真题演练：大学英语四级简答解题历年真题解析(5) 英语四级, 大学, 解题, 演练, 解析

幽幽草

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(临时照看小孩 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：答题尽量简短，超过10个词要扣分。每条横线限写一个英语单词，标点符号不占格。)

　　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 ______ .


　　文章导读

　　有了孩子的妇女是否应该出去工作？这是许多人常常争论的话题。本文作者先是剖析了妇女工作的原因―为了挣钱，然后分别用事实（第一段）和讲道理（二、三段）说明这得不偿失。第一段引用了一个丈夫的话算了一笔账，证明妇女工作划不来；第二段指出经济因素并不是最重要的，家庭成员的感情需要才是最重要的。第三段先退一步，指出许多妇女呆的家里感到厌烦，但也有许多人从家务活中获得了最大的乐趣。最后一段以自己的亲身感受指出妇女进行工作是个草率的决定，暗示说她们的家里也许会得到更多。

　　第一题 Which word in the first two paragraphs best explains why many women have to work?

　　题解： 本题为主旨类题，要求考生总结出妇女工作的原因。在这两段中都提到了survive，可以知道妇女出去工作主要是为了生存。所以本题的答案应该是名词survive。当然，也可以理解为她们是为了挣钱来生存，所以economy或economics也可以算作正确答案。

　　要点： 注意问题中的which word，因此本题的答案应为一个单词，而不要答成“They must work to survive”一类的话。

　　第二题 Why did Marge and her husband think it an extravagance for Marge to go back to work?

　　题解： 此题属于细节类问题。文章第二段：玛基和她丈夫认为她重新外出工作对全家来说是一种奢望。他们有两个学龄前的孩子。如果把雇人照看孩子的费用、交通费用和增加的税款加在一起， 那么算下来将不但赚不到钱，收入实际上还可能减少。

　　要点： （1）本题所问内容从玛基和她丈夫的角度讲是没有发生的事情。即回答的内容与事实相反。故答案均采用与事实相反的虚拟语气形式。否则是要扣分的。

　　（2）问题是why，回答时最好用because开头（尽管省略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