Sociologists（社会学家）, working in western countries, have found that a large number of women wished they had been born men. The number is said to be as high as 60％ in Germany.

　　"Women often wish they had the same chances as men have, and think it is still men's world. " said Dr. James Helen, one of the sociologists who did the study.

　　Many men say that they have more duties than women. A man has to make money to support his family and to make the important decision, so it is right for men to be paid more. Some are even against their wives working at all. When wives go out to work, they say, the home and children cannot be taken good care of. If women take full-time jobs, they won't be able to do what they are best at doing: making a nice home and bringing up the children.

　　Some women disagree. They say they want to get out of their homes and to have freedom to choose between work and home life. Women have the right of equal pay and equal chances.

　　Anne Harper has a very good job. She also believes in "Women's Liberation", "I don't wish I were a man," she says, "and I don't think many women do. But I do wish people would stop treating us like second-class people. At work, for example, we usually do the work that men do but get paid less. There are still a lot of jobs only to men—usually they are the best ones. If you are a man, you have a much better chance of living a wonderful life. How many women scientists are there…or engineers?"

Many men think ______.

　　　　A. women can't do what men can

　　　　B. men have to work much harder than women

　　　　C. men can make money more easily than women

　　　　D. women's duty is mainly to do housework at home

　Some women have different ideas. They say that ______.

　　　　A. women need chances to go out of the home more often

　　　　B. women want more freedom in deciding the kind of life they want

　　　　C. if women are given equal pay, they can do everything instead of men

　　　　D. women are no longer interested in taking care of their homes

　　　Anne Harper thought that ______.

　　　　A. women should live a better life than men

　　　　B. women should be really liberated

　　　　C. women should be given better jobs than men

　　　　D. women should live a more wonderful life than men

Aimlessness has hardly been typical of the postwar Japan whose productivity and social harmony are the envy of the United States and Europe. But increasingly the Japanese are seeing a decline of the traditional work-moral values. Ten years ago young people were hardworking and saw their jobs as their primary reason for being, but now Japan has largely fulfilled its economic needs, and young people don't know where they should go next.

The coming of age of the postwar baby boom and an entry of women into the male-dominated job market have limited the opportunities of teenagers who are already questioning the heavy personal sacrifices involved in climbing Japans rigid social ladder to good schools and jobs. In a recent survey, it was found that only 24.5 percent of Japanese students were fully satisfied with school life, compared with 67.2 percent of students in the United States. In addition, far more Japanese workers expressed dissatisfaction with their jobs than their counterparts did in the ten other countries surveyed.

While often praised by foreigners for its emphasis on the basics, Japanese education tends to stress test taking and mechanical learning over creativity and self-expression." Those things that do not show up in the test scores, personality, ability, courage or humanity are completely ignored," says Toshiki Kaifu, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's education committee." Frustration against this kind of thing leads kids to drop out and run wild." Last year Japan experienced 2,125 incidents of school violence, including 929 assaults on teachers. Amid the outcry, many conservative leaders are seeking a return to the prewar emphasis on moral education. Last year Mitsuo Setoyama, who was then education minister, raised eyebrows when he argued that liberal reforms introduced by the American occupation authorities after World WarⅡ had weakened the "Japanese morality of respect for parents."

But that may have more to do with Japanese life-styles." In Japan," says educator Yoko Muro, "it’s never a question of whether you enjoy your job and your life, but only how much you can endure." With economic growth becoming centralization, fully 76 percent of Japans, 119 million citizens live in cities where community and the extended family have been abandoned in favor of isolated, two generation households. Urban Japanese have long endured lengthy commutes (travels to and from work) and crowded living conditions, but as the old group and family values weaken, the discomfort is beginning to tell. In the past decade, the Japanese divorce rate, while still well below that of the United States, has increased by more than 50 percent, and suicides have increased by nearly one-quarter.

1. In the Westerners eyes, the postwar Japan was_____ .

　A. under aimless development          B. a positive example

　C. a rival to the West                    D. on the decline

2.According to the author, what may chiefly be responsible for the moral decline of Japanese society?

　A. Women's participation in social activities is limited.

　B. More workers are dissatisfied with their jobs.

　C. Excessive emphasis has been placed on the basics.

　D. The life-style has been influenced by Western values.

3.Which of the following is true according to the author?

