50. 　Now a husband probably　　　　 .

A. 　plays a greater part in looking after the children

B. 　helps his wife by doing more of the housework

C. 　feels dissatisfied with his part in the family

D. 　takes a part-time job so that he can help in the home

C

About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. 　Women are luckier; only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. 　Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!

There are different forms of color blindness. 　In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red. 　He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shadows of green. 　Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green. 　In rare cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green － a strange world indeed.

Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. 　In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”. 　These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors. 　There are also millions of “rods”, but these are used for seeing when it is near dark. 　They show us shape but no color.

Some insects have favorite colors. 　Mosquitoes prefer blue to yellow. 　A red light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will. 　In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors. 　Yet we are lucky. 　With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. 　One day we may even learn more about the invisible colors around us.

49. Many girls are now likely to　　　　 .

A. 　give up their jobs for good after they are married

B. 　leave school as soon as they can

C. 　marry so that they can get a job

D. 　continue working until they are going to have a baby

48. 　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

47. 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. 　needn't worry about food for her children

D. 　can be free from family duties when she reaches sixty

46. 　We are told that in a family in about 1900　　　　 .

A. 　few children died before they were five

B. 　seven or eight children lived to be more than five

C. 　the youngest child would be fifteen

D. 　four or five children died when they were five

45. 　By sharing her own experiences, the author tries to tell us ____.

A. 　when one road is blocked, try another　 B. 　how bad the lunch of her school is

C. 　how wise her father is　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　 D. 　about the church tower near her home

B

During the twentieth century there has been a great change in the lives of women. 　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 chance 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 sixty.

This important change in women's life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women's economic position. 　Even a few years ago most girls left school and 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 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.

44. 　What did the author’s mother think of her luncheon soup after she tasted it?

A. 　It was delicious. 　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　B. 　It wasn’t so bad as the author said.

C. 　It couldn’t be worse. 　　 　　　　　　　　D. 　It was as good as her cook did .

43. 　The underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph means _____.

A. 　the cook agreed to serve the soup to Mother

B. 　the matter of lunch was successfully settled

C. 　her father persuaded her mother successfully

D. 　the method the author thought of was effective

42. 　What did the author want her mother to do earlier that day?

A. 　Do something delicious for lunch. 　　　　　　B. 　Taste her awful lunch.

C. 　Dismiss the mad cook. 　　　　　　 D. 　Speak to the school about lunch.

41. 　The author’s father took her to the top of a church tower to _____.

A. 　enjoy the beautiful scenery of the whole town

B. 　find out how many ways lead to the square

C. 　inspire her to find out another way to solve her problem

D. 　help her forget some unpleasant things earlier that day