Section B: Information Matching
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on your Answer Sheet.
Poverty is a story about us, not them
[A] Too often still, we think we know what poverty looks like. It's the way we've been taught, the images we've been force-fed for decades. The chronically homeless. The undocumented immigrant. The urban poor, usually personified as a woman of color, the 'welfare queen' politicians still too often reference.
[B] But as income inequality rises to record levels in the United States, even in the midst of a record economic expansion, those familiar images are outdated, hurtful, and counterproductive to focusing attention on solutions and building ladders of opportunity.
[C] Today's faces of income inequality and lack of opportunity look like all of us. It's Anna Landre, a disabled Georgetown University student fighting to keep health benefits that allow her the freedom to live her life. It's Tiffanie Standard, a counselor for young women of color in Philadelphia who want to be tech entrepreneurs—but who must work multiple jobs to stay afloat. It's Ken Outlaw, a welder in rural North Carolina whose dream of going back to school at a local community college was dashed by Hurricane Florence—just one of the extreme weather events that have tipped the balance for struggling Americans across the nation.
[D] If these are the central characters of our story about poverty, what layers of perceptions, myths, and realities must we unearth to find meaningful solutions and support? In pursuit of revealing this complicated reality, Mothering Justice, led by women of color, went last year to the state capital in Lansing, Michigan, to lobby on issues that affect working mothers. One of the Mothering Justice organizers went to the office of a state representative to talk about the lack of affordable childcare—the vestiges of a system that expected mothers to stay home with their children while their husbands worked. A legislative staffer dismissed the activist's concerns, telling her 'my husband took care of that—I stayed home.'
[E] That comment, says Mothering Justice director Danielle Atkinson, 'was meant to shame' and relied on the familiar notion that a woman of color concerned about income inequality and programs that promote mobility must by definition be a single mom, probably with multiple kids. In this case, the Mothering Justice activist happened to be married. And in most cases in the America of 2019, the images that come to mind when we hear the words poverty or income inequality fail miserably in reflecting a complicated reality: poverty touches virtually all of us. The face of income inequality, for all but a very few of us, is the one we each see in the mirror.
[F] How many of us are poor in the U.S.? It depends on who you ask. According to the Census Bureau, 38 million people in the U. S. are living below the official poverty thresholds. Taking into account economic need beyond that absolute measure, the Institute for Policy Studies found that 140 million people are poor or low-income. That's almost half the U.S. population.
[G] Whatever the measure, within that massive group, poverty is extremely diverse. We know that some people are more affected than others, like children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and people of color.
[H] But the fact that 4 in 10 Americans can't come up with $ 400 in an emergency is a commonly cited statistic for good reason; economic instability stretches across race, gender, and geography. It even reaches into the middle classes, as real wages have stagnated for all but the very wealthy and temporary spells of financial instability are not uncommon.
[I] Negative images remain of who is living in poverty as well as what is needed to move out of it. The big American myth is that you can pull yourself up by your own efforts and change a bad situation into a good one. The reality is that finding opportunity without help from families, friends, schools, and community is virtually impossible. And the playing field is nothing close to level.
[J] The Frame Works Institute, a research group that focuses on public framing of issues, has studied what sustains stereotypes and narratives of poverty in the United Kingdom. 'People view economic success and wellbeing in life as a product of choice, willpower, and drive,' says Nat Kendal-Taylor, CEO of Frame Works. 'When we see people who are struggling,' he says, those assumptions 'lead us to the perception that people in poverty are lazy, they don't care, and they haven't made the right decisions.'
[K] Does this sound familiar? Similar ideas surround poverty in the U.S. And these assumptions give a false picture of reality. 'When people enter into that pattern of thinking,' says Kendall-Taylor, 'it's cognitively comfortable to make sense of issues of poverty in that way. It creates a kind of cognitive blindness—all of the factors external to a person's drive and choices that they've made become invisible and fade from view.'
[L] Those external factors include the difficulties accompanying low-wage work or structural discrimination based on race, gender, or ability. Assumptions get worse when people who are poor use government benefits to help them survive. There is a great tension between 'the poor' and those who are receiving what has become a dirty word, 'welfare.'
