2012年GCT考试英语阅精练（十七）

in the past, american families tended to be quite large. parents raising five or more children were common. over the years, the size of the family has decreased. one reason for this is an increase in the cost of living. on the average, children attend schools for more years than they used to, making them financially dependent on their families longer. moreover, children nowadays are better dressed and have more money to spend on entertainment. the parents usually take the responsibility for all the expenses. meanwhile, families are less close than they used to be. more and more american mothers work away from home. the break up of the family occurs when the parents divorce. a lot of children in the u. s. live part of their young lives with only one parent. broken families usually result in problems for children and parents alike. children blame themselves when their parents separate. they grow up feeling unsettled as they are moved back and forth between parents. usually one parent is responsible for raising the children. these single parents must care for the children´ s emotional and psychological needs while also supporting them financially. this is very demanding and leaves very little time for the parent´ s own personal interests. single parents often marry other single parents. in this type of family, unrelated children are forced to develop brother or sister relationship. the situations of many american families today are not good. however, recent signs indicate that things are getting better. the divorce rate is declining. the rate of childbirth is rising. perhaps americans have learned how important families are.

1. in the past, american families tended to be ____.

A. quite small            B. medium sized               C. quite large            D. small

2. to parents who take the responsibility for children´ s expenses, the cost of living increases BECause ____.

A. children attend school for more years B. children are better dressed

C. children spend more money on entertainment D. all of the above

3. what problems would broken families bring to both children and parents?

A. children grow up feeling unsettled and parents didn´ t pay much attention to children.

B. children grow up feeling free and one parent is responsible for raising the children.

C. children are moved back and forth between parents and the single parent is busy working to make money to support himself/herself.

D. children grow up feeling unsettled, and the arents have little time for his/her own interests BECause one parent is too busy taking care of children.

4. according to the author, the situations of american families in the future may ____.

A. become worse                            B. remain the same

C. get better                             D. keep unchanged

5. the title of the article might be ____.

A. american children B. american families

C. american mother D. american parents

【答案与解析】：

1.【答案】C

【解析】本文第一句话说明了过去美国家庭规模很大。

2.【答案】D

【解析】回答此题要全面,仔细读文章不难发现,A.孩子们读书时间延长；B.孩子们穿着越来越好；C.孩子们花更多的钱在娱乐上。文中说是造成生活消费增长的原因,因此要选D。

3.【答案】D

【解析】这题可用排除法做。本题问破裂的家庭会给孩子和家长带来什么困难。文中清楚说明孩子们不安定,因为要往来于父母之中, 孩子们的单亲父母得花更多的时间关心他们的心理、情绪,除了经济负担外, 以致他们没时间去满足自己的兴趣。A父母不管孩子;B孩子觉得自由; C父母忙于挣钱养活自己,这三项均与文章意见不符, 应排除掉,故选D。

4.【答案】C

【解析】在文章最后作者指出有迹象表明情况好转,诸如离婚率降低,出生率上升。也许美国人已认识到家庭生活的重要性，我们可以体会到作者对未来美国家庭生活情形是持乐观态度的,所以选C“变好”。

5.【答案】B

【解析】纵观全篇,A.美国儿童;C.美国母亲;D.美国父母, 三项均在文中提到过,但只是一个部分,都是b(美国家庭) 这个主题下的各个分支。而且文章主要还是讲述美国家庭生活的种种,故B 正确。