2006年Text 1
In spite of "endless talk of difference," American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people. There is "the democratizing uniformity of dress and discourse, and the casualness and absence of consumption" launched by the 19th--century department stores that offered "vast arrays of goods in an elegant atmosphere. Instead of intimate shops catering to a knowledgeable elite." these were stores "anyone could enter, regardless of class or background. This turned shopping into a public and democratic act." The mass media, advertising and sports are other forces for homogenization.
Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous. Writing for the National Immigration Forum, Gregory Rodriguez reports that today’s immigration is neither at unprecedented level nor resistant to assimilation. In 1998 immigrants were 9.8 percent of population; in 1900, 13.6 percent .In the 10 years prior to 1990, 3.1 immigrants arrived for every 1,000 residents; in the 10years prior to 1890, 9.2 for every1,000. Now, consider three indices of assimilation -language, home ownership and intermarriage.
The 1990 Census revealed that "a majority of immigrants from each of the fifteen most common countries of origin spoke English ‘well’ or ‘very well’ after ten years of residence." The children of immigrants tend to be bilingual and proficient in English. "By the third generation, the original language is lost in the majority of immigrant families." Hence the description of America as a "graveyard" for languages. By 1996 foreign-born immigrants who had arrived before 1970 had a home ownership rate of 75.6 percent, higher than the 69.8 percent rate among native-born Americans.
Foreign-born Asians and Hispanics "have higher rates of intermarriage than do U.S -born whites and blacks." By the third generation, one third of Hispanic women are married to non-Hispanics, and 41 percent of Asian-American women are married to non-Asians.
Rodriguez note that children in remote villages around the world are fans of superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks, yet "some Americans fear that immigrant living within the United States remain somehow immune to the nation’s assimilative power."
Are there divisive issues and pockets of seething anger in America? Indeed. It is big enough to have a bit of everything. But particularly when viewed against America’s turbulent past, today’s social induces suggest a dark and deteriorating social environment.
25. In the author’s opinion, the absorption of immigrants into American society is
[A] rewarding.
[B] successful.
[C] fruitless.
[D] harmful.
[答案] B
[解题思路]
做这道题要从整体上把握文章。虽然文章最后一段稍稍涉及了美国还存在的不和谐之处，但第五段从各个角度论证了美国社会和文化在吸收移民方面的成功之处，而且最后一段的最后一句话也进一步证明了这一成功。因此正确答案为B。因为文章的目的不在讨论移民政策的利弊，因此A选型错误。而C、D选项意思相反，都可以排除。
[题目译文]
作者认为，美国社会对移民的吸收是
[A] 有回报的
[B] 成功的
[C] 无效的
[D] 有害的
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