Question

The greatest recent social changes have been in the lives of women. During the twentieth century there has been a remarkable shortening of the proportion of a woman's life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the nineteenth century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have seven or eight children, of whom four or five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which customs, opportunity and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman's youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty－five and can be expected to live another thirty－five years and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children, her work is lightened by household appliances and convenience foods.

This important change in women's life－pattern has only recently begun to have its full effect on women's economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity, and most of them took a full－time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school－leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards return to full－or－part－time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage: with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money, and running the home, according to the abilities and interests of each of them.

6. Which of the following is the topic of this passage?

A. The marriage of women: past and present.

B. Women and their jobs.

C. The social changes in the lives of women.

D. Women's role in family life.

7. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the amount of time the women spent taking care of children ________.

A. was shorter than in previous centuries

B. was longer than in previous centuries

C. was considered to be surprisingly long

D. accounted for a great part of their lives

8. One reason why the woman of today may take a job is that she ________.

A. is younger when her children are old enough to look after themselves

B. does not like children herself

C. need not worry about food for her children

D. can retire from family responsibilities when she reaches sixty

9. According to the passage, it is now quite usual for women to ________.

A. stay at home after leaving school

B. marry men younger than themselves

C. start working again later in life

D. marry while still at school

10. What can be inferred from the last sentence?

A. The husband tends to share greater share of duties of family life.

B. In the past, the husband used to provide money for the family while the wife ran the home.

C. The wife does not have her own abilities and interests.

D. Both the husband and the wife should be satisfied with their family life.

Answer 1

6. 解析：选C。通读全文可知，文章主要围绕着“妇女生活的社会变化”展开的，故选C。   

7. 解析：选A。由文章第一段第二句可知，在二十世纪，妇女照看孩子的时间已有相当明显的缩减。A项内容与此句相符，故选A。

8. 解析：选A。由文意可知，如今妇女的状况是最小孩子15岁，母亲刚45岁，可望再活35年，且有可能在60岁退休前得到一份有偿工作。故A项正确，指母亲仍较年轻。

9. 解析：选C。文章第二段提到妇女生活模式的变化对其经济地位的影响，也提到当今妇女婚后，至少在第一个孩子出生前仍工作。然后谈到“之后，妇女又返回全日或半日工作当中”。所以C项正确。

10. 解析：选B。由文章最后一句可知，这些变化带来了新的婚姻关系：丈夫分担更多的家庭责任，分享更大的家庭生活满足感。夫妻按各自兴趣更平等地分担赚钱、持家的义务。其含义即，以前，夫妻的责任分配与现在不同，丈夫主要赚钱，妻子主要持家，故选B。