passage1

注解：標題為紅色，翻譯為藍色，分析為綠色。

????In spite of “endless talk of difference,” American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing(使同樣，使相似，同化 =下文的assimilate) people. There is “the democratizing uniformity of dress and discourse, and the casualness and absence of deference尊重，遵從” characteristic of popular culture. People are absorbed into “a culture of consumption” launched by the 19th-century department stores that offered “vast arrays of goods in an elegant atmosphere大氣層，環(huán)境（這里取環(huán)境的意思=environment）. 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.?

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1.intimate親密的，溫馨的?imitate模仿。區(qū)別記憶：intimate里有mate，mate基友，配偶，所以會產(chǎn)生溫馨和親密。而imitate里面有tate，需要塔特這個人作為模仿對象，才能進行模仿。

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????????Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous中毒的，有害的（這里取這個意思=harmful）. Writing for the National Immigration Forum, Gregory Rodriguez reports that today’s immigration is neither at unprecedented levels nor resistant to assimilation. In 1998 immigrants were 9.8 percent of the population; in 1900, 13.6 percent. In the 10 years prior to 1990, 3.1 immigrants arrived for every 1,000 residents; in the 10 years prior to 1890, 9.2 for every 1,000. Now, consider three indices(indices指數(shù)，是index的復數(shù)形式)?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雙語的 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.

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1.lingual語言的，linguistician語言學家，也就是說ling是詞根，“語言”的意思，bi是前綴，表示雙，故bilingual表示雙語。也可以通過聯(lián)想記憶：可以在bili上學雙語。

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????????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 notes that children in remote villages around the world are fans of superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks, yet “some Americans fear that immigrants living within the United States remain somehow以某種方式 immune to the nation’s assimilative power.”

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1.somehow以某種方式，用某種方法，在某種程度上 somewhat稍微，有一點兒 somewhere在某個地方，在某處

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????????Are there divisive issues and pockets of seething火熱的 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 indices hardly suggest a dark and deteriorating social environment.

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1.seethe沸騰；冒泡； seething火熱的 記憶法：see看見了 the那個東西=看見了那個東西，熱血沸騰=沸騰，冒泡；

2.?rocket火箭，pocket口袋 區(qū)別記憶：火箭是架在石頭rock上發(fā)射的，而pocket是口袋會po破的。

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一、文章結構分析

本文是一篇議論文。

文章中心討論了美國的文化對移民的強大同化能力。

第一段介紹了美國大眾文化的特點、起源和背后的推動力；

第二、三、四，五段采用事實論證了移民能快速融入美國社會，對大眾文化構不成威脅；

第六段則說明融合會有些不快的過程，但這種不快無需民眾擔憂，美國社會的發(fā)展依然是光明的。

21. The word “homogenizing” (Line 2, Paragraph 1) most probably means ________.

[A] identifying

[B] associating

[C] assimilating

[D] monopolizing

21．第一段第二行的單詞“homogenizing”最可能的含義是_____。

[A] 識別，確定

[B] 聯(lián)系，聯(lián)合

[C] 吸收，同化

[D] 獨占，壟斷

22. According to the author, the department stores of the 19th century ________.

[A] played a role in the spread of popular culture

[B] became intimate shops for common consumers

[C] satisfied the needs of a knowledgeable elite

[D] owed its emergence to the culture of consumption

22．根據(jù)作者的觀點，19 世紀的百貨商店___。

[A] 在傳播大眾文化方面發(fā)揮了作用

[B] 成為接待普通消費者的人情味十足的小商店

[C] 滿足了知識精英階層的需求

[D] 出現(xiàn)的原因是消費文化

23. The text suggests that immigrants now in the U.S. ________.

[A] are resistant to homogenization

[B] exert a great influence on American culture

[C] are hardly a threat to the common culture

[D] constitute the majority of the population

23．這篇文章暗示了現(xiàn)在美國的移民______。

[A] 排斥同化

[B] 對美國文化施加著很大的影響

[C] 對大眾文化幾乎不構成威脅

[D] 構成人口的大多數(shù)

24. Why are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks mentioned in Paragraph 5?

[A] To prove their popularity around the world.

[B] To reveal the public’s fear of immigrants.

[C] To give examples of successful immigrants.

