1、大学英语六级改革适用（阅读）模拟试卷 290及答案与解析 Section C 0 Some futurologists have assumed that the vast upsurge(剧增 )of women in the workforce may portend a rejection of marriage. Many women, according to this hypothesis, would rather work than marry. The converse(反面 )of this concern is that the prospects of becoming
2、 a multi-paycheck household could encourage marriages. In the past, only the earnings and financial prospects of the man counted in the marriage decision. Now, however, the earning ability of a woman can make her more attractive as a marriage partner. Data show that economic downturns tend to postpo
3、ne marriage because the parties cannot afford to establish a family or are concerned about rainy days ahead. As the economy rebounds, the number of marriages also rises. Coincident with the increase in women working outside the home is the increase in divorce rates. Yet, it may be wrong to jump to a
4、ny simple cause-and-effect conclusions. The impact of a wifes work on divorce is no less cloudy than its impact on marriage decisions. The realization that she can be a good provider may increase the chances that a working wife will choose divorce over an unsatisfactory marriage. But the reverse is
5、equally plausible. Tensions grounded in financial problems often play a key role in ending a marriage. Given high unemployment, inflationary problems, and slow growth in real earnings, a working wife can increase household income and relieve some of these pressing financial burdens. By raising a fam
6、ilys standard of living, a working wife may strengthen her familys financial and emotional stability. Psychological factors also should be considered. For example, a wife blocked from a career outside the home may feel caged in the house. She may view her only choice as seeking a divorce. On the oth
7、er hand, if she can find fulfillment through work outside the home, work and marriage can go together to create a stronger and more stable union. Also, a major part of womens inequality in marriage has been due to the fact that, in most cases, men have remained the main breadwinners. With higher ear
8、ning capacity and status occupations outside of the home comes the capacity to exercise power within the family. A working wife may rob a husband of being the master of the house. Depending upon how the couple reacts to these new conditions, it could create a stronger equal partnership or it could c
9、reate new insecurities. 1 The word “portend“(Line 2, Para. 1)is closest in meaning to “_“. （ A） defy （ B） signal （ C） suffer from （ D） result from 2 It is said in the passage that when the economy slides,_. （ A） men would choose working women as their marriage partners （ B） more women would get marr
10、ied to seek financial security （ C） even working women would worry about their marriages （ D） more people would prefer to remain single for the time being 3 If women find fulfillment through work outside the home,_. （ A） they are more likely to dominate their marriage partners （ B） their husbands ar
11、e expected to do more housework （ C） their marriage ties can be strengthened （ D） they tend to put their career before marriage 4 One reason why women with no career may seek a divorce is that _. （ A） they feel that they have been robbed of their freedom （ B） they are afraid of being bossed around b
12、y their husbands （ C） they feel that their partners fail to live up to their expectations （ D） they tend to suspect their husbands loyalty to their marriage 5 Which of the following statements can best summarize the authors view? （ A） The stability of marriage and the divorce rate may reflect the ec
13、onomic situation of the country. （ B） Even when economically independent, most women have to struggle for real equality in marriage. （ C） In order to secure their marriage women should work outside the home and remain independent. （ D） The impact of the growing female workforce on marriage varies fr
14、om case to case. 5 Too many vulnerable child-free adults are being ruthlessly(无情的 )manipulated into parent-hood by their parents, who think that happiness among older people depends on having a grandchild to spoil. We need an organization to help beat down the persistent campaigns of grandchildless
15、parents. Its time to establish Planned Grandparenthood, which would have many global and local benefits. Part of its mission would be to promote the risks and realities associated with being a grandparent. The staff would include depressed grandparents who would explain how grandkids break lamps, bi
16、te, scream and kick. Others would detail how an hour of baby-sitting often turns into a crying marathon. More grandparents would testify that they had to pay for their grandchilds expensive college education. Planned grandparenthoods carefully written literature would detail all the joys of life gra
17、ndchild-free: a calm living room, extra money for luxuries during the golden years, etc. Potential grandparents would be reminded that, without grandchildren around, its possible to have a conversation with your kids, who incidentally would have more time for their own parents. Meanwhile, most child
18、ren are vulnerable to the enormous influence exerted by grandchildless parents aiming to persuade their kids to produce children. They will take a call from a persistent parent, even if theyre loaded with work. In addition, some parents make handsome money offers payable upon the grandchilds birth.