[M] According to the General Social Survey, 71 percent of respondents believe the country is spending too little on 'assistance to the poor.' On the other hand, 22 percent think we are spending too little on 'welfare': 37 percent believe we are spending too much.
[N] 'Poverty has been interchangeable with people of color-specifically black women and black mothers,' says Atkinson of Mothering Justice. It's true that black mothers are more affected by poverty than many other groups, yet they are disproportionately the face of poverty. For example, Americans routinely overestimate the share of black recipients of public assistance programs.
[O] In reality, most people will experience some form of financial hardship at some point in their lives. Indeed, people tend to dip in and out of poverty, perhaps due to unexpected obstacles like losing a job, or when hours of a low-wage job fluctuate.
[P] Something each of us can do is to treat each other with the dignity and sympathy that is deserved and to understand deeply that the issue of poverty touches all of us.
36. One legislative staffer assumed that a woman of color who advocated affordable childcare must be a single mother.
37. People from different races, genders, and regions all suffer from a lack of financial security.
38. According to a survey, while the majority believe too little assistance is given to the poor, more than a third believe too much is spent on welfare.
39. A research group has found that Americans who are struggling are thought to be lazy and to have made the wrong decisions.
40. Under the old system in America, a mother was supposed to stay home and take care of her children.
41. It was found that nearly 50% of Americans are poor or receive low pay.
42. Americans usually overestimate the number of blacks receiving welfare benefits.
43. It is impossible for Americans to lift themselves out of poverty entirely on their own.
44. Nowadays, it seems none of us can get away from income inequality.
45. Assumptions about poor people become even more negative when they live on welfare.
Answers & Explanations
36. E。解析：题干中的 a woman of color who advocated affordable childcare must be a single mother（倡导负担得起的儿童保育的有色人种妇女必须是单身母亲）对应 [E] 段的 relied on the familiar notion that a woman of color... must by definition be a single mom（这依赖于一种熟悉的观念，即有色人种妇女...必定是单亲妈妈）。[D] 段提到了立法职员（legislative staffer）的傲慢，但真正点出其“假设她是单亲妈妈”的偏见是在 [E] 段。
37. H。解析：题干中的 People from different races, genders, and regions all suffer from a lack of financial security（来自不同种族、性别和地区的人们都缺乏财务安全感）对应 [H] 段的 economic instability stretches across race, gender, and geography（经济不稳定性跨越了种族、性别和地理界限）。
