Pride and Prejudice for the Modern Woman
Let us imagine how Pride and Prejudice，Jane Austen’s most
famous work，might be updated，200 years on.
Austen’s popularity is rooted in her intelligence.But today she would certainly have had a very different life，as would her characters.Here’s my own suggestion...
It is a truth finally and universally acknowledged that a single woman with brains deserves to have equal opportunities to men，however disadvantaged she may feel by sexism.
“My dear husband，”said his hopeful wife one day，“have you heard that the local store，standing empty for so long，is taken over by a bright young businesswoman？”
Her dull and indifferent (漠不关心的) husband replied that he had not.
“But it is，it is，”she replied excitedly.
Mr DullHusband made no reply.
“Don’t you want to know her plans？”she cried with some impatience.
“Well，clearly you think it matters to your silly little head...so I’d better listen.”
“Well，my dear，the rumour (传言) is that she has already set up a string of successful businesses in northern England，though how_a_woman_can_know_anything_about_that_is_beyond_me.She will move in herself next month.”
“What is her name？”
“Bingley.”
“Is she married or single？”
“What a question! And none of your business.But her ing will be a fine thing for our five boys.”
“How so? How can it possibly affect them? ”
“My dear love：those lazy boys need something to wake them up.There are bound to be jobs going.”
“Is that her point in settling here? Surely as a woman she has simply taken a fancy to the place.”
“Nonsense，my love，how little you’ve noticed the world has changed.She’s got a firstrate degree and some sort of business qualification，I’m told.She surely needs one of our boys! Perhaps you might give her a call.”
“Me? No.Perhaps you can take an interest.You still have your looks，after all.She may even offer you a job.”
“Oh，that’s not likely.These new chances belong to the younger generation.But now you mention it，I think I’ll go along all the same.”
And Mrs Bennet went along.That was 10 years ago.She is now managing director of a FTSElisted pany.
...It would remain the case，of course，that Mrs Bennet would be one of very few women on the pany board，that her salary would be lower than her male colleagues，her bonus of a more“female”dimension and her lifespan (年限) among the city’s business leaders shorter than theirs.Still，she’d no doubt have enjoyed Davos—and might even have hobnobbed (攀谈) with influential figures.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?A．Austen was born 200 years ago.B．Austen rewrote Pride and Prejudice.C．Austen’s success lies in her wisdom.D．Austen’s updated work gains popularity.【小题2】The underlined part in the passage suggests that Mrs Bennet .A．had mixed feelings of admiration and surprise about BingleyB．felt kind of worried and doubtful about BingleyC．was extremely anxious to meet BingleyD．had a great curiosity about Bingley【小题3】In the eyes of Mrs Bennet，Bingley surely needed one of their boys to .A．get married toB．work for herC．help her move inD．take over her store【小题4】What does the writer intend to tell us?A．Women with brains can also be as successful as men.B．Women have to pay a high price for success.C．A judgment must be made free from prejudice.D．Sex discrimination still exists nowadays.C
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(答案→)C
解析：本文是关于英国著名女性小说家简·奥斯汀的《傲慢与偏见》的一篇文章。号召读者通过对本文的研读，对当今社会上仍然存在的性别歧视观念加以纠正，从而鼓舞当代女性勇于和男性竞争以获得平等地位。
【小题1】解析：选C。细节理解题。A项错误，因为文章中并没有提及奥斯汀的出生日期；B项“奥斯汀重写了《傲慢与偏见》”，很明显文章也没有提及；D项“奥斯汀的更新的著作受到人们的欢迎”，这种观点与文章不符。由第一段第一句“Austen’s popularity is rooted in her intelligence.”可知奥斯汀的成功在于她的智慧(wisdom)，故C项正确。
【小题2】解析：选A。推理判断题。由上文中的excitedly和cried不难推断贝内特夫人的感情既有羡慕又有吃惊的成分，所以A项符合文意；B项“对Bingley感到担忧和怀疑”，与原文不符，因为上文的话题是贝内特夫人自己提出的，因而不会产生怀疑心理，如果说她丈夫怀疑还可以接受；C项“她急切想见到Bingley”，与下文中的丈夫让她给Bingley打电话，她却拒绝相矛盾，故排除C项；D项“对Bingley很好奇”，不全面，实际上更多的是羡慕和吃惊。
【小题3】解析：选B。细节理解题。根据文章中提到的“那些懒惰的男孩子需要一些东西唤醒自己”以及“There are bound to be jobs going.”可知Bingley需要贝内特夫人的一个孩子为她工作，所以B项正确。根据上文中贝内特夫人的丈夫问及Bingley的婚姻状况时，她告诉丈夫“不关你的事”可知A项错误；由“She will move in herself next month.”可知C项错误；D项“接管她的店铺”与原文矛盾，所以应排除。
【小题4】解析：选D。主旨大意题。根据文章内容可以看出，作者写这篇文章的目的是号召人们消除性别歧视的观念，故D项正确。A项“智慧的女人同样可以像男人一样成功”，而文章只是对《傲慢与偏见》的内容进行引述，这不是全文要表达的主旨；B项“女人要成功必须付出巨大的代价”，文章没有提及；C项“对事物进行判断不应有偏见”，这只是文章主旨大意的一部分，太笼统。