单选题
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[听力原文]32-35
In this century the traditional American family is constantly faced with the threat of breakdown. Some sociologists suggest that one little-noticed cause may be the introduction of the TV dinner.
Before the appearance of television sets, the American dinner was a big event for the family, for in many homes dinner time may he the only time when everyone got together. A typical dinner was usually in three stages. In the preparation stage, the children and father frequently helped with table setting while mother put the last touches on the roast. In the eating stage, family members shared the day's experiences and mere food was consumed. In this stage families got to know one another and made joint decisions around the dinner table, and thus the family solidarity was reinforced. In the cleaning-up stage, children or father again gave their hands, so that the significance to the home community was clear. Unfortunately, all of these have been erased by a product—the television set.
By the beginning of the 1980s, the typical American family dinner is just twenty minutes long. The speed-up of this once leisurely experience is clearly connected to the overall pace of modem life and maybe a model of the modern life is the TV dinners—meals designed to be consumed between the opening and closing credits of a half-hour program. The once family affair has now become nothing more than the use of a fork and knife.
32. What kind of problem does the American family encounter?

细节题。这是一篇有关社会习俗、观念的文章。the threat of breakdown“倒塌的威胁”,也就意味着离婚问题(divorce)。
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[听力原文]
What time is most likely to be the time when every family member gets together?

综合理解题。在电视机出现之前,美国人的晚餐是一家人最重要的时刻,因为只有晚餐时全家人才有可能聚在一起。
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[听力原文]
Why is the dinner time in America shortened?

细节题。考查是否听懂晚餐时间的缩短与现代生活的总体节奏相关(the overall pace of modern life)。
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[听力原文]
What are TV dinners according to the passage?

综合理解题。TV dinners—meals designed to be consumed between the opening and closing credits of a halfhour program.电视晚餐即指从开始到结束大约需要半小时的晚餐,同时还有与之相匹配的电视节目可观赏。