Question

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what "keeping up with the Joneses" is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.

The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant(仆人) and gave big parties for their new neighbors.

It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.

Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it "Keeping up with the Joneses" because "Jones" is a very common name in the United States. "Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand' s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.

People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are "Joneses" in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.

1.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they _______.

A. want to be as rich as their neighbors

B. want others to know or to think that they are rich

C. don't want others to know they are rich

D. want to make themselves happy

2.It can be inferred（推断）from the story that rich people like to_______.

A. live outside New York City B. live in New York city

C. live in apartments D. have many neighbors

3.According to the writer, it is_______ to keep up with the Joneses.

A. correct B. interesting C. impossible D. good

4.Which of the following activities probably does not belong to the rich people?

A. holding a race B. riding horses

C. holding parties D. hiring a servant

 

Answer 1

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：在美国,当一个人变得富有,他想让人们知道。即使他不会变得非常富有,他希望人们认为他是富有的。这就是“跟上邻居”。这是这个故事的人想看起来像他的邻居一样富有。人似乎从不厌倦跟上邻居。还有在世界每一个城市的“邻居”。但人们必须厌倦试图赶上别人,因为无论什么人,琼斯先生似乎总是领先。

1.为什么一些人想追赶邻居？分析原文：when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is.句意：当一个人变得富有,他想让人们知道。即使他不会变得非常富有,他希望人们认为他是富有的。从而只有第二项符合。故选B

2.从这个故事中可以推断出富人们喜欢居住在哪里？分析原文：He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City.句意：他结婚,和他的妻子搬到纽约市外，那有一个非常富有的邻居。同时结合现实富有的人都喜欢居住在别墅，故选 A

3.通过作者的观点，追赶邻居的方式是如何？结合全文的理解，对于追赶邻居的活动是不可能的，从对亚瑟·蒙德的描述中就体现了这一点。故选C

4.下列哪个活动可能不属于富人? 从第二自然段中提取的主要信息点：rich people rode horses；rich people had servants；gave big parties骑马；有仆人；举行大的聚会。因此只有第一项没有提及。故选A

考点：社会现象类阅读。