19、Sometimes these gifts not only cover expenses associated with the infants birth, but extras, too, like a vacation. In any case, cash gifts can weaken the resolve of even the noblest person. At Planned Grandparenthood, children targeted by their parents to reproduce could obtain non-biased informatio
20、n about the insanity of having their own kids. The catastrophic psychological and economic costs of childbearing would be emphasized. The symptoms of morning sickness would be listed and horrors of childbirth pictured. A monthly newsletter would contain stories about overwhelmed parents and offer gu
21、idance on how childless adults can respond to the different lobbying tactics that would-be grandparents employ. When I think about all the problems of our overpopulated world and look at our boy grabbing at the lamp by the sofa, I wish I could have turned to Planned Grandparenthood when my parents w
22、ere putting the grandchild squeeze on me. If I could have, I might not be in this parenthood predicament(窘境 ). But heres the crazy irony. I dont want my child-free life back. Dylans too much fun. 6 Whats the purpose of the proposed organization Planned Grandparenthood? （ A） To encourage childless co
23、uples to have children. （ B） To provide facilities and services for grandchildless parents. （ C） To offer counseling to people on how to raise grandchildren. （ D） To discourage people from insisting on having grandchildren. 7 Planned Grandparenthood would include depressed grandparents on its staff
24、in order to _. （ A） show them the joys of life grandparents may have in raising grandchildren （ B） draw attention to the troubles and difficulties grandchildren may cause （ C） share their experience in raising grandchildren in a more scientific way （ D） help raise funds to cover the high expense of
25、education for grandchildren 8 According to the passage, some couples may eventually choose to have children because _. （ A） they find it hard to resist the carrot-and-stick approach of their parents （ B） they have learned from other parents about the joys of having children （ C） they feel more and m
26、ore lonely as they grow older （ D） they have found it irrational to remain childless 9 By saying “. my parents were putting the grandchild squeeze on me“(Lines 2-3, Para. 6), the author means that_. （ A） her parents kept pressuring her to have a child （ B） her parents liked to have a grandchild in t
27、heir arms （ C） her parents asked her to save for the expenses of raising a child （ D） her parents kept blaming her for her childs bad behavior 10 What does the author really think of the idea of having children? （ A） It does more harm than good. （ B） It contributes to overpopulation. （ C） It is trou
28、blesome but rewarding. （ D） It is a psychological catastrophe. 10 When we worry about who might be spying on our private lives, we usually think about the Federal agents. But the private sector outdoes the government every time. Its Linda Tripp, not the FBI, who is facing charges under Marylands law
29、s against secret telephone taping. Its our banks, not the Internal Revenue Service(IRS), that pass our private financial data to telemarketing firms. Consumer activists are pressing Congress for better privacy laws without much result so far. The legislators lean toward letting business people track
30、 our financial habits virtually at will. As an example of whats going on, consider U.S. Bancorp, which was recently sued for deceptive practices by the state of Minnesota. According to the lawsuit, the bank supplied a telemarketer called MemberWorks with sensitive customer data such as names, phone
31、numbers, bank-account and credit-card numbers, Social Security numbers, account balances and credit limits. With these customer lists in hand, MemberWorks started dialing for dollars selling dental plans, videogames, computer software and other products and services. Customers who accepted a “free t
32、rial offer“ had 30 days to cancel. If the deadline passed, they were charged automatically through their bank or credit-card accounts. U.S. Bancorp collected a share of the revenues. Customers were doubly deceived, the lawsuit claims. They didnt know that the bank was giving account numbers to Membe
33、rWorks. And if customers asked, they were led to think the answer was no. The state sued MemberWorks separately for deceptive selling. The company denies that it did anything wrong. For its part, U.S. Bancorp settled without admitting any mistakes. But it agreed to stop exposing its customers to non
34、financial products sold by outside firms. A few top banks decided to do the same. Many other banks will still do business with MemberWorks and similar firms. And banks will still be mining data from your account in order to sell you financial products, including things of little value, such as credi
