Chris McCandless had been raised in the comfortable upper - middle - class . suburbs of Annan dale , Virginia . His father , Walt , is an outstanding space engineer who designed advanced radar systems for the space craft and other high - pro flue projects while in the employ of NASA and Hughes Aircraft in the 1960 sand 1970 s . In 1978 , Walt went into business for himself , launching a small but eventually . prosperous consulting firm , User Systems , Incorporated . His partner in the venture was Chris s mother , Bille . There were eight children in the extended family a younger sister , Car in e , with whom Chris was extremely close , and six hall - brothers and sisters from Walt s first marriage In May 1990 , Chris graduated from Emory University in Atlanta , where held been a columnist ( 专栏作家 ) for , and editor of , the student newspaper , The Emory Wheel , and had distinguished himself as a history major with a 3 . 72 grade - point average . He was offered membership in Phil Beta Kappa but declined , insisting that titles and honors are irrelevant For one thing citizens will accept the inequalities that capitalism generates only if they think they have a fair chance of getting ahead. Secondly，advanced economies can grow only if they make a reasonable job of discovering the hidden Einsteins who might be able to produce the next great invention if they were given the chance. Unfortunately，Britain is failing badly on both fronts. important it has become more difficult to promote. In the first half of the 20th century，when the old establishment ruled the country，opening up opportunities was relatively simple. You forced the establishment to abandon obvious such as the fact that the best Oxbridge colleges were reserved for men. You also forced it to build a ladder of opportunity for the po Education Act raised the school-leaving age to15，then16， and the expansion of universities in the 1960s ma education more available. Today opening up opportunities is much more difficult , precisely because meritocracy (精 英制度) has been so successful. The meritocratic elite (精英) have proved remarkably good at guarding opportunities. Successful people tend to marry each other. Couples devote themselves to giving their children the best education possible starting in the nursery. Private schools have also proved to be more successful than state schools at adapting to the meritocra Institutions that once turned out both flannelled (穿法兰绒衣服的) and muddied fools are now enthusiastic about exan results To make matters worse，the knowledge economy is a winner-takes-most economy. Superstar firms are pulling ahead of average ones. Superstar cities are pulling ahead of second-tier ones. This problem is more striking in Britain than almost anywhere else. The London effect is obviously good for London-based professionals who can provide their children with t they get their feet on the career ladder. Bu it is also good for poorer people who live within the outer city limits. London's state schools are better than the national average，jobs are plentiful and you can get almost anywhere，ata squeeze, by public The result is a calcified (钙化) society . 71% of senior judges，62% of senior oficers in the arme med forces and 55% of civil service department heads attended private schools，which educate only 7% of the population. In Barnsley only10% of disadvantaged young people make it to university，compared with 50% of similarly disadvantaged youngsters in Kensington and Chelsea. Changing this calcification will take alot of innovative thinking. The Social Mobility Commission produced a series of excellent reports which suggested sensible solutions such as better early education for disadvantaged children. This columnist would support a combination of reaching into Britain's past and looking into its future. Britain has a distinguished history of elite institutions doing their bit for mobility: Oxbridge colleges creating feeder schools (直属学校)，and private schools setting aside places for poor scholars. Given that so many private schools have forgotten their social responsibilities in thei enthusiasm for fees from rich Russians and Chinese，it is time to remind them that they need to earn their charitable status. Meanwhile, the very technology that is， widening class divisions can also be used to close them. The Israel Defence Forces respond to th Einstein problem by watching over children's performance in video games，as well as more routine academic tests. But Britain's two main parties are failing to give this growing problem the energy it requires. Thanks to its commitment to inelligent reform，Disreal's Britain became the most peaceful, as well as the most successful, country in Europe. Th polit class may well be about to demonstrate that what intelligence and reform can do.(1) The result of the information revolution is that_A. Britain split into two countriesB. people accept social inequalitiesC. there will be no great scientistsD. people find it harder to get ahead(2) Why does the author say today opening up opportunities is much more difficult than in the past?.A Because today's social inequalities are less obvious .B. Because fewer people can receive higher education.C. Because meritocratic elite won't give up opportunities .D. Because schools importance to exam results.(3) By giving London as an example，the author intends to say_A. London is the biggest and most important city in BritainB. it's easier for people in London to make a comfortable livingC. resources are more concentrated in the knowledge economyD.superstar cities are more advanced than second-tier cities(4) Which of the following can be a solution to the calcification problem?A. The government provides free education for poor children.B. Elite colleges should admit more disadvantaged students .C. Private schools cut down the number of foreign students.D. Schools give tests on their students' technological abilities.