Poverty exists because our society is an unequal one, and there are plenty of political pressures to keep it that way. Any attempt to redistribute wealth and income in the United States will be opposed by powerful middle and upper class interests. People can be relatively rich only if others are relatively poor, and since power is concentrated in the hands of the rich, public policies will continue to reflect their interests rather than those of the poor.
As Herbert Gans has pointed out, poverty is actually functional form from the point of view of the non-poor. Poverty ensures that ‘dirty’ work gets done. If there were no poor people to clean floors and empty dustbins, these jobs would have to be rewarded with high incomes before anyone would touch them. Poverty creates jobs for many of the non-poor, such as police officers, welfare workers, and government officials. Poverty makes life easier for the rich by providing them with cooks, gardeners and other workers to perform basic work while their employers enjoy more pleasurable activities. Poverty provides a market for low-level goods and services, such as day-old bread, rundown automobiles. Poverty legitimizes (make legal) middle-class values. To the middle class, the fate of the poor---who are supposed to lack honesty, and a taste of hard work---only confirms the desirability of qualities the poor are thought to lack. Poverty also provides a group that can be made to absorb the costs of change. For example, the poor bear the pressure of unemployment and it’s their homes, not those of the wealthy, that are destroyed when a route has to be found for a new highway. It cannot be said that the wealthy keep the poor in poverty. It is just that poverty is an outcome of the American economic system, which the poor are politically powerless to influence or change.
【小題1】 The best title is ________________________.
A.Functions of Poverty | B.Political Power in Poverty |
C.The Fate of the Poor | D.An Unequal Society |
A.the wealthy work hard and are glad to keep it |
B.the majority of the non-poor are totally indifferent (not paying much attention) to it |
C.the rich are politically powerful while the poor are politically powerless |
D.the poor like the jobs that they’re supplied by the wealthy. |
A.under political pressure | B.for the high pay offered |
C.a(chǎn)s they are reasonably paid | D.though ill-paid |
A.the poor lack such desirable qualities as honesty | |
B.the poor are not supposed to work hard | |
C.the poor are willing to bear the costs of change | D.none of the above |
科目:高中英語 來源:2012-2013學年甘肅省甘谷一中高二第二次月考英語試卷(帶解析) 題型:填空題
短文改錯﹙10分﹚
Though great progress have been made in science these years, there are still many people live in poor conditions. They make their lives by collecting or selling used things. Their children cannot go to school because they had not enough money to send their children there. How do you think so many people still suffer from poverty now? The answer lies on the population explosion﹙人口大爆炸﹚. A president of a developing country once said, “It is us who are to blame for the poverty because we used to ‘produce’ child without limit.” Although this few words sound simple enough, they have clear pointed out one of the causes of the population explosion.
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科目:高中英語 來源:2013-2014學年遼寧省高三上學期期中考試英語試卷(解析版) 題型:完型填空
The survey about childhood in the Third World shows that the struggle for survival is long and hard. But in the rich world, children can from a different kind of poverty — of the spirit. , one Western country alone now sees 14, 000 attempted suicides ( 自殺 ) every year by children under 15, and one child five needs psychiatric (心理上的) advice.
There are many good things about in the Third World. Take the close and constant relation between children and their parents, relatives and neighbors for example. In the West, the very nature of work puts distance between and children. But in most Third World villages mother and father do not go miles away each day to work in offices. , the child sees mother and father, relations and neighbors working and often shares in that work..
A child in this way learns his or her role through joining in the community's :helping to dig or build, look after animals or babies -- rather than playing with water and sand in kindergarten, keeping pets playing with dolls.
These children may grow up with a less oppressive sense of space and time than the children. Their sense of days and time has a lot to do with the change of seasons and positions of the sun or the moon in the sky. Children in the rich world, , are provided with a watch as one of the signs of growing up, so that they can along with their parents about being late for school times, meal times, bed times, the times of TV shows …
Third World children do not usually to stay indoors, still less in high-rise apartments. Instead of dangerous roads, "keep off the grass" signs and "don't speak to strangers", there is often a sense of to study and play. Parents can see their children outside rather than observe them from ten floors up.
