英语100篇精读荟萃（中级篇）6a

时间：2007-09-17 05:56:32

（单词翻译:单击）

Passage Six (Equality of opportunity in the twentieth Century Has Not Destroyed the Class System)
    These days we hear a lot of nonsense about the ‘great classless society’. The idea that the twentieth century is the age of the common man has become one of the great clichés of our time. The same old arguments are put forward in evidence. Here are some of them: monarchy1 as a system of government has been completely discredited2. The monarchies3 that survive have been deprived of all political power. Inherited wealth has been savagely4 reduced by taxation5 and, in time, the great fortunes will disappear altogether. In a number of countries the victory has been complete. The people rule; the great millennium6 has become a political reality. But has it? Close examination doesn’t bear out the claim.
    It is a fallacy to suppose that all men are equal and that society will be leveled out if you provide everybody with the same educational opportunities. (It is debatable whether you can ever provide everyone with the same educational opportunities, but that is another question.) The fact is that nature dispenses7 brains and ability with a total disregard for the principle of equality. The old rules of the jungle, ‘survival of the fittest’, and ‘might is right’ are still with us. The spread of education has destroyed the old class system and created a new one. Rewards are based on merit. For ‘aristocracy’ read ‘meritocracy’; in other respects, society remains8 unaltered: the class system is rigidly9 maintained.
    Genuine ability, animal cunning, skill, the knack10 of seizing opportunities, all bring material rewards. And what is the first thing people do when they become rich? They use their wealth to secure the best possible opportunities for their children, to give them ‘a good start in life’. For all the lip service we pay to the idea of equality, we do not consider this wrong in the western world. Private schools which offer unfair advantages over state schools are not banned because one of the principles in a democracy is that people should be free to choose how they will educate their children. In this way, the new meritocracy can perpetuate11 itself to a certain extent: an able child from a wealthy home can succeed far more rapidly than his poorer counterpart. Wealth is also used indiscriminately to further political ends. It would be almost impossible to become the leader of a democracy without massive financial backing. Money is as powerful a weapon as ever it was.
    In societies wholly dedicated12 to the principle of social equality, privileged private education is forbidden. But even here people are rewarded according to their abilities. In fact, so great is the need for skilled workers that the least able may be neglected. Bright children are carefully and expensively trained to become future rulers. In the end, all political ideologies13 boil down to the same thing: class divisions persist whether you are ruled by a feudal14 king or an educated peasant.

1.    What is the main idea of this passage?
[A] Equality of opportunity in the twentieth century has not destroyed the class system.
[B] Equality means money.
[C] There is no such society as classless society.
[D] Nature can’t give you a classless society.
2.    According to the author, the same educational opportunities can’t get rid of inequality because
[A] the principle ‘survival of the fittest’ exists.
[B] Nature ignores equality in dispensing15 brains and ability.
[C] Material rewards are for genuine ability.
[D] People have the freedom how to educate their children.
3.    Who can obtain more rapid success
[A] those with wealth.
[B] Those with the best brains.
[C] Those with the best opportunities.
[D] Those who have the ability to catch at opportunities.
4.    Why does the author say the new meritocracy can perpetuate itself to a certain extent? Because
[A] money decides everything.
[B] Private schools offer advantages over state schools.
[C] People are free to choose the way of educating their children.
[D] Wealth is used for political ends.
5.    According to the author, ‘class divisions’ refers to
[A] the rich and the poor.
[B] Different opportunities for people.
[C] Oppressor and the oppressed.
[D] Genius and stupidity.
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1 monarchy e6Azi     
n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国
参考例句：
  • The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
  • The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。
2 discredited 94ada058d09abc9d4a3f8a5e1089019f     
不足信的，不名誉的
参考例句：
  • The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
  • Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。
3 monarchies 5198a08b4ee6bffa4e4281ded9b6c460     
n. 君主政体, 君主国, 君主政治
参考例句：
  • It cleared away a number of monarchies. 它清除了好几个君主政体。
  • Nowadays, there are few monarchies left in the world. 现在世界上君主制的国家已经很少了。
4 savagely 902f52b3c682f478ddd5202b40afefb9     
adv. 野蛮地，残酷地
参考例句：
  • The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。
  • He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。
5 taxation tqVwP     
n.征税，税收，税金
参考例句：
  • He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
  • The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
6 millennium x7DzO     
n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世
参考例句：
  • The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
  • We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。
7 dispenses db30e70356402e4e0fbfa2c0aa480ca0     
v.分配，分与；分配( dispense的第三人称单数 )；施与；配（药）
参考例句：
  • The machine dispenses a range of drinks and snacks. 这台机器发售各种饮料和小吃。
  • This machine dispenses coffee. 这台机器发售咖啡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
9 rigidly hjezpo     
adv.刻板地，僵化地
参考例句：
  • Life today is rigidly compartmentalized into work and leisure. 当今的生活被严格划分为工作和休闲两部分。
  • The curriculum is rigidly prescribed from an early age. 自儿童时起即已开始有严格的课程设置。
10 knack Jx9y4     
n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法
参考例句：
  • He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
  • Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。
11 perpetuate Q3Cz2     
v.使永存，使永记不忘
参考例句：
  • This monument was built to perpetuate the memory of the national hero.这个纪念碑建造的意义在于纪念民族英雄永垂不朽。
  • We must perpetuate the system.我们必须将此制度永久保持。
12 dedicated duHzy2     
adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的
参考例句：
  • He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
  • His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。
13 ideologies 619df0528e07e84f318a32708414df52     
n.思想（体系）( ideology的名词复数 )；思想意识；意识形态；观念形态
参考例句：
  • There is no fundamental diversity between the two ideologies. 这两种思想意识之间并没有根本的分歧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Radical ideologies require to contrast to their own goodness the wickedness of some other system. 凡是过激的意识形态，都需要有另外一个丑恶的制度作对比，才能衬托出自己的善良。 来自辞典例句
14 feudal cg1zq     
adj.封建的，封地的，领地的
参考例句：
  • Feudal rulers ruled over the country several thousand years.封建统治者统治这个国家几千年。
  • The feudal system lasted for two thousand years in China.封建制度在中国延续了两千年之久。
15 dispensing 1555b4001e7e14e0bca70a3c43102922     
v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药）
参考例句：
  • A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜，但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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