[D] To show the powerful influence of American culture.

24．第五段為什么提到阿諾·施瓦辛格和葛斯·布魯克斯?

[A] 為了證明他們在全世界很受歡迎。

[B] 為了表明公眾對移民的恐懼。

[C] 為了舉出成功移民的范例。

[D] 為了說明美國文化的強大影響力。

25. In the author’s opinion, the absorption of immigrants into American society is _______.

[A] rewarding

[B] successful

[C] fruitless

[D] harmful

25．按照作者的觀點，美國社會對移民的吸收是______。

[A] 有價值的，有回報的

[B] 成功的

[C] 毫無成果的

[D] 有害的

二、核心詞匯與超綱詞匯

1. homogenize vt. 均質(zhì)化，使均勻

2. assimilation n.同化，同化作用，消化

3. democratize vt. 使民主化

4. launch n. 發(fā)起；使運動

5. intimate a. 親密的，私人的

6. cater v. 備辦食物或服務；迎合

7. fit in/ into 可容納，裝進

8. indices n. index 的復數(shù)形式，標志，指標

9. census n. 人口調(diào)(普)查 v. 調(diào)查人口數(shù)字

10. bilingual adj.(能說)兩種語言的

11. graveyard n. 墓地，墳場

12. divisive adj. 區(qū)分的，不和的

13. pocket n. 口袋；小組織

14. seethe v. 非常氣憤、激動；充滿

15. remote adj. 遙遠的，偏僻的

16. immune adj. 免疫的

17. deteriorate v. (使)惡化

三、閱讀答案：C A C D B

四、全文翻譯：?

????????盡管人們喋喋不休地談論美國社會的差異，美國社會仍然是一部驚人的民族融合的機器。在美國，大眾文化的特點就是“在服飾和談吐方面大眾化的一致性、漫不經(jīng)心和不拘禮節(jié)”。人們沉迷于一種由19 世紀的百貨商店掀起的“消費文化”中。這些商店“在幽雅的環(huán)境中供應琳瑯滿目的商品。與那些迎合知識精英人士的人情味十足的小商店不同”，這些商店是“任何階段和背景的人都可以進入的”。這使得購物轉變?yōu)橐环N公認和大眾的行為。大眾媒介、廣告和體育賽事也促進了民族同化。

????????移民正在快速成為大眾文化的一部分，這種情況也許不能從總體上提升美國，但也幾乎沒有什么害處。在為“美國移民論壇”撰稿時，格瑞·羅德里格茲報道說，如今的移民既未達到歷史最高峰但也不排斥同化。1998 年移民占人口總數(shù)的 9.8%， 1900 年占 13.6%。在 1990 年前的 10 年中，每 1000 個居民中就有 3.1 個移民；在 1890 年前的 10 年中，這一數(shù)字為 9.2?，F(xiàn)在，考慮一下三個同化的標志——語言、房產(chǎn)所有權和異族通婚。

????????1990 年的人口普查結果顯示，“來自十五個最主要移民國的移民大多數(shù)在居住十年后英語講得‘不錯’或‘非常好’?！币泼竦暮⒆油苷f兩種語言并精通英語。“到了第三代，原來的語言在大部分移民家庭中喪失”。因此美國也被描述為語言的“墓地”。到了 1996 年，1970 年之前到達的境外移民擁有房產(chǎn)的比例達到 75.6%，高于本土美國人 69.8%的比例。

????????亞裔和西班牙裔居民的“異族通婚率比美國本土黑人和白人之間的比例要高”。到了第三代，三分之一的西班牙裔美國婦女嫁給了非西班牙裔美國人，41%的亞裔美國婦女嫁給了非亞裔美國人。

????????羅德里格茲指出，全世界偏遠鄉(xiāng)村的兒童是阿若·施瓦辛格和葛司·布魯克這樣超級明星的影迷或歌迷，然而“一些美國人害怕，居住在美國境內(nèi)的移民在某種程度上對這個國家的同化作用免疫”。

????????在美國存在分歧的問題和小范圍激蕩的怒火嗎？確實如此。因為美國大到可以和任何事情都沾點邊。但是如今幾乎沒有出現(xiàn)社會環(huán)境黑暗和惡化的跡象，尤其當與美國動蕩的過去相比時更是如此。