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  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.What does the underlined part word probably mean in Paragraph 1?

A. Lose weight.    B. Be lazy.

C. Earn money.    D. Do equal housework.

2.Why will women continue to do more housework before 2050 ?

A. Because men are too busy to help.

B. Because they would like to do so.

C. Because they can do better in housework    .

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

3.From Paragraph 3,what do we know 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】文章讲述了男性和女性做家务的时间的不平等性，女性一直都多于男性，不过现在两种性别之间的家务劳动时间的差异越来越小。

1.词义猜测题。根据本句的意思：不过女性被警告不要期待男性很快地（）。根据下文的描述可知是指男女之间做家务活的时间上的不平等，所以此处肯定是指女性别指望男性和她们一样做着相同时间的家务活，故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段largely because housework such as cleaning and cooking is still regarded as “ women’s work”.可知主要是因为像清洗和煮饭这样的家务活依然被认为是女性的工作，故答案为D。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段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.可知过去女性做家务活的时间平均是6小时，而现在平均是4小时40分钟，所以与过去相比，现在他们做家务活的时间减少了，故选C。

4.细节理解题。根据最后一段Dr Sullivan said cultural attitudes taught at school may be responsible for the views of housework.可知她认为主要还是文化态度影响的，故选A。

【名师点睛】

文章细节的理解可以细化为：（1）一一对应型。答案与题目在表达形式和意义上直接吻合，一一对应，一目了然。属于浅层次的阅读试题，分数比例较少。（2）语言转述型。这是一类间接事实细节题，答案与题目在意义上从分运用了词义之间的转述关系，即正确选项是原文有关词语和句子的另类表达。属于中档难度题，分数比例较大。（3）语意理解型。这是一类深层事实细节理解题，答案与题目之间存在着一定的逻辑联系，这种联系需要建立在事实的基础上通过上、下文来进行判断、分析、归纳和整合，才能得出正确答案。属于较高难度的事实细节题。（4）是非辨别型。这是一类综合事实细节题，出题形式常常是“三正一误”(三项正确，只有一项不符合原文内容)或“三误一正”（三项错误，只有一项符合原文内容)。（5）事实排序型。这是一类运用多项事实进行排序的事实细节题，要求根据动作发生的先后顺序、时间顺序或者句子之间的逻辑关系，找出时间发生，发展的正确顺序。

4.A【解题剖析】此题属于细节理解中的第（1）--对应型。

【答案定位】根据最后一段Dr Sullivan said cultural attitudes taught at school may be responsible for the views of housework.可知她认为主要还是文化态度影响的，句中有关键词cultural attitudes，正好对应着A选项中的Cultural attitudes towards housework.因此毫无疑问，答案为A。