Having a husband means an extra seven hours of housework each week for women, according to a new study. For men, getting married saves an hour of housework a week. “It’s a well-known pattern,” said lead researcher Frank Stafford at University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. “Men usually work more outside the home, while women take on more of the housework.”
He points out that differences among households (家庭) exist. But in general, marriage means more housework for women and less for men. “And the situation gets worse for women when they have children.” Stafford said.
Overall, times are changing in the American home. In 1976, women busied themselves with 26 weekly hours of sweeping-and-dusting work, pared with 17 hours in 2005. Men are taking on more housework, more than doubling their housework hours from six in 1976 to 13 in 2005.
Single women in their 20s and 30s did the least housework, about 12 weekly hours, while married women in their 60s and 70s did the most – about 21 hours a week.
Men showed a somewhat different pattern, with older men picking up the broom more often than younger men. Single men worked the hardest around the house, more than that of all other age groups of married men.
Having children increases housework even further. With more than three, for example, wives took on more of the extra work, clocking about 28 hours a week pared with husbands’10 hours.
【小题1】According to the “well-known pattern” in Paragraph 1, a married man .A．takes on heavier workB．does more houseworkC．is the main breadwinnerD．is the master of the house【小题2】How many hours of housework did men do every week in the 1970s?A．About 28B．About 26C．About 13D．About 6【小题3】What kind of man is doing most housework according to the text?A．An unmarried man.B．An older married man.C．A younger married man.D．A married man with children.【小题4】What can we conclude from Stafford’s research? A．Marriage gives men more freedom. B．Marriage has effects on job choices.C．Housework sharing changes over time. D．Having children means doubled housework.C
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(答案→)C
解析：这篇阅读理解的文字风格诙谐但有实际的描述了一个很普遍的社会问题：男女角色在家庭责任承担上随着时期的不同而发生变化。这是一篇展示社会问题类型的文章。作者通过描绘不同时期的男女---单身---婚后---孩子出生等阶段他们角色和责任承担的改变。
从文字设计上看，影响考生理解完整意思的因素并不多，整篇文章文字比较通顺流畅。难度并不大。但是在前两题题的理解上，部分考生会出现问题。
【小题1】细节题。根据第一段Men usually work more outside the home可得知答案。
【小题2】细节题。由第二段最后一句可知。
【小题3】细节题。根据文章倒数第二段最后一句话ingle men worked the hardest around the house, more than that of all other age groups of married men可得知答案。
【小题4】综合理解题。读文章第三段，和其他各段的数字相比，可知一直在变化。