Once upon a time there lived a beautiful young woman and a handsome young man. They were very poor, but as they were deeply in love, they wanted to get married. The young people’s parents shook their heads. “You can’t get married yet,” they said. “Wait till you get a good job with good prospects.” So the young people waited until they found good jobs with good prospects and they were able to get married. They were still poor, of course. They didn’t have a house to live in or any furniture, but that didn’t matter. The young man had a good job with good prospects, so large organizations lent him the money he needed to buy a house, some furniture, ail the latest electrical appliances and a car. The couple lived happily ever after paying off debts for the rest of their lives. And so ends another modern romantic fable.
We live in a materialistic society and are trained form our earliest years to be acquisitive. Our possessions, “mine” and “yours” are clearly labeled from early childhood. When we grow old enough to earn a living, it does not surprise us to discover that success is measured in terms of money you earn. We spend the whole of our lives keeping up with the Joneses. If we buy a new television set, a Jones is bound to buy a bigger and better one. If we buy a new car, we can be sure that Jones will get one better and get two new cars: one for his wife and one for himself. The most amusing thing about this game is that the Joneses and all the neighbors who are struggling frantically to keep up with the mare spending borrowed money kindly provided, at a Suitable rate of interest, of course, by friendly banks, insurance companies, etc.
It is not only in affluent societies that people are obsessed with the idea of making more money. Consumer goods are desirable everywhere and modern industry deliberately sets, out to create new markets. Gone are the days when industrial goods were made to last forever. The wheel of industry must be kept turning. “Built-in obsolescence” provides the means: good are made to be discarded. Cars get tinnier and tinnier. You no sooner acquire this year’s model than you are thinking about its replacement.
This materialistic outlook has seriously influenced education. Fewer and fewer young people these days acquire knowledge only for its own sake. Every course of studies must lead somewhere: i.e. to a bigger wage packet. The demand for skilled personnel far exceeds the supply and big companies compete with each other to recruit students before they have completed their studies. Tempting salaries and “fringe benefits” are offered to them. Recruiting tactics of this kind have led to the “brain drain”, the process by which highly skilled people offer their services to the highest bidder. The wealthier nations deprive their poorer neighbors of their most able citizens. While Mammon is worshipped as never before, the rich get richer and poor, poorer.
1. From the first paragraph, we can infer that ______.
2. The expression “keep up with the Joneses” might mean ______.
3. According to the author ______.
4. What’s the best title for the passage?
5. We can infer that more people past acquired knowledge ______.
6. “Brain drain” means ______.
7. We can infer that brain drain ______.
问题1选项
A.good job with good prospects can have a good marriage
B.those who are poor can’t married
C.poor in love is better than rich in love
D.even marriage is closely related with money
问题2选项
A.maintain a high standard of achievement
B.prevent something from moving
C.try to maintain the same social and material standards as one’s neighbors
D.continue to be in contact with somebody
问题3选项
A.money seems extremely important today
B.interest in earning money is not a modern phenomenon
C.money is one there, love is another
D.love without money is a field without water
问题4选项
A.Keep Up with the Joneses
B.The Only Thing People Are Interested in Today Is Earning More Money
C.Love Me, Love My Dog
D.Money Make the Mare Go
问题5选项
A.eagerly
B.for its own sake
C.for practical purpose
D.passively
问题6选项
A.brain becomes empty
B.brain has problems
C.a process in which the highly skilled people change to work for the organizations who pay them higher
D.a process by which the clever people are offered better jobs
