【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[听力原文]
   Women in northern European nations are closest to equality with men on wages, education and health. That is the finding of a report by the World Economic Forum. The United States ranked 28th. On Friday, President Barack Obama announced the government will require large businesses to report how much they pay men and women. The data will be used to target companies that pay women less to do the same jobs. According to the World Economic Forum report, women worldwide continue to lag behind men on wages. Based on current trends, they will need 126 years to catch up, according to the report. Women are making progress. But they still only earn what men did 10 years ago, say the report's authors. The report measures the gender gap for women in 145 nations for health, education, economic opportunity, and political power. Women have not achieved equality in any of the 145 nations included in the survey, says the report. Women came closest to equality in four Northern European nations—Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden. Ireland ranks No. 5. More women than men are attending colleges in 97 nations. But women make up a majority of skilled workers in only 68 nations.
   Q: Why are American large businesses required to report their wage payment?
据世界经济论坛一份报告中的发现称，在工资、教育和医疗方面，北欧国家的女性与男性之间最接近平等。美国则排名第28位。周五，奥巴马总统宣布政府将要求大型企业上报男女员工的薪酬情况。这些数据会被用于找出那些男女员工做相同工作却少支付女员工工资的公司。世界经济论坛的报告称，全球范围内女性的薪酬水平仍旧落后于男性：按照目前的趋势，仍需126年女性的薪酬才能赶上男性。报告的作者们称，女性虽在不断进步，但是她们赚取的薪水仍仅为10年前男性的薪酬水平。报告评估了145个国家在医疗、教育、经济机会和政治权力方面的性别差异。报告称，这145个国家中没有任何一个国家的女性已经和男性实现了平等。在冰岛、挪威、芬兰和瑞典四个北欧国家，女性与男性最接近平等地位。排在第五位的是爱尔兰。在97个国家中，上大学的女性人数已超过了男性，但是仅在68个国家中，女性占到了技术工人中的大多数。
   利用播放答题寻语的时间，快速浏览每道小题的四个选项。由第一小题、第三小题选项中的关键词equality、gender gap和第二小题中的国名可知，该则新闻有可能会谈到性别平等问题，并对比各国的情况，听音时应侧重这些方面。
   四个选项均为不定式短语，可判断题目中可能会问到目的；听音时应特别留意某人(机构)做某事的目的。听到问题后立刻回忆所听新闻内容，结合选项作答。
   新闻中提到，美国政府将要求大型企业上报男女员工的薪酬情况，以便找出那些没有向男女员工支付平等工资的公司，故正确答案为D。