【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 ises to the middle class as someone born to middleclass parents with college degrees? Even in a more democratic society. The answer would be no.How do we explain this? Some of it has to do with discrimination (歧視). Latinos and AfricanAmericans still get paid less than whites, and women still get paid less than men, 5 they recently surpassed (超越)men in the number of advanced degrees they obtain. Discrimination, however, is only a small part of the 6 . Probably the most important reason for 7 of equality of opportunity is education. After World War Ⅱ, we made a major effort to 8 higher education to Americans across the country. But then we changed, in several ways. While racial segregation（種族隔離）decreased, economic segregation increased. After 1980, the poor grew poorer, the middle stagnated（停滯不前）, and the top did better and better. A result was a widening gap in educational performance – the 9 gap between rich and poor kids born in 2001 was 30 to 40 percent larger than it was for those born 25 years earlier, a Stanford sociologist found. Of course, there are other forces 10 . Children in rich families get more exposure to reading. Their families can afford enriching experiences like music lessons and summer camp. They get better nutrition and health care, which enhance their learning, directly and indirectly. Now Americans are ing to realize that without extensive policy changes, their long cherished belief is only a myth. It is unreasonable that a rich country like the United States has made 11 to higher education so difficult for those at the bottom and middle. There are many 12 ways of providing chances for more to receive higher education, from Australia39。s inecontingent loan program to the nearfree system of universities in Europe. A more educated population produces greater innovation, and a booming economy. Those benefits are why we39。ve long been 13 to free public education through 12th grade. But while a 12thgrade education might have been enough a century ago, it isn39。t today. Yet we haven39。t 14 our system to contemporary realities. The steps I39。ve outlined are not just affordable but necessary. Even more important, though, is that we cannot afford to let our country drift farther from 15 that the vast majority of Americans share. We will never fully succeed in achieving Mr. Obama39。s vision of a poor girl39。s having exactly the same opportunities as a wealthy girl. But we could do much, much better, and must not rest until we do.1. A. prejudiceB. inferiorC. povertyD. minority2. A. narrowerB. widerC. severerD. closer3. A. conductedB. concludedC. excludedD. exposed4. A. distinct fromB. feasible byC. superior toD. dependent on5. A. even thoughB. as thoughC. only ifD. as if6. A. photographB. pictureC. atmosphereD. condition7. A. lackB. leakC. explosionD. extinction8. A. exhibitB. exploreC. extendD. exploit9. A. contributionB. satisfactionC. achievementD. ambition10. A. at