The Changing Middle Class

    The United Statesperceives 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 ⁴ 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.

 

词汇：

designation /dezig"neiʃən/ n．称号

commute /kə"mju:t/n．上下班路程

mobility /məu"biləti/ n．流动性

 

注释：

1.However, middle class is not a real designation, nor does it carry privileges．然而，中产阶级既不是一个真实的称号，也不会带来特别待遇。

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，中产阶级的道德观包括个人的责任感、家庭的重要性、对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，维持生活

4.put strains on：带来压力

 

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

The Changing Middle Class

    The United Statesperceives 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 ⁴ 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.

 

词汇：

designation /dezig"neiʃən/ n．称号

commute /kə"mju:t/n．上下班路程

mobility /məu"biləti/ n．流动性

 

注释：

1.However, middle class is not a real designation, nor does it carry privileges．然而，中产阶级既不是一个真实的称号，也不会带来特别待遇。

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，中产阶级的道德观包括个人的责任感、家庭的重要性、对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，维持生活

4.put strains on：带来压力

 

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

Text 2
By the 1980s, according to international but admittedly inconsistent definitions of literacy, about seven out of ten adults in the world were considered literate. The increase in literacy from ancient times to the present has not been a story of unbroken progress. The ability of people with in a given society to read and write has been influenced by a number of factors, including economic well -being, the availability of material to read, the amount of education available, and the basic matter of the usefulness of reading.
Of these factors, usefulness has probably been the most decisive. In ancient societies, as people settled into stable patterns of agriculture and trade, it became useful for some of them to read and write in order to keep records, to transact business, and to measure amounts of land, animals, goods, materials, and produce. Since all economic aspects of a society were closely tied to the operations of government, literacy became useful and even necessary for the keeping of records by officials. The responsibilities of citizenship led to a fairly high level of literacy in ancient Greece and Rome, but in addition to that, there also grew an appreciation of good literature, poetry, drama, history, and philosophy.
During the early Middle Ages, with the general breakdown of society in Europe and the decrease of commerce, literacy became largely confined to the church. But in the late Middle Ages, in the period of the Renaissance, the great expansion of commerce and banking led to a revival in literacy for the same reason that had caused it to increase in the ancient world usefulness.
With the invention of the printing press and inexpensive paper late in the 15th century there was for the first time a great availability of reading material for a much greater number of people. Religious reformers were among the first to utilize the situation, quickly getting translations of the Bible and educational tracts and booklets into the hands of many people.
The broadened religious enlightenment that resulted was followed in later centuries by a political one. Political theorists who favored doctrines promoting the natural rights of man called for an attack upon illiteracy. Political revolutions, particularly in the united States and France, helped inaugurate an era in which all classes were called upon to become informed on public policy for their own welfare. Against this political background there emerged the movement for universal popular education. Literacy came to be understood as a means whereby the individual could benefit and advance, and gradually whole societies began to acknowledge that universal literacy among their citizens was an avenue to greater economic well -being.

（） ,There was a revival in literacy.

A:The early Middle Ages B:The late Middle Ages C:The Middle Ages D:None of all

During the past generation, the American middle-class family that once could count on hard work and fair pay to keep itself financially secure has been transformed by economic risk and new realities. Now a pink slip, a bad diagnosis, or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family from solidly middle class to newly poor in a few months.
In just one generation, millions of mothers have gone to work, transforming basic family economics. Scholars, policymakers, and critics of all stripes have debated the social implications of these changes, but few have looked at the side effect: family risk has risen as well. Today’s families have budgeted to the limits of their new two-paycheck status. As a result, they have lost the parachute they once has in times of financial setback-- a back-up earner (usually Mom) who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick. This "added-worker effect" could support the safety net offered by unemployment insurance or disability insurance to help families weather bad times. But today, a disruption to family fortunes can no longer be made up with extra income from an otherwise-stay-at-home partner.
During the same period, families have been asked to absorb much more risk in their retirement income. Steelworkers, airline employees, and now those in the auto industry are joining millions of families who must worry about interest rates, stock market fluctuation, and the harsh reality that they may outlive their retirement money. For much of the past year, President Bush campaigned to move Social Security to a savings-account model, with retirees trading much or all of their guaranteed payments for payments depending on investment returns. For younger families, the picture is not any better. Both the absolute cost of healthcare and the share of it borne by families have risen--and newly fashionable health-savings plans are spreading from legislative halls to Wal-Mart workers, with much higher deductibles and a large new dose of investment risk for families’ future healthcare. Even demographics are working against the middle class family, as the odds of having a weak elderly parent-- and all he attendant need for physical and financial assistance -- have jumped eightfold in just one generation.
From the middle-class family perspective, much of this, understandably, looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibility, and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the wholesale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders. The financial fallout has begun, and the political fallout may not be far behind.

