阅读理解 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 26.The word "portend" (Paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to "______."

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】根据题干定位至原文第一段：…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．这里提到了两个现象，现象一是越来越多的女性进入职场，现象二是排斥结婚，这两者的关系就是判断portend词义的关键。选项[A]defy表示“藐视”，即便不认识，大家可以根据构词法猜测这个词的含义多半不好。选项[B]signal意为“标志着”，预示着前后有着重要的联系，甚至是因果关系。选项[C]suffer from和[D]result from都是前面是“果”，后面是“因”的逻辑关系，但是从后句明显看出女性选择不结婚是结果而非原因，属于逻辑错误。故答案为[B]。

单选题 27.It is said in the passage that when the economy slides,______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】根据题干中信息词定位至原文第一段第六句和第七句：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．其中的economic downturns对应题干中的slides，指经济下滑。根据对这句话的理解，我们知道经济不景气会使人们推迟结婚，也就是维持单身状态，只有当经济反弹向好时，结婚的人数才会回暖。选项[A]并不符合题意，文章只是说妇女拥有了挣钱的能力使其变成一个more attractive as a marriage partner，但这与经济是否衰退无关。选项[C]则篡改了原文含义。选项[B]则根本违反了文中信息。故答案为[D]。

单选题 28.If women find fulfillment through work outside the home,______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】根据题干信息定位至原文倒数第二段：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．这句话的后半句是说如果一个女性在外面的职业经历比较顺利，工作和婚姻可以相得益彰，营造一个更加持久和稳固的联盟，也就是婚姻关系。所以答案应为选项[C]。文章在这里是希望大家不要把女性参与更多的职场工作与离婚率提高作简单的因果联系，所以花了很大篇幅在谈这里面更为复杂的关系。其他三个选项都有悖原文传递的信息。

单选题 29.One reason why women with no career may seek a divorce is that______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】本题主要考查不工作的女性为什么还会寻求离婚。根据题干定位至原文第三段：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．第一句是主题句，证明心理因素也应该被考虑。之后举了没有工作的女性(a wife blocked from a career outside the home)，对于这些女性，产生的一个心理就是感觉自己像被囚禁(feel eaged in the house)，被关在笼子里，受到束缚，因此觉得自由被剥夺了。选项[A]恰好与之对应。所以这些女性看似经济能力缺乏，但依然会选择离婚，来逃脱牢笼。其他三个选项在文中均未提及。