playB. under controlC. in useD. on show11. A. devotionB. familiarityC. applicationD. access12. A. imaginativeB. alternativeC. sensitiveD. productive13. A. admittedB. permittedC. devotedD. limited14. A. abandonedB. adjustedC. alteredD. applied15. A. memoriesB. gloryC. realityD. ideals【答案】 （1）C；（2）A；（3）D；（4）D；（5）A；（6）D；（7）A；（8）C；（9）C；（10）A；（11）D；（12）B；（13）C；（14）B；（15）D； 【解析】【分析】本文主要就前美國總統(tǒng)奧巴馬在第二次就職演講中強調(diào)美國對機會平等的理想的承諾，指出了美國機會不平等的現(xiàn)象很嚴峻，并分析了造成這一情況的原因。 （1）句意：我們堅信，一個出生在貧困家庭的小女孩知道她和其他人一樣有成功的機會。A. prejudice偏見；B. inferior下級；C. poverty 貧困；D. minority少數(shù)。奧巴馬在第二次就職演講中強調(diào)美國對機會平等的理想的承諾，也就是說出身貧困的人也和別人一樣有成功的機會，故答案為C。 （2）句意：理想與現(xiàn)實之間的差距簡直無法縮小。A. narrower更窄的；B. wider更寬的；C. severer更嚴峻的；D. closer更近的。根據(jù)本空后的“Today, the United States has less equality of opportunity than almost any other advanced industrial country.”可知，今天，美國的機會平等程度幾乎低于任何其他發(fā)達工業(yè)國家，這說明理想與現(xiàn)實之間的差距沒有縮小，故答案為A。 （3）句意：一項又一項研究揭露了美國是一片充滿機遇的土地是不真實的。A. conducted實施；B. concluded 推斷；C. excluded 排除；D. exposed揭露、使顯露。根據(jù)本空后的“the myth that America is a land of opportunity.”可知，一項又一項研究揭露了真相，故答案為D。 （4）句意：看待機會平等的一種方法是看一個孩子的生活在多大程度上依賴于他父母的教育和收入。A. distinct from與……不同；B. feasible by可行的；C. superior to優(yōu)于；D. dependent on依賴于。根據(jù)本空后介紹的父母的教育和收入對孩子的生活的影響可知，要看一個孩子的生活在多大程度上依賴于他父母的教育和收入，故答案為D。 （5）句意：雖然女性獲得的高等學(xué)歷數(shù)量超過了男性，但她們的薪酬仍然低于男性。A. even though即使、雖然；B. as though好像；C. only if只有；D. as if好像。盡管女性比男性的學(xué)歷高，但她們的薪酬仍然低于男性，前后是讓步關(guān)系，故答案為A。 （6）句意：然而，歧視只是這種情況的一小部分原因。A. photograph照片；B. picture圖畫；C. atmosphere 氣氛；D. condition情況。此處指前面提到的女性的薪酬低于男性這一情況，故答案為D。（7）句意：缺乏機會平等最重要的原因可能是教育。A. lack缺乏；B. leak泄露；C. explosion爆炸； D. extinction滅絕。上文討論的是美國缺乏機會平等這一問題，故答案為A。 （8）句意：第二次世界大戰(zhàn)后，我們做出重大努力，把高等教育推廣到全國各地。A. exhibit 展覽；B. explore探索；C. extend擴大、推廣；D. exploit開采。根據(jù)本空后的“higher education to Americans across the country.”可知，我們努力把高等教育推廣到全國各地，故答案為C。 （9）句意：其結(jié)果是教育成績的差距越來越大——2001年出生的富裕家庭和貧困家庭的孩子之間的成就差距比25年前出生的孩子要大30%到40%。A. contribution貢獻；B. satisfaction滿意； ment成就；D. ambition抱負。結(jié)果是教育成績的差距越來越大，所以孩子取得的成就差距也越來越大，故答案為C。 （10）句意：當(dāng)然，還有其他力量（因素）在起作用。A. at play 起作用；B. under control 在控制之下；C. in use在使用中；D. on show展出。空后說富裕家庭的孩子更多地接觸到閱讀，他們的家庭可以負擔(dān)得起豐富的體驗，他們還能得到更好的營養(yǎng)和保健，這些都是起作用的因素，故答案為A。 （11）句意：像美國這樣的富裕國家讓底層和中層的人很難接受高等教育，這是不合理的。A. devotion奉獻；B. familiarity精通；C. application應(yīng)用；D. access進入、使用權(quán)。上文說美國的教育存在機會不平等現(xiàn)象，底層和中層的人很難接受高等教育，have access to表示“使用、接近”，故答案為D。（12）句意：有許多其他的途徑為更多的人提供接受高等教育的機會。A. imaginative虛構(gòu)的；B. alternative供選擇的、替代的； C. sensitive敏感的；D. productive多產(chǎn)的。根據(jù)本空后的“from Australia39。s inecontingent loan program to the nearfree system of universities in Europe.”可知，從澳大利亞的收入掛鉤貸款計劃到歐洲近乎免費的大學(xué)體系，有很多別的途徑可以為更多的人提供接受高等教育的機會，故答案為B。 （13）句意：這些好處就是為什么我們一直致力于1到12年級的免費公共教育。A. admitted承認； B. permitted許可；C. devoted獻身； D. limited限制。根據(jù)本空后的“to free public education through 12thgrade.”可知，我們一直致力于1到12年級的免費公共教育，be devoted to表示“致力于”，故答案為C。 （14）句意：然而，我們還沒有做出調(diào)整使我們的制度適應(yīng)當(dāng)前實際。A. abandoned放棄