Poverty exists because our society is an unequal one, and there are plenty of political pressures to keep it that way. Any attempt to redistribute wealth and income in the United States will be opposed by powerful middle and upper class interests. People can be relatively rich only if others are relatively poor, and since power is concentrated in the hands of the rich, public policies will continue to reflect their interests rather than those of the poor.

　　As Herbert Gans has pointed out, poverty is actually functional form from the point of view of the non-poor. Poverty ensures that ‘dirty’ work gets done. If there were no poor people to clean floors and empty dustbins, these jobs would have to be rewarded with high incomes before anyone would touch them. Poverty creates jobs for many of the non-poor, such as police officers, welfare workers, and government officials. Poverty makes life easier for the rich by providing them with cooks, gardeners and other workers to perform basic work while their employers enjoy more pleasurable activities. Poverty provides a market for low-level goods and services, such as day-old bread, rundown automobiles. Poverty legitimizes (make legal) middle-class values. To the middle class, the fate of the poor---who are supposed to lack honesty, and a taste of hard work---only confirms the desirability of qualities the poor are thought to lack. Poverty also provides a group that can be made to absorb the costs of change. For example, the poor bear the pressure of unemployment and it’s their homes, not those of the wealthy, that are destroyed when a route has to be found for a new highway. It cannot be said that the wealthy keep the poor in poverty. It is just that poverty is an outcome of the American economic system, which the poor are politically powerless to influence or change.

1. The best title is ________________________.

A．Functions of Poverty	B．Political Power in Poverty
C．The Fate of the Poor	D．An Unequal Society

2. Poverty exists in American society because ____________.

A．the wealthy work hard and are glad to keep it

B．the majority of the non-poor are totally indifferent (not paying much attention) to it

C．the rich are politically powerful while the poor are politically powerless

D．the poor like the jobs that they’re supplied by the wealthy.

3.The poor take on ‘dirty work’ ___________________.   

A．under political pressure	B．for the high pay offered
C．as they are reasonably paid	D．though ill-paid

4. The author thinks that _____________________.

A．the poor lack such desirable qualities as honesty
B．the poor are not supposed to work hard
C．the poor are willing to bear the costs of change	D．none of the above

 

Poverty exists because our society is an unequal one, and there are plenty of political pressures to keep it that way. Any attempt to redistribute wealth and income in the United States will be opposed by powerful middle and upper class interests. People can be relatively rich only if others are relatively poor, and since power is concentrated in the hands of the rich, public policies will continue to reflect their interests rather than those of the poor.
　　As Herbert Gans has pointed out, poverty is actually functional form from the point of view of the non-poor. Poverty ensures that ‘dirty’ work gets done. If there were no poor people to clean floors and empty dustbins, these jobs would have to be rewarded with high incomes before anyone would touch them. Poverty creates jobs for many of the non-poor, such as police officers, welfare workers, and government officials. Poverty makes life easier for the rich by providing them with cooks, gardeners and other workers to perform basic work while their employers enjoy more pleasurable activities. Poverty provides a market for low-level goods and services, such as day-old bread, rundown automobiles. Poverty legitimizes (make legal) middle-class values. To the middle class, the fate of the poor---who are supposed to lack honesty, and a taste of hard work---only confirms the desirability of qualities the poor are thought to lack. Poverty also provides a group that can be made to absorb the costs of change. For example, the poor bear the pressure of unemployment and it’s their homes, not those of the wealthy, that are destroyed when a route has to be found for a new highway. It cannot be said that the wealthy keep the poor in poverty. It is just that poverty is an outcome of the American economic system, which the poor are politically powerless to influence or change.
【小题1】 The best title is ________________________.

A．Functions of Poverty	B．Political Power in Poverty
C．The Fate of the Poor	D．An Unequal Society

【小题2】 Poverty exists in American society because ____________.

A．the wealthy work hard and are glad to keep it

B．the majority of the non-poor are totally indifferent (not paying much attention) to it

C．the rich are politically powerful while the poor are politically powerless

D．the poor like the jobs that they’re supplied by the wealthy.

【小题3】The poor take on ‘dirty work’ ___________________.   

A．under political pressure	B．for the high pay offered
C．as they are reasonably paid	D．though ill-paid

【小题4】 The author thinks that _____________________.

A．the poor lack such desirable qualities as honesty
B．the poor are not supposed to work hard
C．the poor are willing to bear the costs of change	D．none of the above

Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal advisors give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants. But in the executive（主管的） circle, beauty can become a liability.

　　While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder, it is harmful to a woman.

　　Handsome male executives were considered having more honesty than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to lead to their success.

　　Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was connected not with ability but with factors such as luck.

　　All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly, though, the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was connected more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of the attractive overnight successes.

　　Why are attractive women not thought to be able? An attractive woman is considered to be more feminine has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the "manly"qualifies required.

　　This is true even in politics, "When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently, " says Anne Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates（候选人）. She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women, in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.

　　The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the women who had ranked most attractive unchangeably received the fewest votes.

　　The word "liability" most probably means ________.

　　A. disadvantage　B. advantage　　　C. misfortune　　 D. trouble

　Bowman's experiment shows that when it comes to politics, attractiveness________

　　A. turns out to　be a disadvantage to men

　　B. is more of a disadvantage than an advantage to women

　　C. has as little effect on men as on women

　　D. affects men and women alike

　　It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often________.

　　A. practical　　　B. supportive　　 C. old - fashioned　D. one - sided

　　The author writes this passage to ________.

　　A. give advice to job - seekers who are attractive

　　B. discuss the disadvantages of being attractive

　　C. demand equal rights for women

　　D. state the importance of appearance

 I haven t much ________ in his honesty.

　　A. belief　　B. believers　　C. beliefs　　D. Believed

 

Ⅲ. 阅读理解 （共两节，满分40分）

第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出一个最佳答案。

Habits, whether good or bad, are gradually formed. When a person does a certain thing again, he is driven by some unseen force to do the same thing repeatedly, then a habit is formed. Once a habit is formed, it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to get rid of. It is therefore very important that we should pay great attention to the formation of habits. Children often form bad habits, some of which remain with them as long as they live. Older persons also form bad habits lasting as long as they live, and sometimes become ruined by them.

　　There are other habits which, when formed in early life, are of great help. Many successful men say that much of their success has something to do with certain habits in early life, such as early rising, honesty and so on.

　　Among the habits which children should not form are laziness, lying, stealing and so on. These are all easily formed habits. Unfortunately older persons often form habits which could have been avoided.

　　We should keep away from all these bad habits, and try to form such habits as will be good for ourselves and others.

36. ________ are formed little by little.

A. Good habits                   

B. Bad habits

C. Both good habits and bad habits

D. Either good habits or bad habits

37. Generally speaking, it's difficult for one___and easy for them____which should be avoided.

　　A. to form bad habits; to form good habits

　　B. to form good habits; to form bad habits

　　C. to form such habits as will be good; to get rid of bad habits

　　D. to get rid of bad habits; to form good habits

38. Why should we pay much attention to the formation of habits?

　　A. Because habits are of great help to every one of us.

　　B. Because a man can never get rid of a habit.

　　C. Because it's hard and sometimes even impossible to throw away bad habits.

　　D. Because we are forced to do them again and again .

39. According to the passage, early rising ________.

　　A. has something to do with success

　　B. is an easily formed habit

　　C. is such a habit as should have been avoided

　　D. is such a habit as will be kept