2011年3月全国英语等级考试第三级PETS-3真题分题型解析—Reading Comprehension

SECTION Ⅲ Reading Comprehension

(40 minutes)

Part A

Directions:

Read the following three texts. Answer thequestions on each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWERSHEET 1.

Text 1

WheneverCatherine Brown, a 37-year-old journalist, and her Mends, professionals intheir 30s and early 40s, meet at a London cafe, their favorite topic ofconversation is relationships: men’s reluctance to commit, women’sindependence, and when to have children—or, increasingly, whether to have themat all. “With the years passing my chances of having a child go down, but Iwon’t marry anyone just to have a child,” says Brown. To people like Brown,babies are great—if the timing is right. But they’re certainly not essential.

Inmuch of the world, having kids is no longer a given. “Never before haschildlessness been an understandable decision for women and men in so manysocieties,” says Frank Hakim at the London School of Economics. Young peopleare extending their child-free adulthood by postponing children until they arewell into their 30s, or even 40s and beyond.

A growing share is ending up with no children at all. Lifetime childlessness inwestern Germany has hit 30 percent among university-educated women，and is rapidly risingamong lower-class men. In Britain, the number of women remaining childless hasdoubled in 20 years.

The latest trend of childlessness does not follow historic patterns. For centuriesit was not unusual for a quarter of European women to remain childless. But inthe past, childlessness was usually the product of poverty or disaster, ofmissing men in times of war. Today the decision to have—or not have—a child is the result of acomplex combination of factors, including relationships, career opportunities,lifestyle and economics.

In some cases childlessness among women can be seen as aquiet form of protest. In Japan， support for working mothers hardly exists. Child care is expensive, mendon’t help out, and some companies strongly discourage mothers from returningto work. “In Japan, it’s career or child,” says writer Kaori Haishi. It’s notjust women who are deciding against children; according to a recent study,Japanese men are even less inclined to marry or want a child. Their motivations,though, may have more to do with economic factors.

46. Catherine Brown and her friends feel that having childrenis not _______.

[A] totally wise [B]a huge problem

[C] a rational choice [D]absolutely necessary

47. It can be inferred that, for many women, having babiesnowadays is _______.

[A] a hard commitment [B]helpful to their career

[C] essential forhappiness [D]an understandable decision

48. In the old days, many women remained childless _______.

[A] as a quiet form ofprotest [B]because of lack of support

[C] because of unfortunatecircumstances [D] because theylacked social responsibility

49. We learn that childlessness at present ________.

[A] affects Europe more than it does Asia

[B] produces more benefitsthan in the past

[C] is more a woman’sdecision than a man’s

[D] is more complex in itscause than that in the past

50. According to the text, when a Japanese man decides not to havechildren, he probably feels unable to _______.

[A] help with housework [B]afford to have a child

[C] be a responsible father [D]balance work and family