单选题 Some futurologists have assumed that the vast upsurge of women in the workforce may portend a rejection of marriage. Many women, according to this hypothesis, would rather work than marry. The converse of this concern is that the prospects of becoming a multi-paycheck household could encourage marriages. In the past, only the earnings and financial prospects of the man counted in the marriage decision. Now, however, the earning ability of a woman can make her more attractive as a marriage partner. Data show that economic downturns tend to postpone marriage because the parties cannot afford to establish a family or are concerned about rainy days ahead. As the economy rebounds, the number of marriages also rises.
Coincident with the increase in women working outside the home is the increase in divorce rates. Yet, it may be wrong to jump to any simple cause-and-effect conclusions. The impact of a wife"s work on divorce is no less cloudy than its impact on marriage decisions. The realization that she can be a good provider may increase the chances that a working wife will choose divorce over an unsatisfactory marriage. But the reverse is equally plausible. Tensions grounded in financial problems often play a key role in ending a marriage. Given high unemployment, inflationary problems, and slow growth in real earnings, a working wife can increase household income and relieve some of these pressing financial burdens. By raising a family"s standard of living, a working wife may strengthen her family"s financial and emotional stability.
Psychological factors also should be considered. For example, a wife blocked from a career outside the home may feel caged in the house. She may view her only choice as seeking a divorce. On the other hand, if she can find fulfillment through work outside the home, work and marriage can go together to create a stronger and more stable union.
Also, a major part of women"s inequality in marriage has been due to the fact that, in most cases, men have remained the main breadwinners. With higher earning capacity and status occupations outside of the home comes the Capacity to exercise power within the family. A working wife may rob a husband of being the master of the house. Depending upon how the couple reacts to these new conditions, it could create a stronger equal partnership or it could create new insecurities.
单选题 The word "portend" (Sentence 1, Para.1) is closest in meaning to "______".
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 含义题。由原文可知“许多妇女宁愿工作而不结婚”，由此可推知portend意为“象征，代表”，即“劳工队伍中妇女的激增代表了对婚姻的抛弃”，因此B项正确。A项“藐视”；C项“遭受”；D项“起源于”，这三项均不符合文意。
单选题 It is said in the passage that when the economy slides, ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。原文指出“经济下滑会延迟婚姻，因为双方无力支付家庭开支或担心将来的日子”，因此D项“更多的人会选择暂时独身”与此相符，题干用economy slides解释原文的economic downturns“经济滑坡”，用remain single解释原文的postpone marriage；A项和B项均为人们选择结婚，与原文矛盾；C项“有工作的妇女担心自己的婚姻”未提及。
单选题 If women find fulfillment through work outside the home, ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。原文指出“有工作的妇女通过提高家庭的生活水平可以加强家庭经济和情感的稳定性”，由此可见妇女在工作中的成就能巩固婚姻关系，C项与此相符。A项“她们更可能压倒伴侣”与此违背；B项“丈夫被期望多做家务”未提及；D项“妇女倾向把事业放在婚姻之上”夸大了事实。
单选题 One reason why women with no career may seek a divorce is that ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。原文指出由于家庭而失去工作机会的妇女可能感到束缚并因此选择离婚，因此A项“她们感到自由被剥夺”与此一致，用robbed of freedom“剥夺自由”解释原文的feel caged“感到被关在笼中”。B项“害怕被丈夫使唤”；C项“感到丈夫达不到自己的期望”；D项“怀疑丈夫的忠诚”均未提及。
单选题 Which of the following statements can best summarize the author"s view in the passage?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。原文结尾指出多数情况下丈夫是养家的主要承担者，妻子工作可能使丈夫失去一家之主的地位，因此夫妻双方如何看待这种情况的改变决定了双方是更加平等或是产生了不稳定因素。因此D项“女性参加工作对婚姻的作用各不相同”与此相符。而另三项均只涉及问题的一个方面，不够完整全面。