Question

【题目】B

According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the U.K. has about 7.7 million families with dependent children, of which 3.7 million have just one child, compared to 3 million with two and 1.1 million with three children or more. The number of families today with just one dependent child is now 47 percent and will likely rise to more than 50 percent in a decade. As the ONS confirms, “It appears that families are getting smaller.”

One obvious reason for this could be that women are putting off having children until they have established careers when they are bound to be less fertile. But it could just as well be a matter of choice. Parents must consider the rising cost of living, combined with economic uncertainty and an increasingly difficult job market. And this trend may continue growing as having an only child becomes more normal, which seems to be the mood on the mothers’ online forum Mumsnet, where one member announced that she “just wanted to start a positive thread about how fab it is to have an only child”.

She had received 231 replies, overwhelmingly in the same upbeat spirit. Parents of only children insist there are plenty of benefits. Nicola Kelly, a writer and lecturer who grew up as an only child and is now a married mother of one, says her 15-year-old son seems more grown-up in many ways than his contemporaries.

In a moving recent account journalist Janice Turner wrote about her own keenness to “squeeze out two sons just 22 months apart” as a reaction to her only-child upbringing.

She was placed on a pedestal by her doting parents, whom she punished with a “brattish, wilful” rejection of everything they stood for. Desperate for a close friend she was repeatedly shattered by rejection and refers to her childhood as being “misery”.

Writer and clinician Dr. Dorothy Rowe, a member of the British Psychological Society, says that we all interpret events in our own individual way and there are some children who no matter what their circumstances feel slighted, while other children see the advantages of their situation.

However, the one part of life that is unlikely to get any easier for only children is when they grow up and find themselves looking after their own parents as they become older.

【1】The writer wrote the passage to________.

A. illustrate the strength and weakness of having an only child

B. analyze the reasons why having an only child becomes popular

C. guide people to look at the same issue from different perspectives

D. present us with different opinions about having an only child

【2】Why are families getting smaller according to the passage?

A.Women are less fertile.

B.Women give priority to career.

C.It is positive to have an only child.

D.There are not many job positions for children.

【3】The sentence “Not all products of single-child families are as keen to repeat the experience.”should be placed at the beginning of paragraph______.

A. 2 B.3 C.4 D. 5

【4】What does the underlined sentence we all interpret events in our own individual way in Paragraph 6 mean ?

A. Some are unable to make an objective assessment of their conditions

B. We should consider the needs of individuals.

C. Journalist Janice Turner experienced a miserable childhood.

D. It’s necessary for us to look at the event from our own angle.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】B

【3】C

【4】A

【解析】

试题分析：文章介绍了对于一个孩子的不同的观点。

【1】写作意图题：文章介绍了对于一个孩子的不同的观点。所以答案为D。

【2】细节题：根据第二段的句子：One obvious reason for this could be that women are putting off having children until they have established careers when they are bound to be less fertile.可知现在女性优先考虑是是事业，选B。

【3】推理判断题。根据第四段的句子：In a moving recent account journalist Janice Turner wrote about her own keenness to “squeeze out two sons just 22 months apart” as a reaction to her only-child upbringing. 可知从第四段介绍了对于生多个孩子支持的观点，故选C。

【4】推理题。根据倒数第二段的句子：there are some children who no matter what their circumstances feel slighted, while other children see the advantages of their situation.可知这句话的意思是：一些人不能对自己的状况作出客观评价，选A。