单选题
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:
Working at nonstandard times--evenings, nights or weekends--is taking its toll on American families, One-fifth of all employed Americans work variable or rotating shifts, and one-third work weekends, according to Harriet B Presser sociology professor at the University of Maryland The result is stress on familial relationships,which is likely to continue in corning decades.
The consequences of working irregular hours vary according to gender economic level, mad whether or not children are involved Single mothers are more likely to work nights and weekends than married mothers, Women in clerical, sales, or other low, paying jobs participate disproportionately in working late and graveyard shifts
Married-couple households with children are increasingly becoming dual-earner households generating ore split-shift couples, School-aged children, however, may benefit from parents’ nonstandard work schedules because of the greater likelihood that a parent will be home before or after school. On the other hand, a correlation exists between nonstandard work schedules and both marital instability and a decline in the quality of marriages.
Nonstandard working hours mean families spend less time together for diner but more time together for breakfast One-on-one interaction between parents and children varies, however, based on parent, shift, and age of children. There is also a dearer reliance on child care by relatives and by professional providers
Working nonstandard hours is less a choice of employees and more a mandate of employer, Presser believes that the need for swing shifts and weekend work mill continue to rise in the coming decades She reports that in some European countries thee for employees working irregular hours-sometimes as much as 50% higher The convenience of having services available 24 hours a day continues to drive this trend
Unfortunately, says Presser, the issue is virtually absent from public discourse She emphasizes the need for focused studies on costs and benefits of working odd hours the physical and emotional health of people working nights and weekends, and the reasons behind the necessity for working thee hours "Nonstandard work schedules not only art highly prevalent among American families but also generate a level of complexity in family functioning that needs greater attention," she sags.
单选题
Which of the following demonstrates that, working at nonstandard times is taking its toll on American families?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。题干中的working at nonstandard times和toll on American families定位在第一段第一句，题干考点要求找到具体的伤害，也就是非常规时间工作造成什么具体结果。
第一段第二句具体解释了美国人在非常规工作时间上班的现状。第三句作者用result表示造成的危害是stress on familial relationships，对应A选项。B选项和C选项都是对working at nonstandard times的具体描述，而非它所造成的伤害结果。D选项过于抽象概括。
单选题
Which or the following is affected most by working irregular hours?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。题干中的working irregular hours等同于working nonstandard hours，在原文重复出现为本文的主旨，因此无法准确定位该题。根据题干中的is affected by可以推断出题干的考点是非常规时间工作的结果，对应第二段第一句的consequences of working irregular hours。因此答案指向第二段和第三段。
Single mothers定位在第二段第二句，该句指出单身母亲更比结婚母亲更可能在非常规时间工作。Working women对应第二段第三句中的women in clerical, sales or other low-paying jobs，该句指出这些人更多选择在非常规时间工作。原文陈述了Single women和working women在非常规时间工作的事实，但没有谈及其所造成的影响，不符合题意中的affected。
Children定位在第三段第二句，该句指出孩子从非常规工作时间中受益。但是原文此处没有任何比较，因此也无法推理出affected most。Marriage定位在第三段最后一句，该句指出非常规工作时间既影响婚姻稳定，也导致婚姻质量下降。非常规工作时间对婚姻的影响有两点，而对孩子的影响只有一点。因此最受影响的是婚姻，对应A选项。
单选题
Who would be in favor of the practice of working nonstandard hours?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。题干中的working nonstandard hours，在原文重复出现为本文的主旨，因此无法准确定位该题。由于选项内容在原文都有对应，因此此题可以用选项回原文一一对应解题。
A选项中的孩子定位在第三段第二句，该句指出孩子从非常规工作时间中受益，可以理解为孩子支持非常规工作时间，但是原文指的是school-aged children不是所有的children，A选项作了程度与范围的偷换。
B选项的parents定位在第三段第二句和第四段第二句，都提到了家长在非常规时间工作的事实，但是家长对这种方式持肯定或否定态度在原文中没有体现。B选项是事实而非态度。
C选项定位在第五段第一句，C选项内容与原文中less a choice of employees的意思相反。
D选项定位在第四段最后一句，该句指出由于家长在非常规时间工作，需要依赖亲戚和职业儿童看护来照顾孩子。也就是非常规时间工作，给职业儿童看护带来了工作的机会，显然他们会支持这种做法。
单选题
It is implied that the consequences of nonstandard work schedules are
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。题干中的working nonstandard hours，在原文重复出现为本文的主旨，因此无法准确定位该题。同时题干中的consequences在原文也没有对应，因此该题只能根据出题顺序原则，在第六段寻找答案。第六段第一句Presser指出非常规工作时间问题缺乏公众的关注，对应C选项。A选项的意思是这个问题已经被强调了，表示过去时；而第二句中she emphasizes意思是这个问题需要强调，表示将来时。A选项与原文时态不符。
B选项的absent是对原文absent from public discourse的错误理解。D选项指的是非常规时间工作具有普遍性，而非题干中的consequences，D选项不符合题意。
单选题
What is the author's attitude towards working irregular hours?