Question

According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the U.K. has about 7.7 million families with dependent children, of which 3.7 million have just one child, compared to 3 million with two and 1.1 million with three children or more. The number of families today with just one dependent child is now 47 percent and will likely rise to more than 50 percent in a decade. As the ONS confirms, “It appears that families are getting smaller.”

One obvious reason for this could be that women are putting off having children until they have established careers when they are bound to be less fertile. But it could just as well be a matter of choice. Parents must consider the rising cost of living, combined with economic uncertainty and an increasingly difficult job market. And this trend may continue growing as having an only child becomes more normal, which seems to be the mood on the mothers’ online forum Mumsnet, where one member announced that she “just wanted to start a positive thread about how fab it is to have an only child”.

She had received 231 replies, overwhelmingly in the same upbeat spirit. Parents of only children insist there are plenty of benefits. Nicola Kelly, a writer and lecturer who grew up as an only child and is now a married mother of one, says her 15-year-old son seems more grown-up in many ways than his contemporaries.

Not all products of single-child families are as keen to repeat the experience. In a moving recent account journalist Janice Turner wrote about her own keenness to “squeeze out two sons just 22 months apart” as a reaction to her only-child upbringing.

She was placed on a pedestal by her doting parents, whom she punished with a “brattish, wilful” rejection of everything they stood for. Desperate for a close friend she was repeatedly shattered by rejection and refers to her childhood as being “misery”.

Writer and clinician Dr. Dorothy Rowe, a member of the British Psychological Society, says that we all interpret events in our own individual way and there are some children who no matter what their circumstances feel slighted, while other children see the advantages of their situation.

However, the one part of life that is unlikely to get any easier for only children is when they grow up and find themselves looking after their own parents as they become older.

1.The passage is written with the purpose of ________.

A. illustrating the strength and weakness of having an only child

B. analyzing the reasons why having an only child becomes popular

C. presenting us with different opinions about having an only child

D. guiding people to look at the same issue from different perspectives

2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. Nearly half of families intend to have just one child.

B. All people don’t stand for the idea of having an only child.

C. Some people fail to recognize the advantage of having an only child.

D. People brought up in an only child family resist downsizing the family.

3.From what Dr. Dorothy Rowe said, we know that ________.

A. journalist Janice Turner experienced a miserable childhood

B. she has a positive attitude towards Janice Turner’s reaction

C. it’s necessary for us to look at the event from our own angle

D. some are unable to make an objective assessment of their conditions

4.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. It’s normal to see the imperfection in character in only children.

B. Mumsnet is an online forum which promotes having an only child.

C. Economic development plays a determining role in the family size.

D. Only children will have difficulty in attending to their parents.

Answer 1

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.D

【解析】

試題分析：由英國國家統(tǒng)計局發(fā)布的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，全英擁有未獨立子女的家庭數(shù)量大約有770萬。這一數(shù)據(jù)引發(fā)社會的極大討論：少生優(yōu)生,幸福一生?

1.C主旨大意題。文章第一段倒數(shù)第二句The number of families today with just one dependent child is now 47 percent and will likely rise to more than 50 percent in a decade現(xiàn)今獨生子女家庭占47%，而這一數(shù)字在十年內(nèi)很有可能將漲過50%。引出了話題背景，后文presenting us with different opinions about having an only child描述關(guān)于獨生胎兒的不同觀點。故選C

2.B句意猜測題。Not all products of single-child families are as keen to repeat the experience但并非所有來自獨生子女家庭的孩子都希望繼續(xù)重演這樣的經(jīng)歷。由此得知只生一胎的觀念不得人心All people don’t stand for the idea of having an only child.故選B

3.D細(xì)節(jié)理解題。第六段Dr. Dorothy Rowe說的話，we all interpret events in our own individual way and there are some children who no matter what their circumstances feel slighted, while other children see the advantages of their situation. 我們所有人都按個人的方式去詮釋理解各種事件，有些孩子，不管他們?nèi)绾屋p視自己所處的環(huán)境，然而在其他孩子眼中看來卻有著各種好處。由此得知，有些人不能對自己的情況作出客觀的評價，some are unable to make an objective assessment of their conditions.故選D

4.D主旨大意題。由文章最后一段整段However, the one part of life that is unlikely to get any easier for only children is when they grow up and find themselves looking after their own parents as they become older得知獨生子女必須等到自己長大了才明白自己要去照顧父母。這便是Only children will have difficulty in attending to their parents獨生子女照顧父母會有點難。故選D

考點：考查社科類說明文閱讀