35、t insurance and credit-card protection plans. You have almost no protection from businesses that use your personal accounts for profit. For example, no federal law shields “transaction and experience“ informationmainly the details of your bank and credit-card accounts. Social Security numbers are fo
36、r sale by private firms. Theyve generally agreed not to sell to the public. But to businesses, the numbers are an open book. Self-regulation doesnt work. A firm might publish a privacy-protection policy, but who enforces it? Take U.S. Bancorp again. Customers were told, in writing, that “all persona
37、l information you supply to us will be considered confidential.“ Then it sold your data to MemberWorks. The bank even claims that it doesnt “sell“ your data at all. It merely “shares“ it and reaps a profit. Now you know. 11 Contrary to popular belief, the author finds that spying on peoples privacy
38、_. （ A） is mainly carried out by means of secret taping （ B） has been intensified with the help of the IRS （ C） is practiced exclusively by the FBI （ D） is more prevalent in business circles 12 We know from the passage that _. （ A） legislators are acting to pass a law to provide better privacy prote
39、ction （ B） most states are turning a blind eye to the deceptive practices of private businesses （ C） the state of Minnesota is considering drawing up laws to protect private information （ D） lawmakers are inclined to give a free hand to businesses to inquire into customers buying habits 13 When the
40、“free trial“ deadline is over, youll be charged without notice for a product or service if_. （ A） you fail to cancel it within the specified period （ B） you happen to reveal your credit card number （ C） you find the product or service unsatisfactory （ D） you fail to apply for extension of the deadli
41、ne 14 Businesses do not regard information concerning personal bank accounts as private because_. （ A） its revelation will do no harm to consumers under the current protection policy （ B） it is considered “transaction and experience“ information unprotected by law （ C） it has always been considered
42、an open secret by the general public （ D） its sale can be brought under control through self-regulation 15 We can infer from the passage that_. （ A） banks will have to change their ways of doing business （ B） privacy protection laws will soon be enforced （ C） consumers privacy will continue to be in
43、vaded （ D） free trial practice will eventually be banned 15 The military aspect of the United States Civil War has always attracted the most attention from scholars. The roar of gunfire, the massed movements of uniformed men, the shrill of bugles, and the drama of hand-to-hand combat have fascinated
44、 students of warfare for a century. Behind the lines, however, life was less spectacular. It was the story of back-breaking labor to provide the fighting men with food and arms, of nerve-tingling uncertainty about the course of national events, of heartbreak over sons or brothers or husbands, lost i
45、n battle. If the men on the firing line won the victories, the means to those victories were forged on the home front. Never in the nations history had Americans worked harder for victory than in the Civil War. Northerners and Southerners alike threw themselves into the task of supplying their respe
46、ctive armies. Both governments made tremendous demands upon civilians and, in general, received willing cooperation. By 1863 the Northern war economy was rumbling along in high gear. Everything from steamboats to shovels was needed and produced. Denied Southern cotton, textile mills turned to wool f
47、or blankets and uniforms. Hides by the hundreds of thousands were turned into shoes and harness and saddles; iron works manufactured locomotives, ordnance, armor plate. Where private enterprise lagged, the government set up its own factories or arsenals. Agriculture boomed, with machinery doing the
48、job of farm workers who were drawn into the army. In short, everything that a nation needed to fight a modern war was produced in uncounted numbers. Inevitably there were profiteers with gold-headed canes and flamboyant diamond stickpins, but for every crooked tycoon there were thousands of ordinary
49、 citizens living on fixed incomes who did their best to cope with rising prices and still make a contribution to the war effort. 16 According to the passage, what was the civilian response towards the Civil War? （ A） They hated it and rose in lots of rebellions. （ B） They were deeply worried and cursed it. （ C） They migrated to avoid the ruthless war. （ D） They went all out to supply the army. 17 By saying “If the men on the firing line won the victories, the means to those victories were forged on the
