Passage Two
About three hundred words in the English language come from the names of people. Many of these words are technical words. When there is a new invention of discovery, a new word may be coined after the inventor or scientist.
It is interesting to observe how many common English words have found their way into the language from the names of people. For example, “sandwich”, you may eat everyday. Lord Sandwich who lived from 1718 to 1792 used to sit at the gambling table eating slices of bread with meat in between. This kind of eating tastes delicious.(29)As the Lord was the only one among his friends who ate bread in that way, his friends began to call the“bread-Sandwich”for fun. Later on the word became part of the English language.
The word “boycott” means to refuse to have anything to do with somebody or something. This word is another example. The word comes from a man called Captain Boycott. He was a land agent in 1880 and he collected rents and taxes for an English landowner in Ireland.(30)But the Captain was a very harsh man. He treated his poor tenants very badly. His tenants decided not to speak to him at all. (31)Eventually word got back to the landowner and the Captain was removed. The word “boycott” became popular and was used by everyone to mean the kind of treatment that was received by Captain Boycott.
Questions 29 to 31 are based on the passage you have just heard.
29. Who coined the word “sandwich”?
【解析】C)。四個選項都是關于人物的詞,由此可以推測,本題內容與人物有關。 由于Lord Sandwich是他的朋友里面唯一一個那樣吃面包的人(only one among his friends who ate bread in that way),他的朋友們開始叫這種食物“bread-Sandwich”(Sandwich面包)。可見最初使用sandwich這個詞的人是Lord Sandwich的朋友們。
30. What didn’t the tenants like?
【解析】B)。四個選項中有兩個是不定式,有兩個是人物身份,由此可以推測,本題的內容可能與人物的態度有關系。佃農們都不喜歡Boycott,因為他對待佃農的態度很差(treated his poor tenants very badly),佃農們于是決定不和他說話(not to speak to him)。故正確答案為B)。
31. What did the landowner do when he found out that the tenants were boycotting his agent?
【解析】A)。四個選項都是He開頭描述某人的行動,由此可以推測,本題的內容是關于某個人采取的行動。 當地主發現佃農抵制Captain Boycott后,地主就把他換掉了(the Captain was removed),故正確答案為A)。
Passage Three
The family is changing.(32) In the past, grandparents, parents, and children used to live together, and they had an extended family. Sometimes two or more brothers with their wives and children were part of this large family group. But family structure is changing throughout the world. The nuclear family consists of only one father, one mother, and children; it is becoming the main family structure everywhere.
(33)The nuclear family offers married women some advantages: they have freedom from their relatives, and the husband does not have all the power of the family. Studies show that in nuclear families men and women usually make an equal number of decisions about family life.
But wives usually have to “pay” for the benefits of freedom and power. When women lived in extended families, sisters, grandparents, and aunts helped one another with housework and childcare. In addition, older women in a large family group had important positions. Wives in nuclear families do not often enjoy this benefit, and they have another disadvantage, too :(34)women generally live longer than their husbands, so older women from unclear families often have to live alone.
(35)Studies show that women are generally less satisfied with marriage than men are. In the past, men worked outside the home and women worked inside. Housework and childcare were a full-time job, and there was no time for anything else. Now women work outside and have more freedom than they did in the past, but they still have to do most of the housework. The women actually have two full time jobs, and they have not much free time.
Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
32. Who used to live together in an extended family?
C)。【解析】四個選項都是There be開頭描述家庭成員,由此可以推測,本題的內容可能涉及某種類型的家庭當中的家庭成員。過去大家庭當中,會有祖父母、父母和子女,有時家族當中還會有幾個兄弟和他們的妻子兒女(two or more brothers with their wives and children)。可見大家庭當中有很多親戚。故C)為正確答案。
33. What advantages does the nuclear family offer women?
A)。【解析】四個選項都是The women開頭描述女性地位的句子,由此可以推測,本題的內容可能是跟女性的地位有關的。小家庭(nuclear family)當中的女性有更多的自由,不用時刻面對各種親戚(freedom from their relatives),并且可以參加決策,丈夫不再完全擁有整個家庭的權力(have all the power of the family)。故正確答案, 為A)。
34. What are some disadvantages of the nuclear family for women?
B)。【解析】四個選項都是關于家庭生活的句子,由此可以推測,本題的內容與家庭生活的某個方面有關。 由于女性壽命一般比她們丈夫的壽命長(live longer than their husbands),所以小家庭的其中一個缺點是,上了年紀的女性經常要一個人孤單地生活(have to live alone)。故正確答案為B)。
35. Why are many women dissatisfied with marriage and the nuclear family?
C)。【解析】四個選項都是They開頭表示狀態或者決定的句子,由此可以推測,本題的內容是與某一類人的決定或者他們的狀態有關。女性對小家庭的不滿主要在于她們除了從事工作,回到家還需要做大部分家務(do most of the housework),很少有自己的空余時間。故正確答案為C)。