　A. Japanese education is praised for helping the young climb the social ladder.

　B. Japanese education is characterized by mechanical learning as well as creativity.　　　　

　C. More stress should be placed on the cultivation of creativity.

　D. Dropping out leads to frustration against test taking.

4. The change in Japanese life-style is revealed in the fact that____.

　A. the young are less tolerant of discomforts

　B. the divorce rate in Japan exceeds that in the U.S.

　C. the Japanese endure more than ever before

　D. the Japanese appreciate their present life

 

The shop at the street corner sells ____ clothing.

 　 A. child’s and woman’s    　　　　　 B. children and women’s

　 C. children’s and women 　 　　　　　 D. children’s and women’s

 

　　　 Say sorry to your wife---it may help her live longer, according to scientists.

　　 “Sorry” may be the hardest word, but scientists say it could be one of the healthiest. Researchers have discovered that women who receive an apology for hurtful behavior suffer less stress and possible damage to their heart than those who don’t.

　　　 It is said that the heartbeat of a wronged woman returns to normal 20 percent quicker after a well-timed “sorry” than without it. But for men, their heartbeat takes longer to recover, according to the research.

　　　 The research was undertaken by American scientists using 29 men and 59 women whose diastolic blood pressure was measured throughout an experiment. Diastolic blood pressure

is a measure of pressure in the blood vessels( 血管 ) between heartbeats---if it is continuously high it can increase the chances of heart attacks.

　　　 The men and women were asked to undertake a difficult mathematical task. They were told they had five minutes to complete it but were disturbed after a minute and told rudely to carry out the task more quickly. They were disturbed twice more before five minutes had passed and told to speed up. Finally they were told, “ You’re obviously not good enough.” Two minutes later researchers said sorry to half of the men and women.

　　　 The researchers found that, on average, the women’s diastolic blood pressure dropped back to normal 20 percent---quicker if they received an apology from the researchers, while the men’s took 20 percent longer to return to normal. One of the researchers said, “Results indicates that the effects of apology and forgiveness on women are greater.”

67. The term “sorry” is considered as one of the healthiest words because it _________.

　 A. is the most powerful　　　　

　 B. can cure heart disease

　 C. helps people forget hurtful behavior

　 D. can reduce pressure and damage to the heart

68. We can know from Paragraph 3 _________.

　 A. women’s hearts beat faster than men’s

B. women are quicker at making apologies

C. men can forgive others’mistakes more easily than women

D. men stay angry for a longer time than women after receiving an apology

69. Which of the following is the RIGHT time order for events in the study?

a. Half of them received apologies.

b. They were disturbed a minute later.

c. They were told that they weren’t good enough.

d. They were asked to finish a math task in five minutes.

e. They were disturbed two more times during the study.

　A. d-b-c-e-a B. d-c-b-a-e C. d-b-e-c-a D. d-c-b-e-a

70. The research confirmed (证实) that _________.

A. men are unwilling to apologize to others for their mistakes

B. men’s chances of getting heart attacks are higher than women’s

　C. women can benefit more from receiving apologies than men

D. people can also get healthy benefits from giving apologies

If women are mercilessly exploited (剥削) year after year, they have only themselves to blame. Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion, they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores. Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion. When you come to think of it, only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe (衣柜) packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.

Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste. Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn. Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way, waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have. Skirts are lengthened or shortened; neck-lines are lowered or raised, and so on.

No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society. Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth, comfort and durability (耐用). They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort, as long as they look right. There can hardly be a man who hasn't at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day, or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.

When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusions to be drawn are obvious. Do the constantly changing fashions of women's clothes, one wonders, reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability? Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers. Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability? That is for you to decide.

　　 1. Designers and big stores always make money——.

　　　　 A. by mercilessly exploiting women workers in the clothing industry

　　　　 B. because they are capable of predicting new fashions

　　　　 C. by constantly changing the fashions in women's clothing

　　　　 D. because they attach great importance to quality in women's clothing

　　 2. To the writer the fact that women alter their old-fashioned dresses is seen as——.

　　　　 A. a waste of moue　　　　　　　　　　   B. a waste of time

　　　　 C. an expression of taste　　　　　　　　   D. an expression of creativity

　　 3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

　　　　 A. New fashions in clothing are created for the commercial exploitation of women.

　　　　 B. The constant changes in women's clothing reflect their strength of character.

　　　　 C. The fashion industry makes an important contribution to society.

　　　　 D.  Fashion designs should not be encouraged since they are only welcomed by women.

　　 4. By saying “the conclusions to be drawn are obvious” the writer means that——.

　　　　 A. women's inconstancy in their choice of clothing is often laughed at

　　　　 B. women are better able to put up with discomfort

　　　　 C. men are also exploited greatly by fashion designers

　　　　 D. men are more reasonable in the matter of fashion