Section BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 The Place Where the Poor Once Thrived A)This is the land of opportunity. If that weren't already implied by the landscape-rolling green hills, palm trees, sun-kissed flowers--then it's evident in the many stories of people who grew up poor in these sleepy neighborhoods and rose to enormous success. People like Tri Tran, who fled Vietnam on a boat in 1986. showed up in San Jose with nothing, made it to MIT, and then founded the food-delivery start-up Munchery, which is valued at 300 millionB) Indeed, data suggests that this is one of the best places to grow up poor in America. A child born in the early 1980s into a low-income family in San Jose had a 12.9 percent chance of becoming a high earner as an adult, according to a landmark study released in 2014 by the economist Raj Chetty and his colleagues from Harvard and Berkeley. That number-12.9 percent--may not seem remarkable, but it was: Kids in San Jose whose families fell in the bottom quintile (五分位数) of income nationally had the best shot in the country reaching the top quintile.C) By contrast. just 4.4 percent of poor kids in Charlotte moved up to the top; in Detroit the figure was 5.5 percent. San Jose had social mobility comparable to Denmark's and Canada's and higher than other progressive cities such as Boston and MinneapolisD) The reasons kids in San Jose performed so well might seem obvious. Some of the world's most innovative companies are located here, providing opportunities such as the one seized by a 12-year-old Mountain View resident named Steve Jobs when he called William Hewlett to ask for spare parts and subsequently received a summer job. This is a city of immigrants--38 percent of the city's population today is foreign-born-and immigrants and their children have historically experienced significant upward mobility in America. The city has long had a large foreign-born population (26.5 percent in 1990), leading to broader diversity, which, the Harvard and Berkeley economists say, is a good predictor of mobility.E) Indeed, the streets of San Jose seem, in some ways, to embody the best of America. It's possible to drive in a matter of minutes from sleek (光亮的) office towers near the airport where people pitch ideas to investors, to single-family homes with orange trees in their yards, or to a Vietnamese mall. The libraries here offer programs in 17 languages, and there are areas filled with small businesses owned by Vietnamese immigrants Mexican immigrants. Korean immigrants, and Filipino immigrants to name a few.F) But researchers aren't sure exactly why poor kids in San Jose did so well. The city has a low prevalence of children growing up in single-parent families, and a low level of concentrated poverty, both factors that usually mean a city allows for good inter generational mobility. But San Jose also performs poorly on some of the measures correlated with good mobility. It is one of the most unequal places out of the 741 that the researchers measured, and it has high degrees of racial and economic segregation (隔离). Its schools underperform based on how much money there is in the area, said Ben Scuderi, a predoctoral fellow at the Equality of Opportunity Project at Harvard, which uses big data to study how to improve economic opportunities for low-income children. "There's a lot going on here which we don't totally understand," he said. "It's interesting, because it kind of defies our expectations."G) The Chetty data shows that neighborhoods and places mattered for children born in the San Jose area of the 1980s. Whether the city still allows for upward mobility of poor kids today, though, is up for debate. Some of the indicators such as income inequality, measured by the Equality of Opportunity Project for the year 2000, have only worsened in the past l6 yearsH) Some San Jose residents say that as inequality has grown in recent years, upward mobility has become much more difficult to achieve. As Silicon Valley has become home to more successful companies. the flood of people to the area has caused housing prices to skyrocket. By most measures, San Jose is no longer a place where low-income. or even middle-income families. can afford to live. Rents in San Jose grew 42.6 percent between 2006 and 2014, which was the largest increase in the country during that time period. The city has a growing homelessness problem, which it tried to address by shutting down "The Jungle," one of the largest homeless encampments (临时居住地) in the nation, in 2014. Inequality is extreme: The Human Development Index- a measure of life expectancy, education and per capita (人均的) income gives East San Jose a score of 4.85 out of 10, while nearby Cupertino, where Apple's headquarters sits, receives a 9.26. San Jose used to have a happy mix of factors- cheap housing, closeness to a rapidly developing industry, tightly-knit immigrant communities-that together opened up the possibility of prosperity for even its poorest residents. But in recent years, housing prices have skyrocketed, the region's rich and poor have segregated, and middle-class jobs have disappeared. Given this, the future for the region's poor doesn't look nearly as bright as it once did.I)Leaders in San Jose are determined to make sure that the city regains its status as a place where even poor kids can access the resources to succeed. With Silicon Valley in its backyard, it certainly has the chance to do so. "I think there is a broad consciousness in the Valley that we can do better than to leave thousands of our neighbors behind through a period of extraordinary success," San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said.J)But in today's America--a land of rising inequality, increasing segregation, and stagnating (不增长的) middle-class wages- can the San Jose region really once again become a place of opportunity?K) The idea that those at the bottom can rise to the top is central to America's ideas about itself. That such mobility has become more difficult in San Jose raises questions about the endurance of that foundational belief. After all, if the one-time land of opportunity can't be fixed, what does that say for the rest of America?1. According to some people living in San Jose, it has become much harder for the poor to get ahead due to the increased inequality.2. In American history, immigrants used to have a good chance to move upward in society.3. If the problems of San Jose can't be solved, one of America's fundamental beliefs about itself can be shaken.4. San Jose was among the best cities in America for poor kids to move up the social ladder.5. Whether poor kids in San Jose today still have the chance to move upward is questionable.6. San Jose's officials are resolved to give poor kids access to the resources necessary for success in life.7. San Jose appears to manifest some of the best features of America.8. As far as social mobility is concerned, San Jose beat many other progressive cities in America.9. Due to some changes like increases in housing prices in San Jose, the prospects for its poor people have dimmed.10. Researchers do not have a clear idea why poor children in San Jose achieved such great success several decades ago.
