单选题
{{B}}Part A{{/B}}
{{B}}Directions:{{/B}}
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.
{{B}}Text 1{{/B}}

The Japanese government wants women like Taeko Mizuguchi to get married and start doing something about the nation's plunging birthrate. But she's not interested. At least, not if her prospective husband is Japanese.
A growing number of Japanese women are giving up on their male counterparts, and taking a gamble that looking abroad for love will bring them the qualities in a partner that seem rare at home. "They treat you like equals, and they don't hesitate to express mutual feelings of respect -- I think Western men are more adept at such things than Japanese men," says the 36-year-old Ms. Miznguchi, who works at a top trading firm. "They don't act like women are maids -- I think they view women as individuals."
Underscoring that Japanese women are losing hope with the local boys, dating agencies to help snag a Western husband have sprung up in Tokyo, some with branches in the US and Europe. Such companies rigorously vet their clients, screening for education, family background, occupation, and life goals. The kind of women who sign up for such services include doctors, lawyers, and other professionals -- women who have delayed marriage to concentrate on careers and who aren't keen to give up hard won gains to become a housewife, as many Japanese men expect. A generation of women who are now entering their 30s don't want to give up single life unless prospective partners are willing to break from traditional gender roles.
Government polls conducted to find out why women have put off marriage until well after 25 years of age -- known as a woman's "'best before' date" -- show that economic independence is key to the change. As most Japanese women have their own income, marriage is no longer a financial necessity and women want to find companionship in a husband. Having ruled out an old-fashioned Japanese husband, many women here think the solution is a Western man. Indeed, some seem so enthralled with the idea that they are willing to spend thousands of dollars to inspect the wares personally.
To be fair, not all the blame for female angst here can be laid on Japanese men. The government has been slow to enforce equal opportunity laws, and both pay and the glass ceiling in most Japanese corporations remain low for women. Recession has hampered longer maternity leave and other family-friendly policies. As Japan's fertility rate drops to new lows, the government is anxiously drawing up plans to make it easier for young couples to raise children, through such measures as the provision of cheap public housing.

单选题 Taeko Mizuguchi represents the kind of women who are

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题问水口妙子代表什么样的女人。由关键词“Taeko Mizuguchi”可定位在前两段。首段末句谈到她不愿跟日本男人结婚。第二段提到她认为西方男人对女人平等，不把女人当佣人看。而第三段最后两句中提到很多日本男人希望女人当家庭主妇，并提到日本妇女不愿意结婚，除非日本男人放弃传统的男性角色。可见日本男人的传统观点就是把女人当作佣人，这也正是水口妙子所反对的。故B项“对传统观点不满意”正确。 [A]不愿抚养孩子：首段谈到政府希望像她这样的人结婚生于，以提高生育率，但她却不感兴趣。这里指的是她对与日本人结婚不感兴趣。因为她觉得日本男人对女人不平等。这并不意味着她不喜欢抚养孩子，只是因为找不到合适的丈夫而没有机会生孩子罢了。 [C]为了浪漫希望嫁个西方男子：她之所以想找个外国男人是因为她觉得本国男人对女人不平等，并非盲目崇拜外国男人而去追求一种浪漫的异国恋情。 [D]仅热心于追求事业：第二段谈到她供职于最大的一家贸易公司，第三段也谈到想找外国丈夫的女人因为忙于工作耽搁了结婚并且不愿为丈夫放弃事业。这说明她们热衷于事业，但不能说明她们只对事业热衷，除此以外别无兴趣。本项属绝对项。

单选题 In Japanese women's opinion, their male counterparts

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】本题问日本女人认为日本男人……。做本题要理解文章的中心思想。纵观全文，日本女人之所以愿意找西方丈夫是因为日本男人不能平等对待她们。而第三段末句提到日本妇女不愿煮结婚，除非日本男人放弃传统的男性角色。可见日本女人认为本国男人之所以不能平等对待她们是因为受传统观念影响，故C项“受传统观念影响”正确。 [A]缺少情趣：文中没有任何证据表明日本女人嫌日本男人缺乏情调。她们不喜欢日本男人不是因为他们缺少情趣，而是因为他们对女人不平等。 [B]不把她们当作女人来对待；文中说日本女人认为外国男人不把她们当作佣人，而是当作平等的人来对待，也就是说她们认为日本男人不能平等对待她们。这与本项所说不把她们当作女人来对待是两个不同的概念。 [D]不知道如何表达自己：第二段中间提到“they don't hesitate to express mutual feelings of respect”并不意味着日本男人不像西方男人那样善于表达自己。作者无意比较西方男人和日本男人的自我表达能力，这句话的重点在于“mutual feelings of respect”而不在于“express”。要牢记贴近中心的是解，而与中心无关的细枝末节不太可能是解。

单选题 By "glass ceiling ... remain low for women", the author intends to show that in most corporations

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题问作者提到“glass ceiling…remain low for women”是为了说明在大多数企业里……。“glass ceiling”表面意思是“玻璃天花板”，实指无形的晋升障碍。本句是说女人的工薪和glass ceiling都很低。可以猜出 glass ceiling在这里指的应该是晋升的机会。故B项“女性晋升的机会很少正确。 [A]向女性提供更多的方便：从上下文来看，该句显然在说对女性不利的因素。这与本项内容相悖。 [C]女性的办公条件不好：glass ceiling表面意思是玻璃天花板，但这里并不是真的指女性办公室韵天花板低矮。而是说女性的晋升机会少。本项属于望文生义的肤浅选项，一般不会是正确答案。 [D]女性总是经济衰退的受害者：经济衰退对女性的影响是下文讨论的内容，并非题干中的这句话所讨论的内容。

单选题 We can infer from the third paragraph that the dating agency

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题问从第三段中我们可以推出婚姻介绍机构……。第三段第二、三句谈到这些机构认真审查顾客的教育程度、家庭背景等，而且这种服务的对象都是些医生、律师之类的白领。可以看出这些机构是为特定人群服务的。故B项“只为特定群体里的妇女服务”正确。 [A]是政府为了提高生育率而予以资助的：在文中没有根据。本项是将文中提到的两个不相关的事实混淆在一起来迷惑考生。 [C]是当代日本妇女的最后希望：过于绝对。文中只谈到日本妇女对本国男人不满意，因此将目光转向西方男人，但并没有说这是她们的惟一出路。 [D]受到了西方男人的热烈欢迎：文中只说日本妇女对找西方丈夫很热衷，但没提到西方男人的反应。本项属于过度引申。

单选题 The major factor that leads Japanese women to postpone their marriage is

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题问导致日本女人推迟结婚的主要因素。“postpone their marriage”＝“put off marriage”，故可定位于第四段首句。作者谈到“Government polls conducted to find out why women have put off marriage…show that economic independence is key to the change”，可以看出日本女人推迟婚姻的原因是因为她们经济上能够独立。故B项“经济地位的改善”正确。 [A]西方价值观的影响：常识项。在现实生活中，很多人受到西方晚婚思想的影响而推迟婚期，但在本文中并没有提到这方面问题，考生不宜过度引申。 [C]平等机会法的缺失；女士推迟结婚实际上要有两个条件，首先，女人经济上独立了，这是前提。其次，她们想找平等的丈夫，而国内又找不到，所以婚姻延迟了。而男女不平等的主要原因是日本男人的大男子主义，次要原因是政府没有很好贯彻平等机会法。本项只谈到了政府的责任，不全面也没有分清主次。 [D]“最佳婚期”的过时：文中没有谈到“最佳婚期”这个观念过时。