38. M。解析：题干中的 majority believe too little assistance... more than a third believe too much is spent on welfare（大多数人认为给穷人的援助太少，超过三分之一的人认为在福利上花费太多）完美对应 [M] 段的数据：71 percent of respondents believe... spending too little on 'assistance to the poor.' ... 37 percent believe we are spending too much（71%的人认为...援助穷人花费太少...37%的人认为我们花费太多）。
39. J。解析：题干中的 Americans who are struggling are thought to be lazy and to have made the wrong decisions（苦苦挣扎的美国人被认为是懒惰的并做出了错误的决定）对应 [J] 段中 A research group（研究组）得出的结论：When we see people who are struggling... people in poverty are lazy... they haven't made the right decisions（当我们看到苦苦挣扎的人时...认为贫困中的人是懒惰的...他们没有做出正确的决定）。
40. D。解析：题干中的 Under the old system in America, a mother was supposed to stay home and take care of her children（在美国的旧体制下，母亲应该呆在家里照顾孩子）对应 [D] 段的 the vestiges of a system that expected mothers to stay home with their children while their husbands worked（这是一种期望母亲在家带孩子而丈夫工作的系统的遗迹）。
41. F。解析：题干中的 nearly 50% of Americans are poor or receive low pay（将近50%的美国人贫困或收入微薄）对应 [F] 段的 140 million people are poor or low-income. That's almost half the U.S. population（1.4亿人贫困或低收入，这几乎是美国人口的一半）。
42. N。解析：题干中的 Americans usually overestimate the number of blacks receiving welfare benefits（美国人通常会高估领取福利金的黑人数量）对应 [N] 段的 Americans routinely overestimate the share of black recipients of public assistance programs（美国人通常会高估公共援助项目中黑人受益者的比例）。
43. I。解析：题干中的 It is impossible for Americans to lift themselves out of poverty entirely on their own（美国人完全靠自己摆脱贫困是不可能的）对应 [I] 段的 finding opportunity without help from families, friends... is virtually impossible（如果没有家人、朋友的帮助寻找机会几乎是不可能的）。
44. E。解析：题干中的 none of us can get away from income inequality（我们中似乎没有人能逃脱收入不平等）对应 [E] 段末尾点出的核心主题：poverty touches virtually all of us. The face of income inequality... is the one we each see in the mirror（贫困几乎触及我们所有人。收入不平等的面孔...就是我们在镜子中看到的我们自己）。
45. L。解析：题干中的 Assumptions about poor people become even more negative when they live on welfare（当穷人靠福利生活时，对他们的假设变得更加负面）对应 [L] 段的 Assumptions get worse when people who are poor use government benefits to help them survive（当穷人使用政府福利来帮助他们生存时，假设会变得更糟）。
全文翻译
[A] 我们常常仍以为我们知道贫困是什么样子。这是我们几十年来被教导、被灌输的形象：长期无家可归者、无证移民、城市贫民——通常被描绘成有色人种女性，政客们仍经常提及的"福利女王"。
[B] 但随着美国收入不平等上升至历史最高水平，即便在创纪录的经济扩张期间，那些熟悉的形象已经过时、伤人，并且不利于将注意力集中在解决方案和搭建机会阶梯上。
[C] 如今，收入不平等和机会缺失的面孔看起来就像我们所有人。是安娜·兰德雷（Anna Landre），一位残疾的乔治城大学学生，为保住让她能够自由生活的健康福利而奋斗。是蒂凡妮·斯坦达德（Tiffanie Standard），费城一位为想成为科技企业家的年轻有色人种女性提供咨询的顾问——但她必须打多份工才能维持生计。是肯·奥特洛（Ken Outlaw），北卡罗来纳州农村的一名焊工，他回到当地社区大学上学的梦想被佛罗伦萨飓风打碎——这只是极端天气事件之一，已经打破了全美挣扎中的美国人的平衡。
