以下小编为考生整理的2014年考研英语阅读理解模拟练习及答案解析，希望对考生们有所帮助，取得2014考研的成功。

With the extension of democratic rights in the first half of the nineteenth century and the ensuing decline of the Federalist establishment, a new conception of education began to emerge.Education was no longer a confirmation of a pre  existing status, but an instrument in the acquisition of higher status.For a new generation of upwardly mobile students, the goal of education was not to prepare them to live comfortably in the world into which they had been born, but to teach them new virtues and skills that would propel them into a different and better world.Education became training; and the student was no longer the gentleman  in  waiting, but the journeyman apprentice for upward mobility.

In the nineteenth century a college education began to be seen as a way to get ahead in the world.The founding of the land  grant colleges opened the doors of higher education to poor but aspiring boys from non  Anglo  Saxon, working  class and lower  middle  class backgrounds.The myth of the poor boy who worked his way through college to success drew millions of poor boys to the new campuses.And with this shift, education became more vocational: its object was the acquisition of practical skills and useful information.

For the gentleman  in  waiting, virtue consisted above all in grace and style, in doing well what was appropriate to his position; education was merely a way of acquiring polish.And vice was manifested in gracelessness, awkwardness, in behaving inappropriately, discourteously, or ostentatiously.For the apprentice, however, virtue was evidenced in success through hard work.The requisite qualities of character were not grace or style, but drive, determination, and a sharp eye for opportunity.While casual liberality and even prodigality characterized the gentleman, frugality, thrift, and self  control came to distinguish the new apprentice.And while the gentleman did not aspire to a higher station because his station was already high, the apprentice was continually becoming, striving, struggling upward.Failure for the apprentice meant standing still, not rising.

26.Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?

[ A ] Democratic ideas started with education.

[ B ] Federalists were opposed to education.

[ C ] New education helped confirm people ’ s social status.

[ D ] Old education had been in tune with hierarchical society.

27.The difference between “ gentleman  in  waiting ” and “ journeyman ” is that .

[ A ] education trained gentleman  in  waiting to climb higher ladders

[ B ] journeyman was ready to take whatever was given to him

[ C ] gentleman  in  waiting belonged to a fixed and high social class

[ D ] journeyman could do practically nothing without education

28.According to the second paragraph, land  grant college .

[ A ] belonged to the land  owning class

[ B ] enlarged the scope of education

[ C ] was provided only to the poor

[ D ] benefited all but the upper class

29.Which of the following was the most important for a “ gentleman  in  waiting ” ?

[ A ] Manners. [ B ] Education. [ C ] Moral. [ D ] Personality.

30.The best title for the passage is .

[ A ] Education and Progress

[ B ] Old and New Social Norms

[ C ] New Education: Opportunities for More

[ D ] Demerits of Hierarchical Society

26. 【答案】 D

【解析】 推理题。文章第一段第一句指出，随着 19 世纪上半叶民主权利的扩展以及随之而来的联邦主义机构的削弱，一种新的教育观念出现了。接下来的内容主要是围绕这种新的教育观念展开论述。从第一句话中可以得知，是民主权利的扩展带来了新的教育观念的产生，[ A ]项颠倒了二者的先后关系，故错误。文中提到“新”的教育观念是在联邦主义机构削弱的情况下产生的，由此可以得出，新的教育观念与联邦主义有些冲突，并不能得出联邦主义者反对整个教育即[ B ] 项的结论。第二句作者指出，教育不再是对人们先前地位的确定，而成了获得更高地位的手段。因此[ C ] 项与文意不符。同时通过该句“不再” (no longer) 可以推断出，从前的教育可以确定人们的社会地位，因此[ D ] 项为正确答案。

27. 【答案】 C

【解析】 细节题。解题的关键在于考生对文中关于两类人的论述的把握。文章第一段末句提到，教育成了培训，学生也不再是等在那里的绅士，而是要提升自己经济地位的熟练学徒。由此可知，“学徒”与“绅士”的不同就是，绅士不用将教育当成工具去努力争取社会地位，因此可以推测出绅士们属于较高的社会阶层。 [C] 为正确选项。文中提到教育训练学徒们而非绅士爬上更高的阶梯，所以[ A ] 项错误，[ B ]项和[ D ] 项在文中没有提及。

28. 【答案】 B

【解析】 细节题。根据题干 land  grant college 定位到原文第二段第二句话：国家赠予土地的学校的建立为那些来自非盎格鲁—萨克逊血统、工人阶级和中下层背景的贫穷但有抱负的男孩们敞开了享受高等教育的大门。由此可知，[ B ]项为正确答案。作者提到为穷人提供了更多的机会，却并未说明只有穷人才能从中获益，也并未把上层社会的人排除在外，因此[ C ]和[ D ] 错误。[ A ] 项中土地所有者阶级在文中没有提及。

29. 【答案】 A

【解析】 细节题。文章第三段一开始，作者就提到，对于绅士们来说，美德首先包括了高雅和风度，与其身份地位相符的行为方式，教育仅仅是学会高雅的一种方式而已。由此可见，在绅士们眼中，[ A ]项“行为举止”是最重要的，而不是[ B ] ，[ C ]项“道德”，与原文包含很多内容的 virtue( 美德 ) 不符，[ D ]项在原文中没有提及。

30. 【答案】 C

【解析】 主旨题。考生需通篇把握全文。文章一开始就提到民主权利的延展和联邦主义的削弱带来了新教育制度的出现。接下来，作者主要介绍了这一新的教育观念的内涵，及其与旧式教育观念的异同，并对新旧两种教育体制下的学生进行比较。纵览全文可以推断，文章主要讲的是新的教育观念，并未涉及教育的发展问题、社会准则问题，所以[ A ]、[ B ] 项都错误。虽然原文中讲到了“等级社会的缺点”，但不是全文所要表现的主旨，故[ D ] 不正确。[ C ] 项为最佳答案。