Work, for most American and Chinese women aged 55 and under, involves responsibility for a household a child or children, and a job outside the home as well．It all adds up to a busy lift．How is it going for them – for us?
Demographers have observed that life forms a different sort of pyramid for women in China than in the United States．In China, nearly all young mothers are employed outside the home, with their numbers tapering off as women approach old age．The reasons are clean the second income of the woman is an absolute necessity for a young family with a child or two．Later on, when the children are grown, the older couple can more easily live on the husband's earnings plus the wife's pension, and fewer middle－aged women continue in employment．
The pyramid for American women is the opposite, with fewer young women employed, and the number increasing at older ages．any young mothers have found it more efficient to stay home and care for the children themselves, then find employment later when the children are older and more independent．But rising costs of living are requiring more young American women to help support and have jobs．They enjoy the adult relationships with others at work and feel stimulated by the demands and challenges of being employed．Staying at home with only a child or two, as even American family size is now, can be monotonous and lonely．Furthermore, a woman's paycheck can provide her with stronger voting power in family matters．
But the American working mother often feels troubled by the complexity of her lift．Childcare is unreliable and expensive．Childcare workers have low status, are not well educated and are poorly paid－they are often women unable to get better jobs．Thus the American working mother always has the worry that her child is not being as well cared for as she hopes, and the cost of babysitters or private－enterprise daycare centers can eat up half or more of her salary．Other worries distract her from good performance at her job： What if the babysitter gets sick? What will her employer think if she has to stay home with a sick child? What if the car, necessary to get the child to the daycare center and herself to and from her job, breaks down? Few people live close enough to their work of childcare center to accomplish this on foot or by bicycle, as in China．
(1)
What does the phrase “taper off” in the second paragraph mean?
[ ]
A．
gradually decrease
B．
remain the same
C．
slightly change
D．
increase slowly
(2)
Which of the four answers is not the reason for an American young woman to work outside?
[ ]
A．
The cost of living is increasing．
B．
More earning contributes to more power in a family．
C．
Staying at home with child is boring．
D．
Baby care is unreliable and expensive．
(3)
What can we learn from the comparisons intentioned above?
[ ]
A．
Americans would be shocked to have to work at jobs that kept husband and wife separated for months．
B．
Chinese men seem to be performing more in family work than the American man would．
C．
American women have more varied and complex concern in terms of childcare．
D．
American women are more concerned with their post．
(4)
What may come right after the last paragraph of this passage?
[ ]
A．
In china, grandparents take care of children．
B．
On the job, Chinese women seem more confident．
C．
Certainly it is true that in both countries males are given preference in education, job selection and promotion．