问题7选项
A.attracts no attention from all the countries
B.brings about bad effects to poor countries
C.makes richer countries poor because they have to pay more to them
D.is worshipped
第1题:D
第2题:C
第3题:A
第4题:B
第5题:B
第6题:C
第7题:B
第1题:
【选项释义】
From the first paragraph, we can infer that ______. 从第一段，我们可以推断出______。
A. good job with good prospects can have a good marriage A. 好的工作有好的前景就能有好的婚姻
B. those who are poor can’t married B. 那些穷人不能结婚
C. poor in love is better than rich in love C. 爱情中的穷人胜过爱情中的富人
D. even marriage is closely related with money D. 即使是婚姻也与金钱密切相关
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】根据第一段的内容可知，本段讲述的是两个很穷的年轻人找到有前途的工作后再结婚，偿清债务后，过上了幸福的生活。可知作者意在说明婚姻与金钱密切相关。所以选项D正确。
【干扰项排除】A、B、C选项过于绝对，属于过度推断。
第2题:
【选项释义】
The expression “keep up with the Joneses” might mean ______. “keep up with the Joneses”这个短语的意思可能是______。
A. maintain a high standard of achievement A. 保持高水平的成就
B. prevent something from moving B. 防止物体移动
C. try to maintain the same social and material standards as one’s neighbors C. 尽量与邻居保持相同的社会和物质标准
D. continue to be in contact with somebody D. 继续与某人保持联系
【考查点】词汇推断题
【解题思路】根据下一句的举例：If we buy a new television set, a Jones is bound to buy a bigger and better one. If we buy a new car, we can be sure that Jones will get one better and get two new cars.（如果我们买一台新电视机，琼斯家的人一定会买一台更大更好的。如果我们买一辆新车，我们可以肯定琼斯会得到一辆更好的。）由此可以推断“keep up with the Joneses”指的是互相攀比，选项C符合原文。
【干扰项排除】A、B、D选项不能通过文章信息推理出来。
第3题:
【选项释义】
According to the author ______. 根据作者的说法，______。
A. money seems extremely important today A. 钱在今天似乎非常重要
B. interest in earning money is not a modern phenomenon B. 对赚钱的兴趣不是一种现代的现象
C. money is one there, love is another C. 金钱和爱情不能混为一谈
D. love without money is a field without water D. 没有金钱的爱情，犹如没有水的田地
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】总览全文，文章首先讲了爱情和金钱是不可分割的，接着说明我们从小到大受到的教育和与人们的相处都围绕着钱，其次在工业制造和教育也越来越受物质主义的影响，可知A选项最符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
B选项根据第三段工业制造的快速变化可知对赚钱的兴趣是现代的现象，属于反向干扰；
C选项根据第一段的内容和解析可知，属于反向干扰；
D选项过于绝对，属于过度推断。
第4题:
【选项释义】
What’s the best title for the passage? 这篇文章的最佳标题是什么？
A. Keep Up with the Joneses A. 赶上琼斯家
B The Only Thing People Are Interested in Today Is Earning More Money B. 今天人们唯一感兴趣的事情是赚更多的钱
C. Love Me, Love My Dog C. 爱屋及乌
D. Money Make the Mare Go D. 有钱能使鬼推磨
【考查点】主旨大意题
【解题思路】结合全文内容可知，本文主要讲的是物欲横流的世界中人们以及社会的现状，人们今天唯一感兴趣的是赚更多的钱，选项B最能概括全文，所以正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项是文章举得一个例子，过于片面，属于以偏概全；
C、D选项根据解析可知，不能用于总结全文内容。
第5题:
【选项释义】
We can infer that more people past acquired knowledge ______. 我们可以推断，更多的人在过去获得知识______。
A. eagerly A. 是急切地
B. for its own sake B. 为了知识本身
C. for practical purpose C. 为了实际目的
D. passively D. 是被动的
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】根据最后一段的二、三句：Fewer and fewer young people these days acquire knowledge only for its own sake. Every course of studies must lead somewhere: i.e. to a bigger wage packet.（现在越来越少的年轻人只为知识本身而获取知识。每一门课程的学习都必须有一定的结果：例如，更高的工资。）由此可以推断，过去人们学习是为了获取知识本身，而不是为了赚钱，所以选项B正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、D选项在文中没有提及，属于无中生有，
C选项根据解析可知为了实际目的而学习是现在学习知识的目的而非过去，属于张冠李戴。
第6题:
【选项释义】
“Brain drain” means ______. “人才流失”意味着______。
A. brain becomes empty A. 大脑变得空虚
B. brain has problems B. 大脑有问题
C. a process in which the highly skilled people change to work for the organizations who pay them higher C. 在这个过程中，技能高超的人转变为给他们更高工资的组织工作
D. a process by which the clever people are offered better jobs D. 聪明的人得到更好工作的过程
【考查点】词汇推断题
【解题思路】根据定位处的下文：…the process by which highly skilled people offer their services to the highest bidder.（……高技能人才向出价最高者提供服务的过程。）可知选项C符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A、B选项根据解析可知属于曲解原文；
D选项根据解析可知，应该是技能高超的人获得更高工作的过程而不是聪明的人，属于偷换概念。
第7题:
【选项释义】
We can infer that brain drain ______. 我们可以推断出人才流失______。
A. attracts no attention from all the countries A. 没有引起所有国家的注意
B. brings about bad effects to poor countries B. 给贫穷国家带来不良影响
C. makes richer countries poor because they have to pay more to them C. 使较富裕的国家变穷，因为他们必须支付给他们更多
D. is worshipped D. 被推崇
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】根据最后一段的倒数第二句：The wealthier nations deprive their poorer neighbors of their most able citizens.（“人才流失”使得较富裕的国家剥夺了较贫穷的邻国最有能力的公民。）可推知选项B正确。
【干扰项排除】A、C、D选项在文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
