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  3. In spite of "endless talk of difference," American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people. There is" the democrat

In spite of "endless talk of difference," American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people. There is" the democrat

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问题     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-century 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 levels nor resistant to assimilation. In 1998 immigrants were 9. 8 percent of population; in 1990, 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.
According to the author, the department stores of the 19th century_________.
选项 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
答案A
解析 事实细节题。该题利用题干中的“the department stores of the 19th century”定位到文章第一段People are absorbed into“a culture of consumption”launched by the 19th-century department stores that offered“vast arrays of goods in an elegant atmosphere．”可见，the culture of consumption是由这些百货商店发起的。选项A与相关信息句“融入了19世纪百货商店倡导的消费文化”直接关联；选项B、C、D均与上述信息句没有任何关联。因此，正确答案为A“在大众文化传播方面发挥作用”。
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