Abby Subark is a mother of two from Boston. “For my kids, I’m nervous. I don’t know if they’ll be able to achieve their American dream.” She may be right. More than hard work or education, the best way to get rich in America is to be born rich.
It is the case that somebody who is in the upper third of income, poor scores, in the bottom on tests when they are in eighth grade, is more likely to go to college and finish college than a poor kid with the top scores. That’s what the working persons’ children are up against.
The Economic Policy Institute finds it would take a poor couple with 2 children 9 or 10 generations to achieve middle class status. That’s about 200 years. The hallmark (特征) of American opportunity has always been the ability to do better than your parents. But compared with similar developed countries, the United States ranks fifth out of six for so-called intergenerational mobility (变动).
If you look at the mechanisms (机制) for upward mobility that were so readily available 50 years ago, they are becoming out of reach, like plentiful factory jobs with good wages and affordable education and health care.
White families are twice as likely as blacks to be upwardly mobile. For most people in America today, where you end up depends on where you start.
If you started in the middle-income class, about 40 to 45 percent of what you are making right now is due to the fact that your parents were in the middle-income class. The rest is up to you.
But for the millions of people who find themselves below the poverty line and the millions more who are the working poor, their starting point for the American dream leaves them painfully far away from the middle class.
小题1:The main idea of the passage is _______.
A．How the middle class comes about in the U.S.
B．It’s hard to realize the American dream for the poor.
C．Wealth and social status depend on family background.
D．Upward mobility in America is never easy.小题2:Which of the statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A．People used to have job opportunities and welfare for upward mobility.
B．A great many poor people can hardly realize their American dream.
C．You can make all your dreams come true in America if born rich.
D．Rich kids are more likely to go to college than poor kids.小题3:The underlined sentence “where you end up depends on where you start” most probably means _______.
A．Your starting point cannot determine your destination.
B．Only a high goal can ensure success.
C．One’s birth has nothing to do with his fate.
D．One’s family lays solid foundation for his future achievements.小题4:Why is Abby Subark nervous?
A．Her kids don’t want to compare with other rich kids in achievements.
B．Her kids don’t want to achieve success at all.
C．Her kids can achieve success through hard work and education.
D．Her kids can’t reach their goal without a rich family.小题5:What can we infer after reading the passage?
A．Poverty causes people much pain.
B．People below the poverty line can never be in the middle class.
C．Lower starting point makes it hard for people to realize their dream.
D．Poor people’s starting point is too low.
