GRE閱讀題目解析:杰克遜時代的美國平等

　　GRE閱讀題目解析:杰克遜時代的美國平等

　　P2

　　Questions 4 to 5 are based on the following reading passage.

　　Tocqueville, apparently, was wrong. Jacksonian America was not a fluid, egalitarian society where individual wealth and poverty were ephemeral conditions.At least so argues E. Pessen in his iconoclastic study of the very rich in the United States between 1825 and 1850.

　　Pessen does present a quantity of examples, together with some refreshingly intelligible statistics, to establish the existence of an inordinately wealthy class. Though active in commerce or the professions, most of the wealthy were not self-made, but had inherited family fortunes. In no sense mercurial, these great fortunes survived the financial panics that destroyed lesser ones. Indeed, in several cities the wealthiest one percent constantly increased its share until by 1850 it owned half of the community‘s wealth. Although these observations are true, Pessen overestimates their importance by concluding from them that the undoubted progress toward inequality in the late eighteenth century continued in the Jacksonian period and that the United States was a class-ridden, plutocratic society even before industrialization. (162 words)

　　4. According to the passage, Pessen indicates that all of the following were true of the very wealthy in the United States between 1825 and 1850 EXCEPT:

　　(A) They formed a distinct upper class.

　　(B) Many of them were able to increase their holdings.

　　(C)Some of them worked as professionals or in business.

　　(D) Most of them accumulated their own fortunes.

　　(E) Many of them retained their wealth in spite of financial upheavals.

　　5. Which of the following best states the author‘s main point?

　　(A) Pessen‘s study has overturned the previously established view of the social and economic structure of early nineteenth-century America.

　　(B) Tocqueville‘s analysis of the United States in the Jacksonian era remains the definitive account of this period.

　　(C) Pessen‘s study is valuable primarily because it shows the continuity of the social system in the United States throughout the nineteenth century.

　　(D) The social patterns and political power of the extremely wealthy in the United States between 1825 and 1850 are well documented.

　　(E) Pessen challenges a view of the social and economic system in the United States from 1825 to 1850, but he draws conclusions that are incorrect.

　　P2

　　Questions 4 to 5 are based on the following reading passage.

　　1

　　Tocqueville, apparently, was wrong. Jacksonian America was not a fluid, egalitarian society where individual wealth and poverty were ephemeral conditions.

　　托克維爾認為杰克遜時代的美國是平等的，窮人有機會使自己躋身富裕階層，貌似(有人認為)他錯了。

　　(apparently，這個詞有兩種解釋，都源于apparent 。一種是 “ 顯而易見地，明顯地 ”;一種是 “ 似乎是這樣地(其實未必如此)，表面上地 ”。下文可以看出作者拿出的證據(jù)都是間接的(P的研究結果)，且最終作者并不認同P的結論，所以 apparently 應該做 “ 似乎 ” 講，取第二種解釋。

　　Jachsonian，杰克遜的，這里的杰克遜是美國第七任總統(tǒng)(任期1828-1836)安德魯·杰克遜，一直被認為是美國最杰出的十位總統(tǒng)之一，民主黨創(chuàng)建者之一。與本題無關。)

　　2

　　At least so argues E. Pessen in his iconoclastic study of the very rich in the United States between 1825 and 1850.

　　至少 E P 的顛覆傳統(tǒng)的研究這樣認為，其研究對象是1825-1850年的美國超富階層。

　　3

　　Pessen does present a quantity of examples, together with some refreshingly intelligible statistics, to establish the existence of an inordinately wealthy class.

　　P 的確列舉了若干例子，結合一些易理解的數(shù)據(jù)，以勾勒出這個超富裕階層，使人耳目一新。

　　(inordinately 【AHD】超越適當限度的，過度的)

　　4

　　Though active in commerce or the professions, most of the wealthy were not self-made, but had inherited family fortunes.

　　盡管活躍在商界或其他專業(yè)領域，但大部分富人的巨額財富來自家族傳承，而非個人奮斗。

　　5

　　In no sense mercurial, these great fortunes survived the financial panics that destroyed lesser ones.

　　經(jīng)濟恐慌時期，這些巨富得以全身而退而小資本悉數(shù)傾覆，這絕非偶然。

　　(in no sense 絕不(adv.)

　　mercurial 反復無常的，難以預測的)

　　6

　　Indeed, in several cities the wealthiest one percent constantly increased its share until by 1850 it owned half of the community‘s wealth.

　　實際上在某些城市，前1%的富人的財富持續(xù)增加，直到1850年，已占他們所在區(qū)域總財富的半數(shù)。

　　7

　　Although these observations are true, Pessen overestimates their importance by concluding from them that the undoubted progress toward inequality in the late eighteenth century continued in the Jacksonian period and that the United States was a class-ridden, plutocratic society even before industrialization. (162 words)

　　即便這些觀察是真實的，P 也高估了它們的重要性，他誤以為這個顯然不平等的進程在杰克遜時代得以繼續(xù)，甚至使美國在完成工業(yè)化以前，就成為一個階級分化的，由財閥統(tǒng)治的社會。

　　4. According to the passage, Pessen indicates that all of the following were true of the very wealthy in the United States between 1825 and 1850 EXCEPT:

　　(A) They formed a distinct upper class.

　　(B) Many of them were able to increase their holdings.

　　(C)Some of them worked as professionals or in business.

　　(D) Most of them accumulated their own fortunes.

　　(E) Many of them retained their wealth in spite of financial upheavals.

　　選D。

　　見句 4：

　　Though active in commerce or the professions, most of the wealthy were not self-made, but had inherited family fortunes.

　　5. Which of the following best states the author‘s main point?

　　(A) Pessen‘s study has overturned the previously established view of the social and economic structure of early nineteenth-century America.

　　(B) Tocqueville‘s analysis of the United States in the Jacksonian era remains the definitive account of this period.

　　(C) Pessen‘s study is valuable primarily because it shows the continuity of the social system in the United States throughout the nineteenth century.

　　(D) The social patterns and political power of the extremely wealthy in the United States between 1825 and 1850 are well documented.

　　(E) Pessen challenges a view of the social and economic system in the United States from 1825 to 1850, but he draws conclusions that are incorrect.

　　選 E

　　A

　　P 的研究雖然是反傳統(tǒng)的，但是他能否 overturn 學界對這個時期的社會經(jīng)濟結構觀點，未必，第 7 句暗示作者也認為 P 的結論有問題。

　　B

　　托克維爾對于杰克森時代的美國的分析仍然是權威(definitive)的嗎?

　　最大干擾項。

　　托克維爾是著名的法國歷史學家，政治家，貴族出身的他曾游歷美國，寫下著名的《美國的民主》(還有《美國游記》及大量書信)，一直被認為是美國社會的旁觀者之眼。如果你有這種背景知識，怎么看都覺得這個選項對。可惜即便 “ 托克維爾觀點 ” 真的有這種地位，文中也看不出來，作者明確表態(tài)的內(nèi)容，僅限于 P 質(zhì)疑托克維爾，P 的結論有問題，并不能證明托克維爾的觀點就是權威的。所以，重申我們在填空題講解中就提醒大家的話：

　　“GRE文字推理部分，如果你沒有背景知識 —— 是一種幸運，倘若不幸具備一些背景知識 —— 切記要非常謹慎地使用(最好別用)，一切從文本和常識出發(fā)。”

　　C

　　不一定是 valuable 的，也不一定有 continuity 。

　　D

　　documented 用文件證實或證明的，明確記錄的。

　　顯然不夠明確(not well)，否則也不會產(chǎn)生這么多分歧，學者們各說各話。