Question

According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the U.K. has about 7.7 million families with dependent children, of which 3.7 million have just one child, compared to 3 million with two and 1.1 million with three children or more. The number of families today with just one dependent child is now 47 percent and will likely rise to more than 50 percent in a decade. As the ONS confirms, “It appears that families are getting smaller.”

One obvious reason for this could be that women are putting off having children until they have established careers when they are bound to be less fertile. But it could just as well be a matter of choice. Parents must consider the rising cost of living, combined with economic uncertainty and an increasingly difficult job market. And this trend may continue growing as having an only child becomes more normal, which seems to be the mood on the mothers’ online forum Mumsnet, where one member announced that she “just wanted to start a positive thread about how fab it is to have an only child”.

She had received 231 replies, overwhelmingly in the same upbeat spirit. Parents of only children insist there are plenty of benefits. Nicola Kelly, a writer and lecturer who grew up as an only child and is now a married mother of one, says her 15-year-old son seems more grown-up in many ways than his contemporaries.

Not all products of single-child families are as keen to repeat the experience. In a moving recent account journalist Janice Turner wrote about her own keenness to “squeeze out two sons just 22 months apart” as a reaction to her only-child upbringing.

She was placed on a pedestal by her doting parents, whom she punished with a “brattish, wilful” rejection of everything they stood for. Desperate for a close friend she was repeatedly shattered by rejection and refers to her childhood as being “misery”.

Writer and clinician Dr. Dorothy Rowe, a member of the British Psychological Society, says that we all interpret events in our own individual way and there are some children who no matter what their circumstances feel slighted, while other children see the advantages of their situation.

However, the one part of life that is unlikely to get any easier for only children is when they grow up and find themselves looking after their own parents as they become older.

1.The passage is written with the purpose of ________.

A. illustrating the strength and weakness of having an only child

B. analyzing the reasons why having an only child becomes popular

C. presenting us with different opinions about having an only child

D. guiding people to look at the same issue from different perspectives

2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. Nearly half of families intend to have just one child.

B. All people don’t stand for the idea of having an only child.

C. Some people fail to recognize the advantage of having an only child.

D. People brought up in an only child family resist downsizing the family.

3.From what Dr. Dorothy Rowe said, we know that ________.

A. journalist Janice Turner experienced a miserable childhood

B. she has a positive attitude towards Janice Turner’s reaction

C. it’s necessary for us to look at the event from our own angle

D. some are unable to make an objective assessment of their conditions

4.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. It’s normal to see the imperfection in character in only children.

B. Mumsnet is an online forum which promotes having an only child.

C. Economic development plays a determining role in the family size.

D. Only children will have difficulty in attending to their parents.

Answer 1

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：由英国国家统计局发布的数据显示，全英拥有未独立子女的家庭数量大约有770万。这一数据引发社会的极大讨论：少生优生,幸福一生?

1.C主旨大意题。文章第一段倒数第二句The number of families today with just one dependent child is now 47 percent and will likely rise to more than 50 percent in a decade现今独生子女家庭占47%，而这一数字在十年内很有可能将涨过50%。引出了话题背景，后文presenting us with different opinions about having an only child描述关于独生胎儿的不同观点。故选C

2.B句意猜测题。Not all products of single-child families are as keen to repeat the experience但并非所有来自独生子女家庭的孩子都希望继续重演这样的经历。由此得知只生一胎的观念不得人心All people don’t stand for the idea of having an only child.故选B

3.D细节理解题。第六段Dr. Dorothy Rowe说的话，we all interpret events in our own individual way and there are some children who no matter what their circumstances feel slighted, while other children see the advantages of their situation. 我们所有人都按个人的方式去诠释理解各种事件，有些孩子，不管他们如何轻视自己所处的环境，然而在其他孩子眼中看来却有着各种好处。由此得知，有些人不能对自己的情况作出客观的评价，some are unable to make an objective assessment of their conditions.故选D

4.D主旨大意题。由文章最后一段整段However, the one part of life that is unlikely to get any easier for only children is when they grow up and find themselves looking after their own parents as they become older得知独生子女必须等到自己长大了才明白自己要去照顾父母。这便是Only children will have difficulty in attending to their parents独生子女照顾父母会有点难。故选D

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