Question

Housework is a frequent source of disputes (争论) between lazy husbands and their hard-working wives, but women have been warned not to expect men to pull their weight any time soon.

A study from Oxford University has found that men are unlikely to be doing an equal share of housework before 2050. Mothers, the researchers warned, will continue to shoulder the burden of childcare and housework for the next four decades, largely because housework such as cleaning and cooking is still regarded as “women’s work”.

The gap between the amount of time men and women spend on housework has narrowed slowly over the past 40 years. But it will take another four decades before true housework equality (平等) is achieved, the study concluded.

The research found that in the Nordic countries, the burden of housework is shared more equally between men and women. In the UK, women spend an average of four hours and forty minutes each day on housework, compared with two hours and twenty-eight minutes for men. This is an improvement from the 1960s, when British women typically spent six hours a day on housework, while men spent just 90 minutes every day.

But progress towards housework equality appears to be slowing in some countries. Dr Oriel Sullivan, a research reader from Oxford’s Department of Sociology, said, “we’ve looked at what is affecting the equality in the home, and we have found that certain tasks seem to be given according to whether they are viewed as ‘men’s work’ or ‘women’s work’.”

Dr Sullivan said cultural attitudes taught at school may be responsible for the views of housework. “At school it is much easier for a girl to be a tomboy, but it is much more difficult for a boy to enjoy baking and dancing,” she said.

1.The underlined part “pull their weight” in Paragraph 1 probably refers to “ __________ ”.

A. lose weight    B. be lazy

C. earn money    D. do equal housework

2.Women will continue to do more housework before 2050 mainly because  _________ .

A. men are too busy to help

B. they would like to do so

C. they can do better in housework

D. housework will still be considered as women’s work

3.From Paragraph 4 we know that in the UK ___________ .

A. men now spend just 90 minutes a day on housework on average

B. women now are too busy with their work to do housework

C. women now spend less time on housework than before

D. housework is shared equally between men and women

4.In Dr Sullivan’s opinion, what is to blame for the housework inequality?

A. Cultural attitudes towards housework.

B. Policies made by the government.

C. The time spent on work.

D. The type of housework.

Answer

1.D

2.D

3.C

4.A

【解析】本文主要是讲研究发现男人和女人在做家务上要达到真正的平等要等到2050年.

1.词义猜测题。根据第二段中的"men are unlikely to be doing an equal share of housework before 2050"可知这里是指做等量的家务。故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段的"largely because housework such as cleaning and cooking is still regarded as ‘women’s work’" 可知是做家务仍被看做是女人的事情。故选D。

3.细节理解题。根据第四段可知在英国,20世纪60年代女人每天大约做六个小时的家务,而目前平均每天做四小时四十分钟的家务,因此现在她们花在家务活上的时间比以前少了,C项正确。

4.细节理解题。根据最后一段可知,学校所教授的文化观念是导致家务不平等的原因。故选A。