2009年12月英语四级考试模拟训练及答案(一)

　　31. What did the landowner do when he found out that the tenants were boycotting his agent?

　　【解析】A)。四个选项都是He开头描述某人的行动，由此可以推测，本题的内容是关于某个人采取的行动。 当地主发现佃农抵制Captain Boycott后，地主就把他换掉了(the Captain was removed)，故正确答案为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】四个选项都是There be开头描述家庭成员，由此可以推测，本题的内容可能涉及某种类型的家庭当中的家庭成员。过去大家庭当中，会有祖父母、父母和子女，有时家族当中还会有几个兄弟和他们的妻子儿女(two or more brothers with their wives and children)。可见大家庭当中有很多亲戚。故C)为正确答案。

　　33. What advantages does the nuclear family offer women?

　　A)。【解析】四个选项都是The women开头描述女性地位的句子，由此可以推测，本题的内容可能是跟女性的地位有关的。小家庭(nuclear family)当中的女性有更多的自由，不用时刻面对各种亲戚(freedom from their relatives)，并且可以参加决策，丈夫不再完全拥有整个家庭的权力(have all the power of the family)。故正确答案为A)。

　　34. What are some disadvantages of the nuclear family for women?

　　B)。【解析】四个选项都是关于家庭生活的句子，由此可以推测，本题的内容与家庭生活的某个方面有关。 由于女性寿命一般比她们丈夫的寿命长(live longer than their husbands)，所以小家庭的其中一个缺点是，上了年纪的女性经常要一个人孤单地生活(have to live alone)。故正确答案为B)。

　　35. Why are many women dissatisfied with marriage and the nuclear family?

　　C)。【解析】四个选项都是They开头表示状态或者决定的句子，由此可以推测，本题的内容是与某一类人的决定或者他们的状态有关。女性对小家庭的不满主要在于她们除了从事工作，回到家还需要做大部分家务(do most of the housework)，很少有自己的空余时间。故正确答案为C)。