单选题
{{B}}Passage Five {{/B}} Tourists were
surprised to see a woman driving a huge orange tractor down one of Rome's main
avenues. Italy's political leaders and some of its male union chiefs are said to
have been even more puzzled to see that the tractor was followed by about
200,000 women in a parading procession that took more than three hours to snake
through central Rome. Shouting slogans, waving flags
and dancing to drumbeats, the woman had come to the capital from all over Italy
to demonstrate for "a job for each of us, a different type of job, and a society
without violence". So far, action to improve woman's opportunities in employment
has been the province of collective industrial bargaining. "But there is a
growing awareness that this is not enough," says a researcher on female labor at
the government-funded institute for the Development of Professional Training for
Workers. Women, who constitute 52 percent of Italy's
population, today represent only 35 percent of Italy's total workforce and 33
percent to the total number of Italians with jobs. However, their presence in
the workplace is growing. The employment of women is expanding considerably in
services, next to the public administration and commerce as their principal
workplace. Official statistics also show that woman have also made significant
strides in self-employment. More and more women are going into business for
themselves. Many young women are turning to business because of the growing
overall unemployment. It is also a fact that today many prejudices have
disappeared, so that banks and other financial institutes make judgments on
purely business considerations without caring if it is a man or a woman.
Such changes are occurring in the professions too. The
number of woman doctors, dentists, lawyers, engineers and university professors
increased two to three folds. Some of the changes are immediately visible. For
example, women have appeared on the scene for the first time as state police,
railway workers and street cleaners. However, the
present situation is far from satisfactory though some progress has been made. A
breakthrough in equal opportunities for woman is now demanded.
单选题
The expression "snake through central Rome" probably means to
move______.
A. quietly through central Rome
B. violently through central Rome
C. in a winding line through central Rome
D. at a leisurely pace through central Rome
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 依据文章第一段，“that took more than three hours to snake through central Rome”可推知此处的意思是很长很慢。而选项A，B，D均不是这个意思，只有选项C是正确的。
单选题
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. There are more women than men in Italy.
B. In Italy, women are chiefly employed in services.
C. In Italy, women are still at a disadvantage in employment.
D. In Italy, about two-thirds of the jobs are held by men.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 文中讲“Women，who constitute 52 percent of Italy’S population”，妇女占意大利人口的52%，因此选项A的表述是正确的。同理，由“A breakthrough in equal opportunities for woman is now demanded”，“Women…represent only 35 percent of Italy's total workforce and 33 percent to the total number of Italians with jobs.”推知选项C和D正确，而选项B与文章不符，故答案为B。
单选题
About 200,000 women in Rome demonstrated for______.
A. more job opportunities
B. a greater variety of jobs
C. equal jobs, equal pay
D. both A and B
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第二段提到妇女的口号“a job for each of us，a different type ofjob，and a society without violence”，很容易看出选项A和B都是对的，因此答案是D。
单选题
The percentage of unemployment among Italian woman is______.
A. 17 percent
B. 35 percent
C. 19 percent
D. none of the above
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第三段说，“Women，who constitute 52 percent of Italy's population，today represent only 35 percent of Italy's total workforce and 33 percent to the total number of Italians with jobs”，可看到选项A，B以及C提供的数据均不正确。
单选题
Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the
passage?