题文
The expression “keeping up with the Joneses” was first used in 1913 by a young American 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. Young Momand was very proud of his riches. He got married and moved with his wife to Long Island, outside New York City.But just moving there was not enough. For when Momand and his wife saw that their neighbors belonged to a country club they too joined a club. And when he saw that rich people were expected to ride horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave grand parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. Momand and his wife could not do that.
The race ended for them when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an inexpensive New York City apartment.
Momand later said that his experience had been a cruel awakening for him. However, he was able to see the funny side of it. He looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with their neighbors.
He decided that this would make good stories for many papers across the country. He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses”, because “Jones” is a very common American name. “Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with the people around you. Momand’s stories appeared in different newspapers for over 28 years.
People never seem to tire of keeping up with the Joneses. That is one reason why they read the “right” books, go to the “right” universities and eat in the “right” restaurants. But no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
小题1:The writer of this passage means to tell us ___________.A．what Arthur Momand did to keep up with his neighborsB．how the expression “keep up with the Joneses” came into beingC．what we should do to keep up with our neighborsD．how we can live differently from others小题2:The reason Momand moved to Long Island is that ___________.A．he wanted to live in a rich neighborhoodB．there was a country club for him to join C．it was outside the city and good for horseback ridingD．his wife came from that area小题3:By saying “It was like a race”(in Para 3), the writer means ____________.A．it was just a suitable place for the horse raceB．Momand and his wife kept themselves busyC．Momand’s neighbors also gave parties one after anotherD．Momand tried to compete with their neighbors in his way of life小题4:The funny side Momand saw in his experience was _________.A．he moved back to a cheap placeB．he was not alone in keeping up with his neighborsC．he made a mistake in following other people’s examplesD．he cared too much about what others thought of him小题5:Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?A．Momand earned a lot of money when he got marriedB．Momand was always very interested in riding horsesC．Momand found there was something wrong with his way of lifeD．Momand wrote stories for newspapers about himself and his neighbors 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:B
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:B
小题5:B
解析
本文中介绍了“keep up with the Joneses”这句英文表达的由来。
小题1:根据The expression “keeping up with the Joneses” was first used in 1913 by a young American Arthur Momand. 故选B。
小题2:根据W That was a lot of money in those days. Young Momand was very proud of his riches. He got married and moved with his wife to Long Island, outside New York City.故选A。
小题3:根据It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. Momand and his wife could not do that.故选D。
小题4:根据He looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with their neighbors.故选B。
小题5:Momand并不是对骑马感兴趣，而是看到邻居都骑马，故选B。
点评：先阅读问题，然后带着问题，再读全文，找出答题所需要的依据，完成阅读。这篇文章非常容易，把握全文的意思是关键。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“The expression “keep.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
