peace; or you can fish there. As it is well known, Wainiri is really a good place for people going fishing. The Garden Hotel is right on the beach, only five minutes from Nanoko’s modern shopping center. Here you will find all that money can buy, at prices you can afford.
【小题1】Every bedroom at the Garden Hotel _____.

When you are in Nanoko, be sure to stay at the Garden Hotel, whether you come on business or on holiday you will find everything as comfortable and convenient as you would expect in a first class international hotel.
Every bedroom has its own bathroom, telephone, and colorful modern materials and furniture in the local style. In the Mistu Restaurant, you can choose your meals from a lot of dishes, both Eastern and European, as you will find anywhere in the country. In the Beach Bar, you can drink with your family and friends in air-conditioned comfort, listen to the music of internationally known artists. Or you can take your drink outside into the beautiful garden that gives the hotel its name, or to the tables that surround the swimming pool. Throughout the motel, you will find the service is both friendly and efficient.
By day the pool is alive with the holiday spirit and the happy shouting of children and by night, soft light and music make it a perfect place for a party, or simply for an after-dinner drink and conversation.
The Garden Hotel has its own minibus service. Give us a ring and we will arrange to collect you at the airport or in the city center.
If you prefer, we can arrange for you to visit the wainiri Islands that lie just off the coast. Here you can swim in peace; or you can fish there. As it is well known, Wainiri is really a good place for people going fishing. The Garden Hotel is right on the beach, only five minutes from Nanoko’s modern shopping center. Here you will find all that money can buy, at prices you can afford.
【小题1】Every bedroom at the Garden Hotel _____.

Should you stay at home to look after your child，or return to work?

Maybe you don’t have the option.Combining work and motherhood is an issue faced by increasing numbers of women every day.

New research for the Institute for Economic and Social Research could solve this quandary once and for all.In short，it concludes that going back to work after the birth of a child can have a negative impact on the child’s development—unless you have lots of money.

“Growing up in a family in which the mother chooses to work appears to have some adverse consequences for children’s welfare，” the research says.However，it adds that extra money brought in by both parents can reduce the negative effect.The negative effect is also less apparent in children of better?educated mothers.

The research by John Ermisch and Marco Francesconi is especially downbeat about welfare to work programmes，and especially，the prospects for the children of some single parents.

“It is hard to see anything but gloomy (阴暗的) prospects for the children of single parents (who are generally poor)，” the researchers said.This is because in a common family where both parents work，extra money brought in by the mother’s working would compensate for less time spent with the children.

In contrast，the researchers said the effects of paternal (父亲的) employment were far more modest，but this did not mean that fathers had no role in shaping their children’s welfare.Money brought in by the father would be a major resource for helping children develop.

The research says，however，that before parents get too carried away by worrying about working，there are more important issues facing a child’s development.Parents’ personalities and emotional stability，parenting practices，and the friends and networks that children experience while growing up will be much bigger factors than whether their mothers work.

1.The extra money brought in by both parents________.

A．plays different roles in shaping a child’s welfare

B．can reduce the negative effect on a child

C．has negative effect on a child’s development

D．may damage the life of children

2.The researchers would agree that________.

A．mothers should keep a balance between work and family life

B．the more money mothers make，the worse their children will be

C．mothers should make as much money as they can

D．it would be better for mothers to be with children at home

3.We can conclude from the passage that________.

A．it doesn’t matter how? much money a father brings home

B．education is the only factor in shaping a child’s welfare

C．money made by mothers can also contribute to a child’s well?being

D．mothers’ income can have a deeper effect on a child’s development

4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Whether mothers work is not worth considering.

B．The research shows family stability is important.

C．Parents should stop worrying about working.

D．More important factors are involved in a child’s development.

When you are in Nanoko, be sure to stay at the Garden Hotel, whether you come on business or on holiday you will find everything as comfortable and convenient as you would expect in a first class international hotel.

Every bedroom has its own bathroom, telephone, and colorful modern materials and furniture in the local style. In the Mistu Restaurant, you can choose your meals from a lot of dishes, both Eastern and European, as you will find anywhere in the country. In the Beach Bar, you can drink with your family and friends in air-conditioned comfort, listen to the music of internationally known artists. Or you can take your drink outside into the beautiful garden that gives the hotel its name, or to the tables that surround the swimming pool. Throughout the motel, you will find the service is both friendly and efficient.

By day the pool is alive with the holiday spirit and the happy shouting of children and by night, soft light and music make it a perfect place for a party, or simply for an after-dinner drink and conversation.

The Garden Hotel has its own minibus service. Give us a ring and we will arrange to collect you at the airport or in the city center.

If you prefer, we can arrange for you to visit the wainiri Islands that lie just off the coast. Here you can swim in peace; or you can fish there. As it is well known, Wainiri is really a good place for people going fishing. The Garden Hotel is right on the beach, only five minutes from Nanoko’s modern shopping center. Here you will find all that money can buy, at prices you can afford.

1.Every bedroom at the Garden Hotel _____.

A．has a bathroom

B．has a colorful telephone in the local style

C．is colorful and modern with local style

D．is in an international style, comfortable and convenient.

2.The hotel arranges for the visitors to _____.

A．go fishing off Cape St. Cermain near wainiri

B．go by bus to the Wainiri Islands for peach

C．see amounts of sea lives off the coast of Wainiri

D．go across to the Wainiri Islands to swim or fish

3.You will find the Garden Hotel _____. 

A．on the beach not far from Nanoko’s excellent shops

B．on the beach where you will find all that money can buy

C．close to shops where everything is cheap and famous

D．just off the coast, five minutes from the shops