Question

It was once common to regard Britain as a society with class distinction. Each class had unique characteristics.

In recent years, many writers have begun to speak the “decline of class”and “classless society”in Britain. And in modern day consumer society everyone is considered to be middle class.

But pronouncing the death of class is too early. A recent wide-ranging society of public opinion found 90 percent of people still placing themselves in particular class; 73 percent agreed that class was still a vital part of British society; and 52 percent thought there were still sharp class differences. Thus, class may not be culturally and politically obvious, yet it remains an important part of British society. Britain seems to have a love of stratification.

One unchanging aspect of a British person’s class position is accent. The words a person speaks tell her or his class. A study of British accents during 1970s found that a voice sounding like a BBC newsreader was viewed as the most attractive voice, Most people said this accent sounded “educated” and “soft”. The accents placed at the bottom in this study, on the other hand, were regional（地区的）city accents. These accents were seen as “common” and “ugly”. However, a similar study of British accents in the US turned these results upside down and placed some regional accents as the most attractive and BBC English as the least. This suggests that British attitudes towards accent have deep roots and are based on class prejudice.

In recent years, however, young upper middle-class people in London, have begun to adopt some regional accents, in order to hide their class origins. This is an indication of class becoming unnoticed. However, the 1995 pop song “Common People” puts forward the view that though a middle-class person may “want to live like common people” they can never appreciate the reality of a working-class life.

1.A recent study of public opinion shows that in modern Britain ________.

A. it is time to end class distinction

B. most people belong to middle class

C. it is easy to recognize a person’s class

D. people regard themselves socially different

2.The word stratification in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ________.

A. division                            B. variety

C. authority                           D. qualification

3.The study in the US showed that BBC English was regarded as _________.

A. regional                            B. educated

C. unattractive                       D. prejudiced

4. What is the  main idea of the passage?

A. The middle class is expanding

B. A person’s accent reflects his class

C. Class is a key part of British society

D. Each class has unique characteristics.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：这篇短文给我们讲述了在英国社会中，阶级划分是重要的一部分。作者在短文中给我们介绍了两项调查，通过调查的结果我们可以看到，英国社会里的阶级划分没有消失，它是英国社会重要的一部分。

1.D细节理解题。根据短文第三段的内容可知，关于“阶级消亡”的说法，在英国对大众进行了一个调查，结果发现90%的人们仍然把自己划分在一定的阶层中；73%的人认为阶级是英国社会一个必不可少的部分。由此可知人们仍然认为他们在社会中是有区别的，故选D。

2.A词义猜测题。根据短文第三段的内容可知，根据一项关于英国社会阶级是否开始消亡的调查可知，绝大多数人仍然认为英国社会中存在不同的阶级，这是英国社会中重要的一部分。由此可知，英国人好像对阶级划分非常热衷。stratification划分，跟B选项是同义词，故选A。

3.C细节理解题。根据第四段中However, a similar study of British accents in the US turned these results upside down and placed some regional accents as the most attractive and BBC English as the least.可知，美国关于英语口音的调查结果正好和英国的调查结果相反，他们认为一些地方口音是最吸引人的，而BBC的英语是最不吸引人的，故选C。

4.C主旨大意题。这篇短文给我们讲述了在英国社会中，阶级划分是重要的一部分。作者在短文中给我们介绍了两项调查，其中一项告诉我们大多数人们觉得阶级是英国社会必不可少的一部分；另一项调查是关于人们说好的口音，英国和美国的调查结果正好相反，也说明了英国阶级划分的根源非常深。由此可知C选项：阶级是英国社会中的一个重要部分符合短文的大意。故选C。

【名师点睛】

抓住文章主线和关键词语，归纳文章中心

要注意不是所有的段落都有主题句，有时主题句暗含在句中。阅读这样的文章，就需要自己根据文章的细节来分析，概括出段落的主题，从而推导出文章的主旨。分析的方法是：先弄清该段落主要讲了哪几方面的内容，这些内容在逻辑上有什么联系，然后加以归纳形成主题。比如第11小题，C主旨大意题。这篇短文给我们讲述了在英国社会中，阶级划分是重要的一部分。作者在短文中给我们介绍了两项调查，其中一项告诉我们大多数人们觉得阶级是英国社会必不可少的一部分；另一项调查是关于人们说好的口音，英国和美国的调查结果正好相反，也说明了英国阶级划分的根源非常深。由此可知C选项：阶级是英国社会中的一个重要部分符合短文的大意。故选C。

考点：考查社会现象类阅读