Question

Never in the history of Sierra Leone’s elections have women so actively engaged in politics or competed for parliamentary seats. In the past, women did the dancing and cooking for elections campaigning. In the May 14th elections, we saw over 168 women candidates competitive for President, Vice President and Parliamentary seats.

One would think that about 60% of these women would have emerged as winners. But it was not so, because of our cultural perception of women. We need to change our culture. Women could be active politicians. The Christians in their own way encouraged women to be preachers(传教士) but the Muslim leaders say women should not head for officiating(主持) prayers.

The same happens in certain parts of the country where women are not part of decision taken in male secret societies. This prevents them from achieving some of their goals. A senior head in one of the ministries told me that she was getting problems with some of her staff members especially the male staff. Most women that come from the Northern part of country experience such problems. Some men are saying that a woman cannot be their leader.

Some women are also prejudiced against their women folks. In the last elections, most woman did not support their colleagues. In some parts of the country, because they are not members of secret societies they were not allowed to contest for chieftaincies (酋长或首领的位置). However, Sierra Leones not withstanding the cultural prejudice against women has witnessed women occupying high public offices. They have been appointed to head certain areas.

Sierra Leone is moving from its past culture. We need a change in our culture. Women all over the world are recognized one way or the other as they are now involved in the use of technology. We now see women as air pilots, and they even attempt to go to travel in space.

In the past, women in Sierra Leone _______.

A.took active part in politics                     B.contested for parliamentary seats

C.danced and cooked for the election campaigning  D.shared the equal rights with men

About 60% of the women engaged in election would have succeeded if .       .

A.there were less prejudice against women          B.less Muslim leaders had objected

C.more women had been engaged in the election     D.more preachers had supported them

The author concludes that the women candidates can’t win the competitive vote because .      

A.women is more suitable for the dancing and cooking job

B.women candidates can’t get the support of their folks

C.women prejudice still exists in today’s society

D.women are not capable enough to be a chieftain

The main idea of the passage is .

A.the prejudice against women in various fields

B.women in Sierra Leone, striving for their political rights

C.women in Sierra Leone, challenge for men’s status

D.women in Sierra Leone, being involved in politics

Answer 1

【小题1】C

【小题2】A

【小题3】C

【小题4】D

解析:

【小题1】 根据文章首段第二句“In the past，women did the dancing and cooking for elections campaigning可知，选项C与文意相符，故为正确答案。

【小题2】 根据文章第二段前两句可知:由于我们对女性的文化偏见，女性中大多数的人会脱颖而出是不可能的。第三段首句指出，女性无法成为男性社会中作决定的部分。以及第四段首句提到的女性对同性也存有偏见。由上述内容可推断出，如果对女性少一些偏见，那么就会有许多女性在选举中获得成功，故A为正确答案。穆斯林领导者也存在对女性的反对意见，但与本题题意不符，故可排除;C和D均未在文中提到。

【小题3】 作者在第二段中指出作者不看好女性竞选者，在第三、四段中说明性别歧视的各个方面，而最后一段中作者指出we need a change in culture。综上，不难推出本题的答案为C。A是人们过去对女性的看法，B只是文中提到一个方面，以偏慨全，D显然与文意相悖。

【小题4】 通读全文可知，本文主要讲的是有关女性从政的，由此可知D为最佳选项。文中主要讲了女性在政治方面受到的歧视，并没有涉及各个领域，故排除A、B和C。