Several recent studies have found that being randomly (随机地) assigned to a roommate of another race can lead to increased tolerance but also to a greater likelihood (可能性) of conflict.
Recent reports found that lodging with a student of a different race may decrease prejudice and compel students to engage in more ethnically diverse friendships.
An Ohio State University study also found that black students living with a white roommate saw higher academic success throughout their college careers. Researchers believe this may be caused by social pressure.
In a New York Times article, Sam Boakye—the only black student on his freshman year floor—said that “if you’re surrounded by whites, you have something to prove.”
Researchers also observed problems resulting from pairing interracial students in residences. According to two recent studies, randomly assigned roommates of different races are more likely to experience conflicts so strained that one roommate will move out.
An Indiana University study found that interracial roommates were three times as likely as two white roommates to no longer live together by the end of the semester.
Grace Kao, a professor at Penn said she was not surprised by the findings. “This may be the first time that some of these students have interacted, and lived, with someone of a different race,” she said.
At Penn, students are not asked to indicate race when applying tor housing.
“One of the great things about freshman housing is that, with some exceptions, the process throws you together randomly,” said Undergraduate Assembly chairman Alec Webley. “This is the definition of integration.”
“I’ve experienced roommate conflicts between interracial students that have both broken down stereotypes and reinforced stereotypes,” said one Penn resident advisor RA. The RA of two years added that while some conflicts “provided more multicultural acceptance and melding (融合)”, there were also “jarring cultural confrontations”.
The RA said that these conflicts have also occurred among roommates of the same race. Kao said she cautions against forming any generalizations based on any one of the studies, noting that more background characteristics of the students need to be studied and explained.
1. What can we learn from some recent studies?
2. What does Sam Boakye’s remark mean?
3. What does the Indiana University study show?
4. What does Alec Webley consider to be the “definition of integration”?
5. What does Grace Kao say about interracial lodging?
问题1选项
A.Conflicts between students of different races are unavoidable.
B.Students of different races are prejudiced against each other.
C.Interracial lodging does more harm than good.
D.Interracial lodging may have diverse outcomes.
问题2选项
A.White students tend to look down upon their black peers.
B.Black students can compete with their white peers academically.
C.Black students feel somewhat embarrassed among white peers during the freshman year.
D.Being surrounded by white peers motivates a black student to work harder to succeed.
问题3选项
A.Interracial roommates are more likely to fall out.
B.Few white students like sharing a room with a black peer.
C.Roommates of different races just don’t get along.
D.Assigning students’ lodging randomly is not a good policy.
问题4选项
A.Students of different races are required to share a room.
B.Interracial lodging is arranged by the school for freshmen.
C.Lodging is assigned to students of different races without exception.
D.The school randomly assigns roommates without regard to race.
问题5选项
A.It is unscientific to make generalizations about it without further study.
B.Schools should be cautious when making decisions about student lodging.
C.Students’ racial background should be considered before lodging is assigned.
D.Experienced resident advisors should be assigned to handle the problems.
第1题:D
第2题:D
第3题:A
第4题:D
第5题:A
第1题:
事实细节题。根据第一段Several recent studies have found that being randomly assigned to a roommate of another race can lead to increased tolerance but also to a greater likelihood of conflict.（最近的一些研究发现，让不同种族的学生住在一起可能会增强包容性，但也可能会增加冲突的几率。），可知不同种族的学生住在一起可能会有好的结果和不好的结果，并且没有强调更有可能是好的还是不好的结果，D选项“让不同种族的学生住在一起可能有不同的结果”正确，A选项“不同种族的学生之间的冲突不可避免”和C选项“让不同种族的学生住在一起弊大于利”错误。B选项“不同种族的学生互相有偏见”：根据第二段Recent reports found that lodging with a student of a different race may decrease prejudice（最近的报告发现，与不同种族的学生住在一起可能会减少偏见），可知文章表达的重点是偏见可能会减少，而不是强调偏见的存在。因此D选项正确。
第2题:
推理判断题。根据第三段black students living with a white roommate saw higher academic success throughout their college careers. Researchers believe this may be caused by social pressure.（与白人室友同住的黑人学生在整个大学生涯中获得了更高的学术成就。研究人员认为这可能是社会压力造成的。）和第四段In a New York Times article, Sam Boakye—the only black student on his freshman year floor—said that “if you’re surrounded by whites, you have something to prove.”（在《纽约时报》的一篇文章中，大学一年级唯一的黑人学生Sam boakye说：“如果你周围都是白人，你就得证明自己。”），可知与白人室友同住的黑人学生更加努力，因此获得了更高的学术成就，D选项“周围是白人同学的环境激励黑人学生更加努力地工作以获得成功”正确。B选项“黑人学生可以在学业上与白人同龄人竞争”：不是表达的重点，故错误。A选项“白人学生往往看不起他们的黑人同学”和C选项“在大学一年级期间，黑人学生在白人同龄人中有些尴尬”：文中没有提到。因此D选项正确。
第3题:
事实细节题。根据第五段第二句According to two recent studies, randomly assigned roommates of different races are more likely to experience conflicts so strained that one roommate will move out.（根据最近的两项研究，随机分配的不同种族的室友更有可能经历紧张的冲突，以至于其中一个室友会搬出去。）和第六段An Indiana University study found that interracial roommates were three times as likely as two white roommates to no longer live together by the end of the semester.（印第安纳大学的一项研究发现，到学期结束时，不同种族室友不住在一起的可能性是两个白人室友的三倍。），可知不同种族的学生住在一起比同种族的学生住在一起更容易闹矛盾，但不是一定会闹矛盾，A选项“不同种族的室友更容易争吵”正确，C选项“不同种族的室友相处不好”错误。B选项“很少有白人学生喜欢和黑人同学合住一个房间”：没有具体提到白人学生对住宿对象的意向。D选项“随机分配学生住宿不是一个好政策”：这里讨论的是不同种族的学生住在一起的相关情况，而非随机分配学生住宿不是一个好政策是否合理。因此A选项正确。
第4题:
事实细节题。根据第九段“the process throws you together randomly,” said Undergraduate Assembly chairman Alec Webley. “This is the definition of integration.”（“这个过程会随意地把你们聚在一起。”本科生大会主席Alec Webley说，“这就是整合的定义。”），可知这里的“整合”指的是把不同种族的学生随机聚在一起，D选项“学校随机分配室友，不考虑种族”正确。A选项“不同种族的学生被要求共享一个房间”和B选项“学校为新生安排不同种族的室友”：学校没有特意规定和硬性要求，室友都是随机分配，故错误。C选项“对不同种族的学生一视同仁”：这里的重点不是平等对待所有学生，给所有学生同样的福利或待遇，而是强调随机分配室友，故错误。因此D选项正确。
第5题:
事实细节题。根据文章最后一句Kao said she cautions against forming any generalizations based on any one of the studies, noting that more background characteristics of the students need to be studied and explained.（Kao说，她告诫不要基于任何一项研究得出一般性结论，指出需要研究和解释更多学生的背景特征。），可知Kao认为需要进行足够的研究才能给出结论，A选项“没有进一步研究就对其进行概括是不科学的”正确。B选项“学校在安排学生住宿时应该谨慎”，C选项“在分配住宿之前，应该考虑学生的种族背景”和D选项“应该指派有经验的室长来处理这些问题”：文中没有提到，故错误。因此A选项正确。
