According to sociologists(社会学家)，every modern industrial society has some form of social stratification(阶层)．Class，power and status are important in deciding people’s rank in society.
Class means a person’s economic position in society.A monly used classification is lower class，middle class and upper class.While sociologists disagree on how these terms should be exactly defined，they do describe societies like the United States quite well.One study shows that 53% of Americans belong to the lower class,46% the middle class，and 1% the upper class.Interestingly，a surgeon earning $500,000 a year and a bus driver earning $50,000 a year both regard themselves as the middle class!
Power refers to the amount of control a person has over other people.Obviously，people in positions of great power (such as governors) exercise(行使)big power，but people who take orders from others have less power.Power and class do not always go hand in hand，however.For example，the governor of a state has great power，but he or she may not belong to a corresponding (相应的)economic class.Generally，however，there is a relationship between power and class.To our knowledge，there aren’t too many people who aren’t millionaires in the U．S.Senate!
Status is the honor or respect attached to a person’s position in society.It can also be affected by power and class，but not necessarily so.For example，a university professor may have a high status but not belong to a high social class or have a lot of power over others.
【小题1】What can we learn about“the middle class”from Paragraph 2?A．People earning $50,000 a year belong to the middle class.B．Nearly half Americans belong to the middle class.C．People generally consider bus drivers as the middle class.D．Sociologists have a clear definition of the middle class.【小题2】According to the text，we know that .A．power and class do not always correspond with each otherB．status refers to a person’s economic position in societyC．people with high status have a lot of control over othersD．class is less important in deciding a person’s social rank【小题3】．Which of the following shows the structure of the whole text?B
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(答案→)B
解析： 本文是一篇说明文，用“总—分”的篇章结构介绍了等级、权力和身份在人类社会等级排列中的重要性。
【小题1】解析：选B。细节理解题。根据文章第二段中的“46% the middle class”可知B项是正确的。根据本段最后一句中的“a surgeon earning $500,000 a year and a bus driver earning $50,000 a year both regard themselves as the middle class”可知A项片面了，而公共汽车司机是自己把自己看成是中层阶级，所以C项是错误的。根据本段第三句中的“sociologists disagree on how these terms should be exactly defined”可知社会学家对阶层的定义也不明确，故D项错误。
【小题2】解析：选A。细节理解题。根据文章第三段第三句“Power and class do not always go hand in hand...”可知权力和等级并不总是相对应的，故A项为正确答案。由第二段第一句知B项中的status应改为class。根据文章最后一段第二句“It can also be affected by power and class，but not necessarily so.”可知C项是错误的。通读第一段、第三、四段可知D项是错误的。
【小题3】解析：选A。篇章结构题。文章第一段总述了三个方面(class，power，status)在定义阶层中的作用，第二段(class)、第三段(power)和第四段(status)分别叙述了它们的作用，文章结构为“总—分”式，所以选择A项。