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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 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.
Why are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks mentioned in Paragraph 5?
选项 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.
答案D
解析 细节题。第五段就一句话，前半句说全世界遥远乡村里的孩子都是像施瓦辛格和布鲁克斯这样的超级明星的粉丝，后半句说一些美国人害怕美国的移民仍在一定程度上不受美国同化力量的影响。Yet提示转折，这表明前半句含有“美国的移民受到了美国同化力量影响”的意思，也就是说，美国文化有强大的影响力，故D项正确。本文的主题是美国在吸收移民方面的成功，即美国文化的同化能力很强，并不讨论移民个人的成功，由此可排除A、C项。B项“揭示了公众对移民的害怕”，既与主题不符，也与原文中some Americans不符，偷换概念。
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