, twelve million children under five still die every year through hunger and disease. But childhood in the Third World is not all
1.A. come B. survive C. suffer D. learn
2.A. As usual B. In fact C.For instance D. In other words
3.A. in B.by C. to D. under
4.A. childhood B. poverty C. spirit D. survival
5.A. neighbors B. fathers C. adults D. relatives
6.A. Anyhow B. Instead C.However D. Still
7.A. away B. alone C. nearby D.along
8.A. working B. living through C.playing D. growing up
9.A. fun B. life C. study D. work
10.A. by B. through C.from D. with
11.A. or B. but C. and D. so
12.A. Western B. good C. poor D. Eastern
13.A. at any moment B. at the same time C. on the other hand D. on the whole
14.A. easiest B. quickest C. happiest D. earliest
15.A. care B. worry C. hurry D.fear
16.A. dare B. expect C. have D. require
17.A. freedom B. danger C. disappointment D.control
18.A. eagerly B. anxiously C. impatiently D. proudly
19.A. Above all B. In the end C. Of course D. What's more
20.A. poor B. good C. rich D. bad
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科目:高中英語 來源:2012-2013學年青海省片區(qū)高三大聯(lián)考英語試卷(解析版) 題型:閱讀理解
Dear Students,
I am delighted to be your guest.
I would like to tell you about myself. I have been a news reporter for the past fifteen years. I chose this job so I could travel the world, but the job has taught me many unforgettable lessons. The work is sometimes difficult. I have seen famines, wars, earthquakes, poverty and death. But I have also seen courage, hope and happiness.
In India, I visited a city where there were many homeless children. Some were as young as four years old. They lived in the streets and survived by begging or stealing. But then a wonderful lady called Rosa opened a home for them. Within one year, she was looking after two hundred children. She clothed them, fed them, and taught them. She gave them hope.
Another time, I was in Turkey after a terrible earthquake, in one place. I found an old lady whose house was in ruins, her son was missing and rescue workers said there was no chance that he was still alive. But the old lady did not give up hope. For four days, she moved heavy stones one at a time by herself. She did not stop until she found her son. He was alive.
Here in China, I met a young boy with a serious condition. He had undergone twenty operations and spent nearly his whole life in hospital. I thought he would be sad, but when I met him, his smile was so warm and welcoming.
In life, we need role models that we can admire and learn from. When my life is difficult, I try to remember the courage and goodness of these three people.
1.The speaker is giving a speech to students in __________.
A. India B.Canada C.Turkey D.China
2.The underlined word “ famine ” in Paragraph 2 means __________.
A.extreme lack of food B.joy C.luck D.pleasure
3.What can we learn about Rosa?
A.She’s a rich lady and she likes to help the homeless children.
B.She’s a great mother and she looks after the homeless children.
C.She’s a kind-hearted woman and she provides houses for the homeless children.
D.She’s a good teacher and she teaches the homeless children.
4.For what does the speaker admire the Turkish woman and the Chinese boy?
A.Their bravery. B.Their luck. C.Their age. D.Their strong mind.
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科目:高中英語 來源:2012-2013學年廣東省惠州市高三4月模擬考試英語試卷(解析版) 題型:閱讀理解
Abraham Lincoln was born into poverty 200 years ago. At any other time and place, this lowly origin would have dictated his future, but in Lincoln’s case, his self-determination and force of will made it possible for him to secure his seat in his country's history. He has become a role model in the self-made America.
