With the extension of democratic rights in the first half of the nineteenth century and the ensuing decline of the Federalist establishment, a new conception of education began to emerge. Education was no longer a confirmation of a pre-existing status, but an instrument in the acquisition of higher status. For a new generation of upwardly mobile students, the goal of education was not to prepare them to live comfortably in the world into which they had been born, but to teach them new virtues and skills that would propel them into a different and better world. Education became training; and the student was no longer the gentleman-in-waiting, but the journeyman apprentice for upward mobility. In the nineteenth century a college education began to be seen as a way to get ahead in the world. The founding of the land-grant colleges opened the doors of higher education to poor but aspiring boys from non-Anglo-Saxon, working-class and lower-middle-class backgrounds. The myth of the poor boy who worked his way through college to success drew millions of poor boys to the new campuses. And with this shift, education became more vocational, its object was the acquisition of practical skills and useful information. For the gentleman-in-waiting, virtue consisted above all in grace and style, in doing well what was appropriate to his position; education was merely a way of acquiring polish. And vice was manifested in gracelessness, awkwardness, in behaving inappropriately, discourteously, or ostentatiously. For the apprentice, however, virtue was evidenced in success through hard work. The requisite qualities of character were not grace or style, but drive, determination, and a sharp eye for opportunity. While casual liberality and even prodigality characterized the gentleman, frugality, thrift, and self-control came to distinguish the new apprentice. And while the gentleman did not aspire to a higher station because his station was already high, the apprentice was continually becoming, striving, struggling upward. Failure for the apprentice meant standing still, not rising.The difference between "gentleman-in-waiting" and "journeyman" is that (). A. education trained gentleman-in-waiting to climb higher ladders B. journeyman was ready to take whatever was given to him C. gentleman-in-waiting belonged to a fixed and high social class D. journeyman could do practically nothing without education
With the extension of democratic rights in the first half of the nineteenth century and the ensuing decline of the Federalist establishment, a new conception of education began to emerge. Education was no longer a confirmation of a pre-existing status, but an instrument in the acquisition of higher status. For a new generation of upwardly mobile students, the goal of education was not to prepare them to live comfortably in the world into which they had been born, but to teach them new virtues and skills that would propel them into a different and better world. Education became training; and the student was no longer the gentleman-in-waiting, but the journeyman apprentice for upward mobility. In the nineteenth century a college education began to be seen as a way to get ahead in the world. The founding of the land-grant colleges opened the doors of higher education to poor but aspiring boys from non-Anglo-Saxon, working-class and lower-middle-class backgrounds. The myth of the poor boy who worked his way through college to success drew millions of poor boys to the new campuses. And with this shift, education became more vocational, its object was the acquisition of practical skills and useful information. For the gentleman-in-waiting, virtue consisted above all in grace and style, in doing well what was appropriate to his position; education was merely a way of acquiring polish. And vice was manifested in gracelessness, awkwardness, in behaving inappropriately, discourteously, or ostentatiously. For the apprentice, however, virtue was evidenced in success through hard work. The requisite qualities of character were not grace or style, but drive, determination, and a sharp eye for opportunity. While casual liberality and even prodigality characterized the gentleman, frugality, thrift, and self-control came to distinguish the new apprentice. And while the gentleman did not aspire to a higher station because his station was already high, the apprentice was continually becoming, striving, struggling upward. Failure for the apprentice meant standing still, not rising.The difference between "gentleman-in-waiting" and "journeyman" is that (). A. education trained gentleman-in-waiting to climb higher ladders B. journeyman was ready to take whatever was given to him C. gentleman-in-waiting belonged to a fixed and high social class D. journeyman could do practically nothing without education
题目解答
答案
C
解析
考查要点：本题主要考查学生对文章中两个核心概念（“gentleman-in-waiting”与“journeyman apprentice”）的对比理解，以及对选项的逻辑辨析能力。
解题核心思路：
- 定位关键段落：文章通过对比两种教育模式，强调19世纪教育目标的转变。需重点关注两段对比性描述（“For the gentleman-in-waiting...”与“For the apprentice, however...”）。
- 提取核心差异：抓住两者的本质区别——社会地位的固定性与流动性。
- 排除干扰项：需结合选项与原文对应，排除混淆项（如选项A、B、D均与原文细节矛盾）。
破题关键点：
- gentleman-in-waiting代表固定高位的社会阶层，其教育仅是“润色”而非“改变”；
- journeyman apprentice代表通过教育实现向上流动，强调主动奋斗与实用技能。
选项分析：
- 选项C：“gentleman-in-waiting属于固定且高的社会阶层”直接对应原文中“gentleman-in-waiting”的定义（“his station was already high”），是两者的根本区别。
- 选项A错误：原文明确指出gentleman不追求更高地位（“the gentleman did not aspire to a higher station”）。
- 选项B错误：学徒并非被动接受，而是主动奋斗（“continually becoming, striving, struggling upward”）。
- 选项D错误：教育是学徒向上流动的工具，但并非“无教育就无法做事”（原文未否定学徒的原始能力）。
逻辑链：
- 社会地位差异：gentleman出生即高位，无需教育改变；学徒通过教育改变命运。
- 教育功能差异：前者教育是“润色”，后者是“工具”。
- 美德定义差异：前者重优雅，后者重奋斗与实用技能。