(江西省南昌二中2009届高三5月模拟考试D篇)

Once it was possible to define male and female roles easily by the division of the labor. Men worked outside the home and earned the income to support their families, while women cooked the meals and took care of the home and the children. These roles were firmly fixed for most people, and there was not much opportunity for men or women to exchange their roles. But in the middle of 1ast century, men’s and women’s roles were becoming less firmly fixed

In the 1950s, economic and social success was the goal of the typical American. But in the 1960s a new force developed called the counterculture(反传统文化). The people involved in this movement did not value the middle-class American goals. The counterculture presented men and women with new role choices. Taking more interest in childcare, men began to share child-raising tasks with their wives. In fact, some young men and women moved to communal  homes or farms where the economic and childcare responsibilities were shared equally by both sexes. In addition, many Americans did not value the traditional male role of soldier. Some young men refused to be drafted as soldiers to fight in the war in Vietnam.

In terms of numbers, the counterculture was not a very large group of people. But its influence spread to many parts of American society. Working men of all classes began to change their economic and social patterns. Industrial workers and business executives alike cut down on “overtime” work so that they could spend more leisure time with their families. Some doctors, lawyers, and teachers turned away from high paying situations to practice their professions in poorer neighborhoods.

In the 1970s, the feminist movement, or women’s liberation, produced additional economic and social changes. Women of all ages and at all levels of society were entering the work force in greater number. Most of them still took traditional women’s jobs such as public school teaching, nursing, and secretarial work. But some women began to enter traditionally male occupations: police work, banking, dentistry(牙医术), and construction work. Women were asking for equal work.

Today the experts generally agree that important changes are taking place in the roles of men and women. Naturally, there are difficulties in adjusting to these changes.

68．According to the passage, in the past      .

       A．women usually worked outside the home for wages.

       B．men’s and women’s roles were easily exchanged

       C．men’s roles at home was more firmly fixed than women’s

       D．men’s and women’s roles usually were quite separated

69．It could be inferred from the passage that      .

       A．men and women will never share the same goals.

       B．some men will be willing to change their traditional male roles.

       C．most men will be happy to share some of the household responsibilities with their wives.

       D．more American householders are headed by women than ever before.

70．The underlined word “communal” in paragraph 2 means      .

       A．common                 B．individual                  C．separate             D．private

71．The best title for the passage may be      .

       A．Results of Feminist Movement             

       B．New Influence and Americans’ Life

       C．Counterculture and Its Consequence     

       D．Traditional Division of Male and Female Roles