2004 T2
文章¶
第一段¶
Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination have been condemned or made illegal. But one insidious form continues to thrive: alphabetism. This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet.
- condemn → v. 谴责，严厉指责
- insidious → adj. <正式>潜伏的，隐袭的；阴险的，狡猾的
- as yet → 迄今为止
- refer → v. 提到，谈及
第二段¶
It has long been known that a taxi firm called AAAA cars has a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers thumb through their phone directories. Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbott has in life over Zoë Zysman. English names are fairly evenly spread between the halves of the alphabet. Yet a suspiciously large number of top people have surnames beginning with letters between A and K.
- It has long been known that ... → 人们早就知道 ...
- have a big advantage over ... → 比 ... 更有优势
- thumb → v. 竖起大拇指请求搭便车；用拇指摸；用拇指翻动，翻阅
- directories → n. [计]目录，名录；指南；计算机文件或程序的目录（directory 的复数）
- evenly spread → 均匀地分布
- halves → n. 一学期；两等份（half 的复数形式）
- 人们早就知道 ... → It has long been known that ...
第三段¶
Thus the American president and vice-president have surnames starting with B and C respectively; and 26 of George Bush’s predecessors (including his father) had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half. Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged (Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chrétien and Koizumi). The world’s three top central bankers (Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami) are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really uses Japanese characters. As are the world's five richest men (Gates, Buffett, Allen, Ellison and Albrecht).
- respectively → adv. 分别地，各自地
- striking → adj. 惊人的，异常的；引人瞩目的
- richest → 富裕的，强烈的（rich 的最高级）
第四段¶
Can this merely be coincidence? One theory, dreamt up in all the spare time enjoyed by the alphabetically disadvantaged, is that the rot sets in early. At the start of the first year in infant school, teachers seat pupils alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names. So short-sighted Zysman junior gets stuck in the back row, and is rarely asked the improving questions posed by those insensitive teachers. At the time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape. Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less individual attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly.
- coincidence → n. 巧合，同时发生；相符，一致；符合
- dream up → 虚构
- the rot sets in → 事情开始走下坡
- infant school → 幼儿园，幼儿学校
- short-sighted → adj. 目光短浅的；近视的
- a lucky escape → 侥幸脱险
第五段¶
The humiliation continues. At university graduation ceremonies, the ABCs proudly get their awards first; by the time they reach the Zysmans most people are literally having a ZZZ. Shortlists for job interviews, election ballot papers, lists of conference speakers and attendees: all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their recipients lose interest as they plough through them.
- humiliation → n. 耻辱，蒙羞；丢脸的事，尴尬的场合
- by the time → 等到；到…的时候；在……以前
- literally → adv. 按照字面意义地，逐字地；真正地，确实地；（用于夸张地强调）简直
- Shortlist → n. 最终候选名单，决选名单
- ballot → n. （无记名）投票选举，投票表决
- conference → n. （大型、正式的）会议，研讨会
- drawn up → 草拟，起草；停住；使靠近
- plough through → 乘风破浪，破浪前进；吃力地钻研；费力地阅读；费力地通过
- plough → v. 耕，犁；奋力前进
题目¶
26¶
What does the author intend to illustrate with AAAA cars and Zodiac cars?
[A] A kind of overlooked inequality.
[B] A type of conspicuous bias.
[C] A type of personal prejudice.
[D] A kind of brand discrimination.
- conspicuous → adj. 出色的，引人注目的；显眼的，明显的
27¶
What can we infer from the first three paragraphs?
[A] In both East and West, names are essential to success.
[B] The alphabet is to blame for the failure of Zoë Zysman.
[C] Customers often pay a lot of attention to companies’ names.
[D] Some form of discrimination is too subtle to recognize.
- essential → adj. 必不可少的，非常重要的
28¶
The 4th paragraph suggests that .
[A] questions are often put to the more intelligent students
[B] alphabetically disadvantaged students often escape from class
[C] teachers should pay attention to all of their students
[D] students should be seated according to their eyesight
29¶
What does the author mean by "most people are literally having a ZZZ" (Lines 2-3, Paragraph 5)?
[A] They are getting impatient.
[B] They are noisily dozing off.
[C] They are feeling humiliated.
[D] They are busy with word puzzles.
- dozing off → 打瞌睡（dozing 是 doze 的现在分词）
30¶
Which of the following is true according to the text?
[A] People with surnames beginning with N to Z are often ill-treated.
[B] VIPs in the Western world gain a great deal from alphabetism.
[C] The campaign to eliminate alphabetism still has a long way to go.
[D] Putting things alphabetically may lead to unintentional bias.
单词记忆¶
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