GRE阅读题目解析:杰克逊时代的美国平等

　　P2

　　Questions 4 to 5 are based on the following reading passage.

　　Tocqueville, apparently, was wrong. Jacksonian America was not a fluid, egalitarian society where individual wealth and poverty were ephemeral conditions.At least so argues E. Pessen in his iconoclastic study of the very rich in the United States between 1825 and 1850.

　　Pessen does present a quantity of examples, together with some refreshingly intelligible statistics, to establish the existence of an inordinately wealthy class. Though active in commerce or the professions, most of the wealthy were not self-made, but had inherited family fortunes. In no sense mercurial, these great fortunes survived the financial panics that destroyed lesser ones. Indeed, in several cities the wealthiest one percent constantly increased its share until by 1850 it owned half of the community‘s wealth. Although these observations are true, Pessen overestimates their importance by concluding from them that the undoubted progress toward inequality in the late eighteenth century continued in the Jacksonian period and that the United States was a class-ridden, plutocratic society even before industrialization. (162 words)

　　4. According to the passage, Pessen indicates that all of the following were true of the very wealthy in the United States between 1825 and 1850 EXCEPT:

　　(A) They formed a distinct upper class.

　　(B) Many of them were able to increase their holdings.

　　(C)Some of them worked as professionals or in business.

　　(D) Most of them accumulated their own fortunes.

　　(E) Many of them retained their wealth in spite of financial upheavals.

　　5. Which of the following best states the author‘s main point?

　　(A) Pessen‘s study has overturned the previously established view of the social and economic structure of early nineteenth-century America.

　　(B) Tocqueville‘s analysis of the United States in the Jacksonian era remains the definitive account of this period.

　　(C) Pessen‘s study is valuable primarily because it shows the continuity of the social system in the United States throughout the nineteenth century.

　　(D) The social patterns and political power of the extremely wealthy in the United States between 1825 and 1850 are well documented.

　　(E) Pessen challenges a view of the social and economic system in the United States from 1825 to 1850, but he draws conclusions that are incorrect.

　　P2

　　Questions 4 to 5 are based on the following reading passage.

　　1

　　Tocqueville, apparently, was wrong. Jacksonian America was not a fluid, egalitarian society where individual wealth and poverty were ephemeral conditions.

　　托克维尔认为杰克逊时代的美国是平等的，穷人有机会使自己跻身富裕阶层，貌似(有人认为)他错了。

　　(apparently，这个词有两种解释，都源于apparent 。一种是 “ 显而易见地，明显地 ”;一种是 “ 似乎是这样地(其实未必如此)，表面上地 ”。下文可以看出作者拿出的证据都是间接的(P的研究结果)，且最终作者并不认同P的结论，所以 apparently 应该做 “ 似乎 ” 讲，取第二种解释。

　　Jachsonian，杰克逊的，这里的杰克逊是美国第七任总统(任期1828-1836)安德鲁·杰克逊，一直被认为是美国最杰出的十位总统之一，民主党创建者之一。与本题无关。)

　　2

　　At least so argues E. Pessen in his iconoclastic study of the very rich in the United States between 1825 and 1850.

　　至少 E P 的颠覆传统的研究这样认为，其研究对象是1825-1850年的美国超富阶层。

　　3

　　Pessen does present a quantity of examples, together with some refreshingly intelligible statistics, to establish the existence of an inordinately wealthy class.

　　P 的确列举了若干例子，结合一些易理解的数据，以勾勒出这个超富裕阶层，使人耳目一新。

　　(inordinately 【AHD】超越适当限度的，过度的)

　　4

　　Though active in commerce or the professions, most of the wealthy were not self-made, but had inherited family fortunes.

　　尽管活跃在商界或其他专业领域，但大部分富人的巨额财富来自家族传承，而非个人奋斗。

　　5

　　In no sense mercurial, these great fortunes survived the financial panics that destroyed lesser ones.

　　经济恐慌时期，这些巨富得以全身而退而小资本悉数倾覆，这绝非偶然。

　　(in no sense 绝不(adv.)

　　mercurial 反复无常的，难以预测的)

　　6

　　Indeed, in several cities the wealthiest one percent constantly increased its share until by 1850 it owned half of the community‘s wealth.

　　实际上在某些城市，前1%的富人的财富持续增加，直到1850年，已占他们所在区域总财富的半数。

　　7

　　Although these observations are true, Pessen overestimates their importance by concluding from them that the undoubted progress toward inequality in the late eighteenth century continued in the Jacksonian period and that the United States was a class-ridden, plutocratic society even before industrialization. (162 words)

　　即便这些观察是真实的，P 也高估了它们的重要性，他误以为这个显然不平等的进程在杰克逊时代得以继续，甚至使美国在完成工业化以前，就成为一个阶级分化的，由财阀统治的社会。

　　4. According to the passage, Pessen indicates that all of the following were true of the very wealthy in the United States between 1825 and 1850 EXCEPT:

　　(A) They formed a distinct upper class.

　　(B) Many of them were able to increase their holdings.

　　(C)Some of them worked as professionals or in business.

　　(D) Most of them accumulated their own fortunes.

　　(E) Many of them retained their wealth in spite of financial upheavals.

　　选D。

　　见句 4：

　　Though active in commerce or the professions, most of the wealthy were not self-made, but had inherited family fortunes.

　　5. Which of the following best states the author‘s main point?

　　(A) Pessen‘s study has overturned the previously established view of the social and economic structure of early nineteenth-century America.

　　(B) Tocqueville‘s analysis of the United States in the Jacksonian era remains the definitive account of this period.

　　(C) Pessen‘s study is valuable primarily because it shows the continuity of the social system in the United States throughout the nineteenth century.

　　(D) The social patterns and political power of the extremely wealthy in the United States between 1825 and 1850 are well documented.

　　(E) Pessen challenges a view of the social and economic system in the United States from 1825 to 1850, but he draws conclusions that are incorrect.

　　选 E

　　A

　　P 的研究虽然是反传统的，但是他能否 overturn 学界对这个时期的社会经济结构观点，未必，第 7 句暗示作者也认为 P 的结论有问题。

　　B

　　托克维尔对于杰克森时代的美国的分析仍然是权威(definitive)的吗?

　　最大干扰项。

　　托克维尔是著名的法国历史学家，政治家，贵族出身的他曾游历美国，写下著名的《美国的民主》(还有《美国游记》及大量书信)，一直被认为是美国社会的旁观者之眼。如果你有这种背景知识，怎么看都觉得这个选项对。可惜即便 “ 托克维尔观点 ” 真的有这种地位，文中也看不出来，作者明确表态的内容，仅限于 P 质疑托克维尔，P 的结论有问题，并不能证明托克维尔的观点就是权威的。所以，重申我们在填空题讲解中就提醒大家的话：

　　“GRE文字推理部分，如果你没有背景知识 —— 是一种幸运，倘若不幸具备一些背景知识 —— 切记要非常谨慎地使用(最好别用)，一切从文本和常识出发。”

　　C

　　不一定是 valuable 的，也不一定有 continuity 。

　　D

　　documented 用文件证实或证明的，明确记录的。

　　显然不够明确(not well)，否则也不会产生这么多分歧，学者们各说各话。