Which of the following is the best title for this text（）

A:The Middle Class on the Alert B:The Middle Class on the Cliff C:The Middle Class in Conflict D:The Middle Class in Ruins

During the past generation, the American middle-class family that once could count on hard work and fair play to keep itself financially secure has been transformed by economic risk and new realities. Now a pink slip, a bad diagnosis, or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family from solidly middle class to newly poor in a few months. In just one generation, millions of mothers have gone to work, transforming basic family economics. Scholars, policymakers, and critics of all stripes have debated the social implications of these changes, but few have looked at the side effect: family risk has risen as well. Today’s families have budgeted to the limits of their new two-paycheck status. As a result, they have lost the parachute they once had in times of financial setback ― a back-up earner (usually Mom) who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick. This "added-worker effect" could support the safety net offered by unemployment insurance or disability insurance to help families weather bad times. But today, a disruption to family fortunes can no longer be made up with extra income from an otherwise-stay-at-home partner. During the same period, families have been asked to absorb much more risk in their retirement income. Steelworkers, airline employees, and now those in the auto industry are joining millions of families who must worry about interest rates, stock market fluctuation, and the harsh reality that they may outlive their retirement money. For much of the past year, President Bush campaigned to move Social Security to a savings-account model, with retirees trading much or all of their guaranteed payments for payments depending on investment returns. For younger families, the picture is not any better. Both the absolute cost of healthcare and the share of it borne by families have risen and newly fashionable health-savings plans are spreading from legislative halls to Wal-Mart workers, with much higher deductibles and a large new dose of investment risk for families’ future healthcare. Even demographics are working against the middle class family, as the odds of having a weak elderly parent ― and all the attendant need for physical and financial assistance have jumped eightfold in just one generation. From the middle-class family perspective, much of this, understandably, looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibility, and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the wholesale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders. The financial fallout has begun, and the political fallout may not be far behind. Which of the following is the best title for this text?

A:The Middle Class on the Alert B:The Middle Class on the Cliff C:The Middle Class in Conflict D:The Middle Class in Ruins

Passage Two
Most English people have three names: a first name, a middle name and the family name. Their family name comes last. For example, my full name is Jim Allan Green. Green is my family name. My parents gave me both of my other names.
People don’t use their middle names very much. So" John Henry Brown" is usually called "John Brown". People never use Mr.; Mrs. or Miss before their first names. So you can say John Brown, or Mr. Brown; but you should never say Mr. John. They use Mr. , Mrs. or Miss with the family name but never with the first name.
Sometimes people ask me about my name. "When were you born, why did your parents call you Jim" they ask. "Why did they choose that name The answer is they didn’t call me Jim. They called me James. James was the name of my grandfather’. In England, people usually call me Jim for short. That’s because it is shorter and easier than James.

English people use Mr. ,Mrs. or Miss with（）

A:the family name B:the first name C:the middle name D:the first name and the middle name

Passage Two
Most English people have three names: a first name, a middle name and the family name. Their family name comes last. For example, my full name is Jim Allan Green. Green is my family name. My parents gave me both of my other names.
People don’t use their middle names very much. So" John Henry Brown" is usually called "John Brown". People never use Mr.; Mrs. or Miss before their first names. So you can say John Brown, or Mr. Brown; but you should never say Mr. John. They use Mr. , Mrs. or Miss with the family name but never with the first name.
Sometimes people ask me about my name. "When were you born, why did your parents call you Jim" they ask. "Why did they choose that name The answer is they didn’t call me Jim. They called me James. James was the name of my grandfather’. In England, people usually call me Jim for short. That’s because it is shorter and easier than James.

English people use Mr. ,Mrs. or Miss with （）

A:the family name B:the first name C:the middle name D:the first name and the middle name