1999年6月
Directions: In this part, there is a short passage with five questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words. (15 minutes)
For many women choosing whether to work or not to work outside their home is a luxury: they must work to survive. Others face a hard decision.
Perhaps the easiest choice has to do with economics. One husband said, "Marge and I decided after careful consideration that for her to go back to work at this moment was an extravagance(奢侈) we couldn"t afford." With two preschool children, it soon became clear in their figuring that with babysitters(臨時照看小孩 的),transportation, and increased taxes, rather than having more money, they might actually end up with less.
Economic factors are usually the first to be considered, but they are not the most important. The most important aspects of the decision have to do with the emotional needs of each member of the family. It is in this area that husbands and wives find themselves having to face many confusing and conflicting feelings.
There are many women who find that homemaking is boring or who feel imprisoned(被囚人) if they have to stay home with a young child or several children. On the other hand, there are women who think that homemaking gives them the deepest satisfaction.
From my own experience, I would like to suggest that sometimes the decision to go back to work is made in too much haste. There are few decisions that I now regret more. I wasn"t mature enough to see how much I could have gained at home. I regret my impatience to get on with my career. I wish I had allowed myself the luxury of watching the world through my little girl"s eves.
Questions: (注意：答題盡量簡短，超過10個詞要扣分。每條橫線限寫一個英語單詞，標點符號不占格。)
S1. Which word in the first two paragraphs best explains why many women have to work?
S2. Why did Marge and her husband think it an extravagance for Marge to go back to work?
S3. What are the two major considerations in deciding whether women should go out to work?
S4. Some women would rather do housework and take care of their children than pursue a career because they feel______ .
S5. If given a second chance, the writer would probably choose to ______ .
文章導讀
有了孩子的婦女是否應該出去工作？這是許多人常常爭論的話題。本文作者先是剖析了婦女工作的原因―為了掙錢，然后分別用事實（第一段）和講道理（二、三段）說明這得不償失。第一段引用了一個丈夫的話算了一筆賬，證明婦女工作劃不來；第二段指出經濟因素并不是最重要的，家庭成員的感情需要才是最重要的。第三段先退一步，指出許多婦女呆的家里感到厭煩，但也有許多人從家務活中獲得了最大的樂趣。最后一段以自己的親身感受指出婦女進行工作是個草率的決定，暗示說她們的家里也許會得到更多。
第一題 Which word in the first two paragraphs best explains why many women have to work?
題解： 本題為主旨類題，要求考生總結出婦女工作的原因。在這兩段中都提到了survive，可以知道婦女出去工作主要是為了生存。所以本題的答案應該是名詞survive。當然，也可以理解為她們是為了掙錢來生存，所以economy或economics也可以算作正確答案。
要點： 注意問題中的which word，因此本題的答案應為一個單詞，而不要答成“They must work to survive”一類的話。
第二題 Why did Marge and her husband think it an extravagance for Marge to go back to work?
題解： 此題屬于細節類問題。文章第二段：瑪基和她丈夫認為她重新外出工作對全家來說是一種奢望。他們有兩個學齡前的孩子。如果把雇人照看孩子的費用、交通費用和增加的稅款加在一起， 那么算下來將不但賺不到錢，收入實際上還可能減少。
要點： （1）本題所問內容從瑪基和她丈夫的角度講是沒有發生的事情。即回答的內容與事實相反。故答案均采用與事實相反的虛擬語氣形式。否則是要扣分的。
（2）問題是why，回答時最好用because開頭（盡管省略because也不扣分）。
答案： Because they might end up with less money.
或 Because they would spend more than their earnings.
或 Because their earnings wouldn’t cover the spending.
或 Because they couldn’t afford the extra payments of double-worker family.
或 Because going back to work might cost more money.
