Statuses are marvelous human inventions that enable us to get along with one another and to determine where we "fit" in society. As we go about our everyday lives, we mentally attempt to place people in terms of their statuses. For example, we must judge whether the person in the library is reader or a librarian. Whether the telephone caller is a friend or a salesman, whether the unfamiliar person on our property is a thief or a meter reader, and so on.

The statuses we assume often vary with the people we encounter, and change throughout life. Most of us can, at very high speed, assume the statuses that various situations require. Much of social interaction consists of identifying and selecting among appropriate statuses and allowing other people to assume their statuses in relation to us. This means that we fit our actions to those of other people based on a constant mental process of appraisal and interpretation. Although some of us find the task more difficult than others, most of up perform it rather effortlessly.

A status has been compared to ready-made clothes. Within certain limits, the buyer can choose style and fabric. But an American is not free to choose the costume (服装) of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince. We must choose from among the clothing presented by our society. Furthermore, our choice is limited to a size that will fit, as well as by our pocketbook (钱包). Having made a choice within these limits we can have certain alterations made, but apart from minor adjustments, we tend to be limited to what the stores have on their racks. Statuses too come ready made, and the range of choice among them is limited.

1. In the first paragraph, the writer tells us that statuses can help us         .

A. determine whether a person is fit for a certain job

B. behave appropriately in relation to other people

C. protect ourselves in unfamiliar situations

D. make friends with other people easily

2. According to the writer, people often place themselves into different statuses        .

A. in order to identify themselves with others

B. in order to better identify others

C. as their mental processes change

D. as the situation changes

3. The word "appraisal" (Para. 2) most probably means "        ".

   A. creation     B. appreciation     C. evaluation      D. presentation

4. In the last sentence of the second paragraph, the pronoun "it" refers to "       ".

A. fitting our actions to those of other people appropriately

B. identification of other people’s statuses

C. selecting one’s own statuses

D. constant mental process

5. By saying that "an American is not free to choose the costume of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince" (Para. 3), the writer means          .

A. different people have different styles of clothes

B. ready-made clothes may need alterations

C. statuses come ready made just like clothes

D. our choice of statuses is limited

参考答案： B D C A D

  身份是人类绝妙的发明，它使我们能与别人友好相处，能帮助我们确定我们在社会中合适的位置。日常生活中，我们的头脑中总在试图判定别人的身份。比如，我们会判断图书馆的某个人是读者还是管理员，打电话来的人是朋友还是推销员，院子里的陌生人是盗贼还是电表水表的抄表员。
我们具有的身份通常随着我们不同的交往对象而变化，并且一生都在变化。我们大多都会迅速采用一种适合不同场合需要的身份。许多社会交往包含了自我确定，选择自己身份并让别人根据我们的情况选择他们应采用的身份。这就意味着我们会依据自己内心对他人不断进行的评价和诠释，使自己的行为与交往的对象的行为相符。虽然有些人认为做这些事情比做其他的事情更难，但大多数人都会轻而易举的完成。
身份常被比做成衣。购买衣服的人可以在一定的范围内选择衣服的款式和布料。但是，一位美国人不会随意去选购一件中国农民的衣服，也不会购买印度王子的衣服。我们必须在社会所提供的服装中做出选择，而且我们的选择还会受到尺码和经济能力等因素的制约。在有限的范围内，我们可以选择，可以改动。但是除了一些微小的调整之外，我们的选择还是要受到现有商品的品种和数量的限制。身份也是现成的东西，因而，可选择的范围也是有限的。