单选题 Clearly, the 2.5 percent gap between the male and female unemployment makes for an interesting set of data points. It's the largest gap since World War Ⅱ, and economists blame it on the huge layoffs in manufacturing and construction, where men made up roughly 70 and 85 percent of the workforce.
But while it's true that the "Great Recession" has hurt guys, these aren't exactly boom times for women. True, women have suffered fewer job losses than men, but overall they still earn only 78 cents for every dollar a man makes, according to Center for American Progress. Much of their work is concentrated in lower-paid industries such as retail, hospitality, education, nonprofits and health care.
The jobs that women are holding on to typically lack benefits, retirement savings plans, or pensions. "The strong part of women's participation in the labor force is also the weak part. Their salaries are limited," says Heidi Hartmann, an economist and president of the Institute for Women's Policy Research. "Women tend to choose a path that's less risky, that's more secure for their families. " When asked about the mancession, Hartmann then scoffed(嘲笑a little. "It becomes a problem when white men start to suffer. "
The great hope of labor economists who study this trend—and they're mostly women—is that the maneession will prompt employers to raise women's wages and open up more lucrative fields such as high tech and finance to greater numbers of women. The wage gap between the genders has largely been static during this decade. Still, roughly 35 percent of women now bring home at least half of their family's income.
College-educated women without children have made the largest advances in terms of closing the income gap, but women with less schooling and those with small children still earn substantially less than men. "Maybe this will be an opportunity for people to rethink paid employment, particularly now that families are dependent on the earnings of the wife," says Eileen Appelbaum, an economist and director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University. "A lot of the jobs out here or women are in nursing or as home health aides. Those are not jobs that pay family-sustaining wages. /

单选题 We can learn from the passage that the big gap between the male and female unemployment have something to do with ______.
A. the lasting influence of World War II B. the proportions of male workers in workforce
C. the sex discrimination against male workers D. the improvement of women's social status

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干关键词the big gap between the male and female unemployment定位到原文第一段最后一句:... and economists blame it on the huge layoffs in manufacturing and construction, where men made up roughly 70 and 85 percent of the workforce. 可知经济学家将其归咎于制造业和建筑业的大量裁员，在此类行业中男性约占劳动力总数的70%和85%，B)项“男性在劳动力中的比例”符合文意。
[避错指导] 原文第一段第二句前半句提到这是自二战以来最大的差距，A)项“二次世界大战持久的影响”与原文不符；C)项“对于男性工人的性别歧视”文中未提及，实际上从文章字里行间我们可以读到对于女性工人的性别歧视；D)项“妇女社会地位的提高”文中也未提及。

单选题 What does the author say about the employment of women in "Great Recession"?
A. Women can replace men now. B. Few women have been laid off.
C. Women are still underpaid. D. Low-paid industries are preferred.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干关键词the employment of women in "Great Recession" 定位到原文第二段第二句:... but overall they still earn only 78 cents for every dollar a man makes... 可知干男性收入1美元的工作时女性大体上只收入78美分，C)项“付给女性的薪水仍然过低”符合文意。
[避错指导] A)项“现在女性可以取代男性”文中未提及；原文第二段第二句前半句提到女性比男性较少地受到失业冲击，但这并不能说明B)项“几乎没有女性失业”；D)项“妇女更喜欢收入低的工作”也与原文不符，原文第二段最后一句只提到女性的大部分工作集中在收入低的行业。

单选题 According to Heidi Hartmann, the main reason why women stay in the less-beneficial industries is that______.
A. they just try to make sure their families are all right
B. they lack self-confidence for more profitable jobs
C. they are not as brave as their male colleagues
D. they don't like challenging jobs though it is well-paid

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干关键词Heidi Hartmann 和 women stay in the less-beneficial industries定位到原文第三段倒数第二句：Heidi Hartmann... "Women tend to choose a path that' s less risky，that' s more secure for their families. " 可知据Heidi Hartmann所说，妇女倾向于选择一个对她们的家庭来说较不冒险、更加安全的方式；A)项“她们只是想确保她们的家庭一切都好”，符合文意。
[避错指导] 据上文分析，女性从业于利润较少的行业其主要目的还是为了家庭，所以B)项“她们对于更有利润的工作缺乏自信”和C)项“她们不像她们的男同事那样勇敢”以及D)项“她们不喜欢具有挑战性的工作，尽管那种工作收入高”都与原文不符。

单选题 By saying "... It becomes a problem when white men start to suffer. " Hartmann means that ______.
A. white men are the least influenced from mancession
B. mancession is so serious that it will influence everyone
C. colored men have undergone more sufferings than the white
D. compared with racial and sex discriminations, mancession is nothing

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干提示定位到原文第三段最后一句：When asked about the mancession, Hartmann then scoffed a little. "It becomes a problem when white men start to suffer. " 此处scoff意为嘲笑，由此可知据Hartmann所说的“当白人男人开始受罪时，这就成为问题了。”是一句反语，其真正含义是男性萧条根本不是什么问题，此时被提出来是因为触动了曾经处于就业优势的白人男人的利益，即男性，特别是白人男性比起女性来在就业方面有很大的优势，D)项“与种族歧视和性别歧视相比，男性萧条算不了什么”符合文意。
[避错指导] 据上文分析可知Hartmann说这番话的目的是为了表明在就业方面还是存在着性别、种旗之间的差别，所以A)项“白人男性受到男性萧条的影响最小”；B)项“男性萧条如此地严重，会影响到每个人”以及C)项“有色人种比白人经受了更多的苦难”都不是Hartmann想要说明的主要意思。

单选题 According to the passage, what has proved to be an effective way in increasing women's income?
A. Employers pay women the same wage as men.
B. More women are accepted in profitable fields.
C. Women receive more schooling for self-improvement.
D. Women get more engaged in nursing or home health.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干关键词proved to be an effective way in increasing women' s income定位到原文最后一段第一句：College-educated women without children have made the largest advances in tems of closing the income gap, but women with less schooling and those with small children still earn substantially less than men. 可知受过大学教育的没有孩子的女性在弥补收入差距方面起了极大的作用，但是那些受较少教育和孩子尚小的女性比起男性来仍然挣得少得多，C)项“女性接受更多教育来自我提高”与此句相符，不失为已经得到证实的提高女性收入的一个有效方法。
[避错指导] 原文倒数第二段第一句提到劳动经济学家…极度寄希望于男性萧条会促使雇主提高女性的工资，而且向更多的女性开放如高科技和金融这样更有利润的领域，但随后又提到在十年间，男女性别间的工资差距稳固不变，可见A)项“雇主付给女性和男性一样多的工资”和B)项“更多的女性就业于有利润的领域”只可能是美好的愿望，并不是有效的方法；原文最后一段最后一句提到：女性做保育工作或作为家庭保健护工，而这些工作付不起维持家庭的工资．所以D)项“女性更多地从事护理或家庭保健”也不可能是一个提高收入的有效方法。