[不定项选择题]共用题干 第三篇

The Changing Middle Class

The United States perceives itself to be a middle一class nation.However,middle class is not a real desig-
nation,nor does it carry privileges（特权）.It is more of a perception,which probably was as true as it ever
could be right after World War II.The economy was growing;more and more people owned their own homes;
workers had solid contracts with the companies that employed them;and nearly everyone who wanted a higher
education could have one.Successful people enjoyed upward social mobility. They might have started out
poor,but they could become rich.Successful people also found that they had greater geographic mobility.In
other words,they found themselves moving to and living in a variety of places.
The middle class colleetively holds several values and principles. One strong value is the need to earn
enough money to feel that one can determine one's own economic fate.In addition,middle-class morality（道
德观）embraces principles of individual responsibility,importance of family,obligations to others,and
believing in something outside oneself.
But in the 1990s those in the middle class found that there was a price for success. A U.S.News&
World Report survey in 1994 indicated that 75 percent of Americans believed that middle class families could
no longer make ends meet. Both spouses now worked,as did some of the children;long commutes became
routine;the need for child care put strains on the family;and public schools were not as good as they once
were.Members of the middle class were no longer financing their lifestyles through earnings but were using
credit to stay afloat. The understanding of just what middle class meant was changing. The 1994 survey showed most Americans thought the middle class_________________.
A.took pleasure in raising children
B.had a regular journey to work
C.could not earn enough money to maintain their lifestyles
D.could easily maintain their lifestyles