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  3. Global DevelopmentsSociologists tell us there is a li

Global DevelopmentsSociologists tell us there is a li

游客2024-01-03  24
问题                           Global Developments
Sociologists tell us there is a link between private lives and social forces. An outstanding example of such a link is the contrast in life chances between people in developed and in less developed countries. A child born in, say, the United States or Switzerland is not a better or more deserving person than one born in Ethiopia or Brazil. Yet because of social forces beyond individual control, each child faces the prospect of living out a lifetime under utterly different material conditions. Why should this be? What can account for the fact that some societies have become heavily industrialized and economically advanced, while others are changing so much more slowly? Social scientists have offered two different explanations. One emphasizes a universal but uneven process of modernization and economic growth; the other focuses on a worldwide system of political and economic inequality.
    Some social scientists view development in terms of modernization, a process of economic, social and cultural change that facilitates the transition from pre-industrial to industrial society. Modernization theorists claim that the various countries of the world are converging on a basically similar social type, the modern industrialized society. Some 250 years ago, the developed countries of today also had rudimentary, pre-industrial economies, but because they modernized relatively quickly, they now have productive economies that offer high living standards. During the same period, however, the poor countries have been slow to modernize. Differences in development, therefore, are largely the result of uneven modernization; but as "modern" features spread from the developed to the less developed countries, they too will follow the path to industrialization and affluence.
    What kinds of change does modernization entail? Some modernization theorists emphasize a change in individual psychology. They claim that people in the developed societies are more likely to have a work ethic, a desire for achievement, a willingness to defer gratification, a sense of control over their destiny, a strong sense of individualism. In contrast, a lack of ambition, an orientation toward the present, a fatalistic outlook, and a weak sense of individualism are said to be typical of people in more traditional societies.(A)Other modernization theorists emphasize sweeping structural changes in society.(B)Traditional societies are more likely to have an extended family system, in which kinship obligations encourage people to remain, physically and socially, where they started.(C)Similarly, modernization involves such features as heavy urbanization, extensive schooling, advanced technology, low population growth, a legal-rational political system, and a range of sophisticated services such as efficient transport, banking and communications.(D)On the whole, these features are lacking or inadequate in less developed countries, where government is usually authoritarian, the population is predominately rural and ill educated, and the necessary services are not in place.
    Other social scientists view development in the context of the world system, a network of unequal economical and political relationships among the developed and the less developed countries. This international system consists of a "core" of highly industrialized countries, and a "periphery" of less developed countries that are dependent on and exploited by those at the core. World-system theorists point out that the peoples of the third world were quite capable of providing for themselves before "modern" ideas and technologies began to "diffuse" from the colonial powers. In fact, they claim, development and underdevelopment proceeded simultaneously over a period of more than two centuries as the richer countries financed their own industrial expansion by draining the surplus resources of the poorer ones. The colonial system finally broke down when the last of the colonies won their formal independence around the middle of the twentieth century, But by then a new international relationship had been established: neocolonialism, the informal political and economic domination of some societies by others, such that the former are able to exploit the labor and resources of the latter for their own purposes. In essence, the world system is a form of international stratification, with a wealthy minority enjoying a disproportionate share of the planet’s resources and using various means—political, economic, and sometimes military—to maintain their position. [br] Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the author’s opinion about the process of modernization?
选项 A、Countries do not develop in isolation, but in a context of fierce international, political, and economic competition.
B、Modernization in the third world may still be impeded by the legacy of colonial dependency.
C、People in less developed countries are more likely to adopt an extended family system.
D、A country’s economic, social and cultural changes will speed up its process from a pre-industrial to industrial society.
答案 D
解析 本题为事实信息题，主要考查考生抓住文章中阐明的信息并排除干扰选项的能力，即需要找出四个选项中哪项最正确地反映了作者关于现代化体系的观点。第二段的最后一句表达了作者的观点：发展程度不同的原因主要是由于现代化的发展进程不平衡。但是，当“现代化”的特点从发达国家传播到不发达国家，这些国家也会进入工业化和富裕阶段。由此可知答案为D，即一个国家的经济、社会和文化变化会加快它从前工业化走向工业化社会的发展进程。而其他选项均不是作者的观点。
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