首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
When George Orwell wrote in 1941 that England was "the most class-ridden country under the sun", he was only partly right. Socie
When George Orwell wrote in 1941 that England was "the most class-ridden country under the sun", he was only partly right. Socie
admin
2011-05-12
52
问题
When George Orwell wrote in 1941 that England was "the most class-ridden country under the sun", he was only partly right. Societies have always had their hierarchies, with some group perched at the top. In the Indian state of Bihar the Ranveer Sena, an upper-caste private army, even killed to stay there.
By that measure class in Britain hardly seems entrenched (根深蒂固的). But in another way Orwell was right, and continues to be. As a new YouGov poll shows, Britons are surprisingly alert to class—both their Own and that of others. And they still think class is sticky. According to the poll, 48% of people aged 30 or over say they expect to end up better off than their parents. But only 28% expect to end up in a different class. More than two-thirds think neither they nor their children will leave the class they were born into.
What does this thing that people cannot escape consist of these days? And what do people look at when decoding which class someone belongs to? The most useful identifying markers, according to the poll, are occupation, address, accent and income, in that order. The fact that income comes fourth is revealing: though some of the habits and attitudes that class used to define arc more widely spread than they were, class still indicates something less blunt than mere xvealth.
Occupation is the most trusted guide to class, but changes in the labour market have made that harder to read than when Orwell was writing. Manual workers have shrunk along with farming and heavy industry as a proportion of the workforce, while the number of people in white-collar jobs has surged. Despite this striking change, when they were asked to place themselves in a class, Brits in 2006 huddled in much the same categories as they did when they were asked in 1949. So, jobs, which were once a fairly reliable guide to class, have become misleading.
A survey conducted earlier this year by Expertian shows how this convergence on similar types of work has blurred class boundaries. Expertian asked people in a number of different jobs to place themselves in the working class or the middle class. Secretaries, waiters and journalists were significantly more likely to think themselves middle-class than accountants, computer programmers or civil servants. Many new white-collar jobs offer no more autonomy or better prospects than old blue-collar ones. Yet despite the muddle over what the markers of class are these days, 71 % of those polled by YouGov still said they found it very or fairly easy to figure out which class others belong to.
In addition to changes in the labour market, two other things have smudged the borders on the class map. First, since 1945 Britain has received large numbers of immigrants who do not fit easily into existing notions of class and may have their own pyramids to scramble up. The flow of new arrivals has increased since the late 1990s, multiplying this effect.
Second, barriers to fame have been lowered. Britain’s fast-growing ranks of celebrities—like David Beckham and his wife Victoria—form a kind of parallel aristocracy open to talent, or at least to those who are uninhibited enough to meet the requests of television producers. This too has made definitions more complicated.
But many Brits, given the choice, still prefer to identify with the class they were born into rather than that which their jobs or income would suggest. This often entails pretending to be more humble than is actually the case: 22% of white-collar workers told YouGov that they consider themselves working class. Likewise, the Expertian survey found that one in ten adults who call themselves working class are among the richest asset-owners, and that over half a million households which earn more than $191,000 a year say they are working class. Pretending to be grander than income and occupation suggest is rarer, though it happens too.
If class no longer describes a clear social, economic or even political status, is it worth paying any attention to? Possibly, yes. It is still in most cases closely correlated with.educational attainment and career expectations.
Why does the author say ". . . Orwell was right, and continues to be" (Paragraph Two)?
选项
A、Because there was stronger class consciousness in India.
B、Because more people hope to end up in a higher class.
C、Because people expect to gain more wealth than their parents.
D、Because Britons are still conscious of their class status.
答案
D
解析
作者为什么认为“……奥威尔是对的,而且直到今天仍然是对的”(第二段)?本题为推理判断题。此句应联系本文首段提到的George Orwell wrote in 1941 that England was“the most class—ridden country under the sun”,he was only partly right.再结合第二段Britons are surprisingly alert to class可知英国人对阶层还是很敏感的,与D选项相符,故选D。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/vAYO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Cancunmeans"snakepit"inthelocalMayanlanguage,anditliveduptoitsnameasthehostofanimportantWorldTradeOrganiz
Cancunmeans"snakepit"inthelocalMayanlanguage,anditliveduptoitsnameasthehostofanimportantWorldTradeOrganiz
Theconditionsofartshouldbesimple.Agreatdealmoredependsupontheheartthanuponthehead.Appreciationofartisnot
Theworld’spopulationcontinuestogrow.Therenowareabout4billionofusonearth.Thatcouldreach6billionbytheendof
A、Tospendhisholidays.B、Toparticipateinabusinessnegotiation.C、TomeethisAustralianfriendthere.D、ToattractSriLan
"Givemelibertyorgivemedeath."Thisisafamousstatementmadeby______,awellknownfigureinU.S.history.
A、wasresponsibleforthekillingoftheSaudiPrinceB、PlannedviolenceagainsttheSaudiroyalfamilyC、helpedSauditerrorist
A、HeandhisfriendshaveneverwornAdidas.B、AdidasisjustforgreatsportsplayersliketheChicagoBulls.C、Adidashelpssp
HowtoConductEmploymentInterviewsGenerallyspeaking,thepurposeofemploymentinterviewsarethree-fold:a.tomatchac
ABetterChoiceThenexttimeyouoverhearafriendorco-workerchatteringexcitedlyaboutSOHO,don’tassumethattheyare
随机试题
婴儿腹泻致代谢性酸中毒,主要原因是
采用风险调整法估计债务成本的前提条件有()。
简述牛头刨床加工表面粗糙度值增大的原因。
患者,女性,39岁,近三日白带增多,伴外阴瘙痒就诊。妇科检查:外阴黏膜充血,阴道壁充血,分泌物黄色,中等量,呈稀薄泡沫状,宫颈充血。最可能的诊断是
从所给的四个选项中,选择最合适的一个填入问号处,使之呈现一定的规律性。
甲将其收藏的一件字画卖给乙,但未交付,约定价金10万元。甲将价金债权转让给丙并通知了乙。履行期届至前,该画意外灭失。则乙()。
输电线路与电信线路相对位置示意图及互感阻抗表如下图所示,请计算磁感应纵电动势(电磁综合屏蔽系数K50=1)。单相接地短路故障点在6点,最大磁感应纵电动势为()。
语言的使用是社会经济政治文化生活的重要条件,是每人每天所离不了的。学习把语言用得正确,对于我们的思想的精确程度和工作效率的提高,都有极重要的意义。最能准确复述这段话的主要意思的是()。
某商场在一楼和二楼间安装一自动扶梯,该扶梯以均匀的速度向上行驶,一男孩与一女孩同时从自动扶梯走到二楼(扶梯本身也在行驶),假设男孩与女孩都做匀速运动,且男孩每分钟走动的级数是女孩的两倍,已知男孩走了27级到达扶梯顶部,而女孩走了18级到达扶梯顶部(设男孩、
标准ASCII码用7位二进制数表示一个字符的编码,其不同的编码共有
最新回复
(
0
)