单选题
In a decade working as a nanny, Andreia Soares finally clambered up the ladder into Brazil"s middle class.
With the money she saved, she bought a two-bedroom apartment with granite kitchen countertops and a small veranda, a house for her mother, a plot of land for her brother and a Louis Vuitton purse from Paris that she proudly pulls from a closet.
While she has done better than many of her counterparts, Ms. Soares is part of a nanny revolution that is shattering the colonial stereotype of inexpensive but dedicated domestic help in Latin America.
As their expectations for a better quality of life rise, nannies are increasingly seeking to work for the very wealthy and becoming less affordable for many middle-class families. The shift is causing ripples of class tension, posing an irritating problem in a society in which more women are entering the work force without the sort of elaborate system of day care that exists in some industrialized nations.
Fading fast are the days when white-frocked nannies worked for a menial salary, with only two days off every 15 days. Better-qualified nannies are refusing to work weekends and are demanding salaries that are two to four times what they were paid just five years ago. A growing number are refusing to sleep over or are leaving the field, choosing jobs that allow more time for a private life, according to parents, nannies and directors of nanny placement agencies.
The supply of nannies has thinned as some have sought other work in the expanding job market, driving up salaries for those who stay in the field, economists, nannies and nanny agency directors said. Many remaining nannies are taking courses to become better qualified and to help them find work in wealthier homes, where they can charge much more.
While some mothers embrace the changes as good for Brazil"s development, many are up in arms. Once isolated, nannies now trade information about the market and working conditions through e-mail, blogs and social networks.
Six years ago, Evanice dos Santos, a former nanny turned blogger, had no Internet access and caught up with fellow nannies at a S
o Paulo athletic club where her employers were members. Now married, she has dedicated herself to helping nanny friends online "find a better path" toward more money and better hours.
Some well-paid nannies in S
o Paulo are employing nannies of their own. Ms. Soares said nanny friends earning more than $4,300 a month were paying less-qualified nannies a little over $900 a month to baby-sit for their own children.
Marilia Toledo, the owner of the Masa nanny agency, said the market in S
With the money she saved, she bought a two-bedroom apartment with granite kitchen countertops and a small veranda, a house for her mother, a plot of land for her brother and a Louis Vuitton purse from Paris that she proudly pulls from a closet.
While she has done better than many of her counterparts, Ms. Soares is part of a nanny revolution that is shattering the colonial stereotype of inexpensive but dedicated domestic help in Latin America.
As their expectations for a better quality of life rise, nannies are increasingly seeking to work for the very wealthy and becoming less affordable for many middle-class families. The shift is causing ripples of class tension, posing an irritating problem in a society in which more women are entering the work force without the sort of elaborate system of day care that exists in some industrialized nations.
Fading fast are the days when white-frocked nannies worked for a menial salary, with only two days off every 15 days. Better-qualified nannies are refusing to work weekends and are demanding salaries that are two to four times what they were paid just five years ago. A growing number are refusing to sleep over or are leaving the field, choosing jobs that allow more time for a private life, according to parents, nannies and directors of nanny placement agencies.
The supply of nannies has thinned as some have sought other work in the expanding job market, driving up salaries for those who stay in the field, economists, nannies and nanny agency directors said. Many remaining nannies are taking courses to become better qualified and to help them find work in wealthier homes, where they can charge much more.
While some mothers embrace the changes as good for Brazil"s development, many are up in arms. Once isolated, nannies now trade information about the market and working conditions through e-mail, blogs and social networks.
Six years ago, Evanice dos Santos, a former nanny turned blogger, had no Internet access and caught up with fellow nannies at a S
o Paulo athletic club where her employers were members. Now married, she has dedicated herself to helping nanny friends online "find a better path" toward more money and better hours.
Some well-paid nannies in S
o Paulo are employing nannies of their own. Ms. Soares said nanny friends earning more than $4,300 a month were paying less-qualified nannies a little over $900 a month to baby-sit for their own children.
Marilia Toledo, the owner of the Masa nanny agency, said the market in S
单选题
To say that Ms. Snares is "part of a nanny revolution" (Paragraph Three) implies that ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干定位到第3段。由上文可知，Ms. Soares已经跻身中产阶级，买了房子和土地，第3段指出保姆革命打破了拉丁美洲保姆作为低廉、忠实的家庭助手的传统形象，由此可见，这里的保姆革命指的是保姆寻求提高工资及社会地位，因此B为正确答案。A说法太绝对，并不是所有保姆都已经跻身中产阶层；C、D的描述比较片面，仅符合部分保姆的表现，且并非保姆革命的重点所在。
单选题
Which of the following is NOT true about Brazilian nannies in the past?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 由第5段可知，以前的保姆拿的是仆人的工资，半个月只有两天休息，而且还要住在雇主家里，私人生活受到限制，可见保姆工作时间长(C)，报酬低(B)，社会地位较低(A)。而由第6段第2句可知，保姆参加培训班以提高身价是当前的新趋势，并非过去保姆的特点，因此D为正确答案。
单选题
The role of Internet in the nanny revolution includes all the following EXCEPT ______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干和选项定位到第6至8段。由第7段第2句可知，现在保姆可以通过网络了解市场信息(A)和彼此的工作条件；第8段指出曾经做过保姆的Evanice dos Santos通过网络帮助保姆寻找工作时间较合理(D)且薪水较高的工作(B)，而从第6段第2句可知，“提升自身资历”是通过参加培训班实现的，并非通过网络，故C符合题意，为正确答案。