题目解答
答案
解析
本题是信息匹配题,要求根据文章内容找出每个陈述对应的段落。解题关键是先快速浏览各段落核心内容,再逐一匹配题目中的陈述信息。
1. 根据一些圣何塞居民的说法,由于不平等加剧,穷人更难取得进步
题目关键词:“some people living in San Jose”“harder for the poor to get ahead”“increased inequality”。
段落H首句提到:“Some San Jose residents say that as inequality has grown in recent recent years, upward mobility has become much more difficult to achieve.” 直接对应题目,故答案为H。
2. 在美国历史上,移民过去有很好的机会在社会上向上流动
题目关键词:“American history”“immigrants”“good chance to move upward”。
段落D段第三句指出:“This is a city of immigrants... and immigrants and their children have historically experienced significant upward mobility in America.” 其中“historically”对应“American history”,“significant upward mobility”对应“good chance to move upward”,故答案为D。
3. 如果圣何塞的问题无法解决,美国对自身的一个基本信念可能会动摇
题目关键词:“problems of San Jose can't be solved”“America's fundamental beliefs”“shaken”。
K段第二、三句提到:“That such mobility has become more difficult in San Jose raises questions about the endurance of that foundational belief. After all, if the one-time land of opportunity can't be fixed, what does that say for the rest of America?” 其中“foundational belief”对应“fundamental beliefs”,“can't be fixed”对应“can't be solved”,“shaken”对应“raises questions about the endurance”,故答案为K。
4. 圣何塞是美国贫困儿童攀登社会阶梯的最佳城市之一
题目关键词:“best cities in America for poor kids”“move up the social ladder”。
B段首句提到:“Indeed, data suggests that this is one of the best places to grow up poor in America.” 其中“best places to grow up poor”对应“best cities for poor kids to move up the social ladder”,故答案为B。
5. 今天圣何塞的贫困孩子是否仍有机会向上流动值得商権
题目关键词:“poor kids in San Jose today”“chance to move upward”“questionable”。
G段第二句指出:“Whether the city still allows for upward mobility of poor kids today, though, is up for debate.” 其中“is up for debate”对应“questionable”,故答案为G。
6. 圣何塞的官员决心让贫困孩子获得成功所需资源的决心
题目关键词:“San Jose's officials”“resolved to give poor kids access to resources”。
I段首句提到:“Leaders in San Jose are determined to make sure that the city regains its status as a place where even poor kids can access the resources to succeed.” 其中“Leaders”对应“officials”,“determined”对应“resolved”,故答案为I。
7. 圣何塞似乎体现了美国的一些最佳特征
题目关键词:“San Jose appears to manifest”“best features of America”。
E段首句指出:“Indeed, the streets of San Jose seem, in some ways, to embody the best of America.” 其中“seem, in some ways, to embody”对应“appears to manifest”,“best of America”直接对应,故答案为E。
8. 在社会流动性方面,圣何塞超过了美国许多其他进步城市
题目关键词:“social mobility”“beat many other progressive cities”“beat”。
C段提到:“San Jose had social mobility comparable to Denmark's and Canada's and higher than other progressive cities such as Boston and Minneapolis.” 其中“higher than other progressive cities”对应“beat many other progressive cities”,故答案为C。
9. 由于圣何塞房价上涨等变化,穷人的前景变得黯淡
题目关键词:“changes like increases in housing prices”“prospects for poor people“dimmed”。
H段末句提到:“But in recent years, housing prices have skyrocketed... Given this, the future for the region's poor doesn't look nearly as bright as it once did.” 其中“housing prices have skyrocketed”对应“increases in housing prices”,“future... doesn't look nearly as bright”对应“prospects... dimmed”,故答案为H。
10. 研究人员不清楚几十年前圣何塞的贫困儿童为何取得如此巨大的成功
题目关键词:“Researchers do not have a clear idea”“poor children in San Jose”“great success several decades ago”。
F段首句指出:“But researchers aren't sure exactly why poor kids in San Jose did so well.” 其中“aren't sure exactly why”对应“do not have a clear idea”,“did so well”对应“great success”,故答案为F。