每日一练，专升本英语阅读理解练习(1.06)
Abby Subark is a mother of two kids from Boston. “For my kids, I’m nervous. I don’t know if they’ll be able to achieve their American dream.” She may be right. More than hard work or education, the best way to get rich in America is to be born rich.
It is the case that somebody who is in the upper third of income, with poor scores, at the bottom on tests when they are in eighth grade, is more likely to go to college and finish college than a poor kid with the top scores. That’s what the working person’s children are up against.
The Economic Policy Institute finds it would take a poor couple with 2 children 9 or 10 generations to achieve middle class status. That’s about 200 years. The typical feature of American opportunity has always been the ability to do better than your parents. But compared with similar developed countries, the United States ranks fifth out of six for so-called intergenerational mobility(变动).
If you look at the mechanisms(机制)for upward mobility that were so readily available 50 years ago, they are becoming out of reach, like plentiful factory jobs with good wages and affordable education and health care.
White families are twice as likely as blacks to be upwardly mobile. For most people in America today, where you end up depends on where you start.
If you started in the middle-income class, about 40 to 45 percent of what you are making right now is due to the fact that your parents were in the middle-income class. The rest is up to you.
But for the millions of people who find themselves below the poverty line and the millions more who are the working poor, their starting point for the American dream leaves them painfully far away from the middle class.
问题：
1.Why is Abby Subark nervous?
A.Her kids don’t want to catch up with other kids in achievements.
B.Her kids don’t want to achieve success at all.
C.Her kids can only achieve success through hard work and education.
D.Her family is not rich enough to help her kids achieve their goals.
【参考答案】D
[考点]推理判断题
【精析】D 文章第一段指出Abby Subark很焦虑， 因为她不知道自己的孩子是否会实现美国梦。 接着又在第一段最后两句指出“She may be right. More than hard work or education, the best way to get rich in America is to be born rich.”即相比起勤奋工作和受教育程度，在美国成为有钱人最好的办法是生在富裕的家庭里。 由此可推知，Abby Subark家并不富裕，不能帮助孩子实现美国梦。故选D。
2.Which of the statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A.People used to have more opportunities for upward mobility.
B.A great many poor people can hardly realize their American dream.
C.You can make all your dreams come true in America if born rich.
D.Rich kids are more likely to go to college than poor kids.
【参考答案】C
[考点]事实细节题
【精析】C 根据文章大意“出身富裕的孩子比出身贫穷的孩子更易实现美国梦”可知，C项描述过于绝对。根据第四段内容可知，A项正确;根据最后一段内容可知，B项正确;根据第二段内容可知，D项正确。故选C。
3.The sentence “where you end up depends on where you start”(Par5)most probably means _________.
A.your starting point cannot determine your destination
B.only a high goal can ensure success
C.your birth has nothing to do with your fate
D.your family lays solid foundation for your future achievement
【参考答案】D
[考点]推理判断题
【精析】D 联系上下文可知，此句话意思是：一个人的出身基本决定了他将来发展的起点。故选D。
4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.Poverty causes people much pain.
B.People below the poverty line can never be in the middle class.
C.Lower starting point makes it hard for people to realize their dream.
D.Poor people’s starting point is too low.
【参考答案】C
[考点]推理判断题
【精析】C 根据文章最后一段可知，那些出身不好的人实现美国梦的低起点使他们远远地落在了中产阶级的后面，即出身不好的人很难实现美国梦。故选C。
5. The writer of the passage is trying to tell us that _________.
A.how the middle class came about in the U.S.
B.it’s hard for poor Americans to realize their American dream
C.wealth and social status have little to do with family background
D.upward mobility in America is never easy
【参考答案】B
[考点]主旨大意题
【精析】B 通读全文可知，作者主要讲述了美国的一个现实，即如果你出身贫穷，那么你要付出比那些出身富裕的人更多的努力去实现自己的梦想。故选B。