[D] 如果这些是我们关于贫困故事的主角，那么我们必须挖掘出哪些层面的认知、迷思和现实，才能找到有意义的解决方案和支持？为了揭示这一复杂的现实，由有色人种女性领导的"母亲正义"（Mothering Justice）组织去年前往密歇根州首府兰辛，就影响在职母亲的问题进行游说。其中一位组织者去了一位州议员的办公室，讨论缺乏可负担托儿服务的问题——这是一个期望母亲在家带孩子而丈夫工作的制度遗留下来的问题。一位立法工作人员驳回了这位活动人士的关切，告诉她"我丈夫处理了这个问题——我待在家里。"
[E] 母亲正义组织的主任丹妮尔·阿特金森（Danielle Atkinson）说，那句话"意在羞辱"，依赖于一种熟悉的观念：一个关心收入不平等和促进流动性项目的有色人种女性，必定是单身母亲，可能还带着多个孩子。在这个案例中，这位母亲正义组织的活动人士恰好已婚。而在2019年美国的绝大多数情况下，当我们听到"贫困"或"收入不平等"这些词时，浮现在脑海中的形象完全无法反映复杂的现实：贫困几乎触及我们所有人。对于除极少数人之外的我们来说，收入不平等的面孔就是我们每个人在镜子中看到的自己。
[F] 美国有多少人处于贫困？这取决于你问谁。根据人口普查局的数据，3800万美国人生活在官方贫困线以下。考虑到超出这一绝对标准的经济需求，政策研究所发现1.4亿人处于贫困或低收入状态。这几乎是美国人口的一半。
[G] 无论采用何种衡量标准，在这个庞大群体中，贫困是极其多样化的。我们知道有些人比其他人群受到的影响更大，如儿童、老年人、残疾人和有色人种。
[H] 但十分之四的美国人在紧急情况下拿不出400美元这一事实，是一个有充分理由常被引用的统计数据；经济不稳定跨越种族、性别和地域。它甚至波及中产阶级，因为除极富裕人群外所有人的实际工资都停滞不前，暂时的财务不稳定并不罕见。
[I] 关于谁生活在贫困中以及需要什么才能摆脱贫困，负面形象依然存在。美国人最大的迷思是你可以靠自己的努力站起来，把糟糕的处境变成好的。现实是，没有家庭、朋友、学校和社区的帮助，几乎不可能找到机会。而且竞争环境远非公平。
[J] 框架研究所（Frame Works Institute），一个专注于公共议题框架的研究小组，研究了是什么维持了英国关于贫困的刻板印象和叙事。"人们把经济成功和生活幸福视为选择、意志力和动力的产物，"框架研究所首席执行官纳特·肯德尔-泰勒（Nat Kendal-Taylor）说。"当我们看到挣扎中的人时，"他说，这些假设"导致我们产生贫困人口懒惰、不在乎、没有做出正确决定的看法。"
[K] 这听起来熟悉吗？类似的观点围绕着美国的贫困。而这些假设给出了错误的现实图景。"当人们进入那种思维模式时，"肯德尔-泰勒说，"以那种方式理解贫困问题在认知上是舒适的。它创造了一种认知盲区——所有存在于个人动力和选择之外的因素都变得不可见，从视野中消失。"
[L] 这些外部因素包括伴随低薪工作的困难，或基于种族、性别或能力的结构性歧视。当贫困人口使用政府福利来帮助他们生存时，这些假设变得更加糟糕。"穷人"与那些接受已经成为贬义词的"福利"的人之间存在巨大的紧张关系。
[M] 根据综合社会调查，71%的受访者认为国家在"援助穷人"上花费太少。另一方面，22%的人认为我们在"福利"上花费太少；37%的人认为我们花费太多。
[N] "贫困一直与有色人种——特别是黑人女性和黑人母亲——混为一谈，"母亲正义组织的阿特金森说。黑人母亲确实比许多其他群体更容易受到贫困的影响，然而她们被不成比例地当作贫困的面孔。例如，美国人经常高估黑人在公共援助项目中的受益比例。
[O] 在现实中，大多数人在一生中的某个时刻会经历某种形式的财务困难。确实，人们倾向于反复进出贫困，可能是由于意外障碍，如失业，或低薪工作工时的波动。
[P] 我们每个人都能做的是以应有的尊严和同情心对待彼此，并深刻理解贫困问题触及我们所有人。
核心搭配与高分句型
【核心搭配与高频短语】
- force-feed：强行灌输，填鸭式教导（images we've been force-fed）
- counterproductive to：对...起反作用的（counterproductive to focusing attention on solutions）
- stay afloat：维持生存，免于破产（work multiple jobs to stay afloat）
- dash one's dream：破灭某人的梦想（dream of going back to school... was dashed）
- tip the balance：打破平衡，使天平倾斜（tipped the balance for struggling Americans）
- come up with：想出，凑集（资金）（can't come up with $ 400 in an emergency）
- pull oneself up by one's own efforts：靠自己的努力取得成功（pull yourself up by your own efforts）
- dip in and out of：忽进忽出，时常陷入（dip in and out of poverty）
【亮点句型解析】
- For all but a very few of us (极其高级的介词用法)：
"The face of income inequality, for all but a very few of us, is the one we each see in the mirror."
（除了极少数人之外，我们所有人面临的收入不平等的面孔，就是我们在镜子中看到的自己。）这里 `all but` 的意思是“除了...之外的所有”，是极具文学色彩和思辨性的高级表达方式。 - The playing field is nothing close to level (极其地道的比喻)：
"And the playing field is nothing close to level."
（而且竞争环境根本不公平。）`level playing field` 意为“公平的竞争环境”，这里使用 `nothing close to` (差得很远，根本不)，极大地增强了语气的批判力度，常用于批判社会现象的六级和考研作文中。