If you want to learn about somebody who didn’t quit, look no further. Abraham Lincoln had two business ventures failed, and the second one made him bankrupt, so he had to spend the next 17 years of his life paying for the debt. He also lost 8 different elections. It seemed that he had never done things right at the first time: the first time he ran for state legislature for Congress, for land officer, for Senate, all of these failed, and the first time he sought the vice-presidential nomination, he got less than 100 votes nationally. But he never found it too shameful to carry on his mission. Then later in 1860, on such a rough road, he made it to the White House. He lived up to his famous saying, “Always bear in mind that your own determination to success is more important than any other.”
He could have quit many times-—-but he didn’t and because he didn’t quit,he became one of the greatest presidents in the history of America. One important way Lincoln influences present society is that we look back on his lifeas a role model for future generations. Lincoln’s high character influences us because we compare present-day politicians to the example Lincoln set. A major influence Lincoln has on the united States today is simply through the good example he set when it came to honesty, persistence and leadership.
1.According to the first paragraph, which of the following statements is true?
A. Lincoln was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
B. Like Lincoln, a poor origin leads to a bright future.
C. America is considered self-made because of Lincoln.
D. Self-determination and will contributed to Lincoln’s success.
2.What is Paragraph Two mainly about?
A. How Lincoln made his way to the White House.
B. Lincoln suffered various failures.
C. Lincoln was a man who never quit.
D. Lincoln once lost two business ventures.
3.Which is the correct order of what happened to Lincoln?
a. He was paying off his debt. b. He failed in the run for land officer,
c. He got less than 100 votes nationally. d. he stuck to his mission, e. He went bankrupt.
A.b-c-c-d-a B.e-a-b-c-d C.e-c-a-b-d D.d-c-a-b-c
4.What’s the function of Lincoln’s famous saying in Paragraph Two?
A. To tell us that determination is the most important to success.
B. To attract readers1 attention.
C. To show why Lincoln was able to carry on in hard times.
D. To summarize Lincoln’s story.
5.Why does the writer consider Lincoln as one of the greatest presidents in America?
A. Because he still influences America as a role model.
B. Because he set a good example to the present politicians.
C. Because of his great personalities.
D. Because he went through diverse difficulties.
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科目:高中英語 來源:2012-2013學年河南省分校高二第二次階段考試英語試卷(解析版) 題型:完型填空
Growing up is not always easy. When facing difficulties, courage and a spirit of independence can be more useful than crying for __36___! That’s what Hong Zhanhui’s story of__37__ boy to man with family hardships tells us.
Hong was born in 1982 in a poor family in Xihua County, Henan Province. When he was ___38___ 11, his father became mentally ill and one day came back with an abandoned baby girl. A year later, Hong’s mother and younger brother both ___39__home because of poverty and pressure from his sick father.
Their burdens fell onto the 12-year-old’s shoulders: to treat his father’s illness, to ___40___ the adopted sister Chenchen, and to go on to study.
Hong didn’t __41___ . Since a young age, he has worked in part-time jobs to feed his family. At the same time, he has studied at college. To take care of Chenchen , he worked hard to___42__a room near his campus for her, and send her to school.
After Hong’s story went public, people were ___43___to tears by his unselfishness. Hard __44__ his life was, Hong didn’t abandon his father and the adopted ___45__, because they needed his help. With his hard-won money, he even aided other students ___46__against misfortunes.
Today when many tend to worry more about their own happiness, Hong’s deeds ___47__ us of what we usually neglect: Love and care for others. Without these, ___48___ of us could survive.
Hong ___49__ donations from others. He said that he felt encouraged by kind offers, but he could ___50__ his own work. Short of money to buy food, the boy climbed tall trees to get birds’ eggs for his baby sister. He walked two hours at weekends to buy different things to ___51__ around his school to earn money. Through his hard life, the boy developed ___52___ against misfortune that made him a hero in people’s eyes.
Hong’s story shows that with love and willpower, no hardship can ___53__ a person but himself. So when facing difficulties, don’t ___54__ about bad luck. Consider what more you could do for your family and society ___55___ you’ll find the world smiling back.
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