In spite of “endless talk of difference, American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people. There is “the democratizing uniformity of dress and discourse, and the casualness and absence of deference” characteristic of popular culture. People are absorbed into “a culture of consumption”, launched by the 19th-entury department stores that offered “vast arrays of goods in an elegant atmosphere. Instead of intimate shops catering to a knowledgeable elite” these were stores “anyone could enter, regardless of class or background. This turned shopping into a public and democratic act. ” The mass media, advertising and sports are other forces for homogenization.
Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous. Writing for the National Immigration Forum, Gregory Rodriguez reports that today’s immigration is neither at unprecedented level nor resistant to assimilation. In 1998 immigrants were 9.8 percent of population; in 1900, 13.6 percent. In the 10 years prior to 1990, 3.1 immigrants arrived for every 1,000 residents; in the 10 years prior to 1890, 9.2 for every 1,000. Now, consider three indices of assimilation—language, home ownership and intermarriage.
The 1990 Census revealed that “a majority of immigrants from each of the fifteen most common countries of origin spoke English ‘well’ or ‘very well’ after ten years of residence. ” The children of immigrants tend to be bilingual and proficient in English. “By the third generation, the original language is lost in the majority of immigrant families. ”Hence the description of America as a “graveyard” for languages. By 1996 foreign-born immigrants who had arrived before 1970 had a home ownership rate of 75.6 percent, higher than the 69.8 percent rate among native-born Americans.
Foreign-born Asians and Hispanics “have higher rates of intermarriage than do U.S-born whites and blacks. ” By the third generation, one third of Hispanic women are married to non-Hispanics, and 41 percent of Asian-American women are married to non-Asians.
Rodriguez notes that children in remote villages around the world are fans of superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks, yet “some Americans fear that immigrants living within the United States remain somehow immune to the nation’s assimilative power.”
Are there divisive issues and pockets of seething anger in America? Indeed. It is big enough to have a bit of everything. But particularly when viewed against America’s turbulent past, today’s social indices hardly suggest a dark and deteriorating social environment.
21. The word “homogenizing” (Line 1, Paragraph 1) most probably means
[A] identifying. [B] associating.
[C] assimilating. [D] monopolizing.
22. According to the author, the department stores of the 19th-century
[A] played a role in the spread of popular culture.
[B] became intimate shops for common consumers.
[C] satisfied the needs of a knowledgeable elite.
[D] owed its emergence to the culture of consumption.
23. The text suggests that immigrants now in the U.S.
[A] are resistant to homogenization.
[B] exert a great influence on American culture.
[C] are hardly a threat to the common culture.
[D] constitute the majority of the population.
24. Why are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks mentioned in Paragraph 5?
[A] To prove their popularity around the world.
[B] To reveal the public’s fear of immigrants.
[C] To give examples of successful immigrants.
[D] To show the powerful influence of American culture.
25. In the author’s opinion, the absorption of immigrants into American society is
[A] rewarding. [B] successful.
[C] fruitless. [D] harmful.
一、详读重点
根据上面要求详细阅读的内容，作者以红色标出了重点。首先是宏观方面。从文章结构而言，本文主要阐述一个概念homogenization（同化），属于常见的“一枝独秀型”结构，即主要说明一个核心概念。文章首句In spite of “endless talk of difference, American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people就是全文的中心。除了这一句之外，其他段落的首末句也值得关注。从态度而言，作者在首句用amazing（令人惊叹的）、第二段首句（hardly poisonous）与全文末句（hardly suggest a dark and deteriorating social environment）使用双重否定表明移民成功融入美国社会。
在第二段中，段末包含数字年代的两个句子属于并列性的细节，应该速读甚至跳读。第三段与第四段是对第二段末句所说的三个表明同化的指标---language, home ownership and intermarriage 的详细说明，属于明显的细节，阅读时应该速读。如此阅读不仅抓住了重点，而且节约了时间。