It is frequently assumed that the mechanization of work has a revolutionary effect on the lives of the people who operate the new machines and on the society into' which the machines has been introduceD.For example, it has been suggested that the employment of women in industry took them out of the household, their traditional sphere, and fundamentally altered their position in society. In the nineteenth century, when women began to enter factories, Jules Simon, a French politician, warned that by doing so, women would give up their femininity. Friedrich Engels, however, predicted that women would be liberated from the "social, legal, and economic subordination" of the family by technological developments that made possible the recruitment of "the whole female sex into public industry." Observers thus differed concerning the social desirability of mechanization's effects, but they agreed that it would transform women's lives.
Historians, particularly those investigating the history of women, now seriously question this assumption of transforming power. They conclude that such dramatic technological innovations as the spinning jenny, the sewing machine, the typewriter, and the vacuum cleaner have not resulted in equally dramatic social changes in women's economic position or in the prevailing evaluation of women's work. The employment of young women in textile mills during the Industrial Revolution was largely an extension of an older pattern of employment of young, single women as domestics. It was not the change in office technology, but rather the separation of secretarial work, previously seen as an apprenticeship for beginning managers, from administrative work that in the 1880’s created a new class of "dead-end" jobs, thenceforth considered "women's work." The increase in the numbers of married women employed outside the home in the twentieth century had less to do with the mechanization of housework and an increase in leisure time for these women-than it did with their own economic necessity and with high marriage rates that shrank the available pool of single women workers, previously, in many cases, the only women employers would hire.
Women's work has changed considerably in the past 200 years, moving from the household to the office or the factory, and later becoming mostly white-collar instead of blue-collar work. Fundamentally, however, the conditions under which women work have changed little since before the Industrial Revolution: the segregation of occupations by gender, lower pay for women as a group, jobs that require relatively low levels of skill and offer women little opportunity for advancement all persist, while women's household labor remains demanding. Recent historical investigation has led to a major revision of the notion that technology is always inherently revolutionary in its effects on society. Mechanization may even have slowed any change in the traditional position of women both in the labor market and in the home.
1.Which of the following statements best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
2.The author, mentions all of the following inventions as examples of dramatic technological innovations EXCEPT the( ).
3.It can be inferred from the passage that, before the Industrial Revolution, the majority of women's work was done in which of the following settings?
4.It can be inferred from the passage that the author would consider which of the following to be an indication of a fundamental alteration in the conditions of women's work?
5.The passage states that, before the twentieth century, which of the following was true of many employers?
问题1选项
A.The effects of the mechanization of women's work have not borne out the frequently held assumption that new technology is inherently revolutionary.
B.Recent studies have shown that mechanization revolutionizes a society's traditional values and the customary roles of its members
C.Mechanization has caused the nature of women's work change since the IndustrialRevolution.
D.The mechanization of work creates whole new classes of jobs that did not previously exist.
问题2选项
A.sewing machine
B.vacuum cleaner
C.typewriter
D.telephone
问题3选项
A.Textile mills.
B.Private households.
C.Offices.
D.Factories.
问题4选项
A.Statistics showing that the majority of women now occupy white-collar positions.
B.Interviews with married men indicating that they are now doing some household tasks.
C.Surveys of the labor market documenting the recent creation of a new class of jobs in electronics in which women workers outnumber men four to one.
D.Census results showing that working women's wages and salaries are, on the average, as high as those of working men.
问题5选项
A.They did not employ women in factories.
B.They tended to employ single rather than married women.
C.They employed women in only those jobs that were related to women's traditional household work.
D.They resisted technological innovations that would radically change women's roles in the family.
第1题:A
第2题:D
第3题:B
第4题:D
第5题:B
1.主旨大意题。根据题目可以定位到文章第一段,文第一句提出观点:It is frequently assumed that the mechanization of work has a revolutionary effect on the lives of the people who operate the new machines and on the society into' which the machines has been introduceD.中文翻译为:史学家们往往假设,劳动的机构化不仅仅对那些操作新机器的人们的生活,而且也对机器所被引入其中的社会,均产生了种革命性的影响,以及第二段第一句提出反对意见:Historians, particularly those investigating the history of women, now seriously question this assumption of transforming power. 中文翻译为:史学家们,尤其是那些研究妇女历史的史学家们,现在对关于机械化进程的变革作用这一假设表示严重的怀疑。由此可知,作者对第一种观点是反对的,并且提出自己的观点:“...such dramatic technological innovations as...have not resulted in equally dramatic social changes in women’s economic position or in the prevailing evaluation of women’s work. 中文翻译为:技术革新并没有给妇女的经济地位或对妇女工作的普遍评价带来任何剧烈变化。最后从原文最后一句“Mechanization may even have slowed any change in the traditional position of women both in the labor market and in the home. 中文翻译为:机械化甚至可能减缓了妇女在劳动力市场和家庭中的传统地位的任何变化。以判断只有A项“机械化对妇女工作的影响并没有得到人们通常认为新技术本身就是革命性的这一假设的证实”符合作者态度和总结文意。
2.细节事实题。由题干关键词dramatic technological innovations可以定位到文章第二段中“They conclude that such dramatic technological innovations as the spinning jenny, the sewing machine, the typewriter, and the vacuum cleaner have not resulted in equally dramatic social changes in women's economic position or in the prevailing evaluation of women's work.” 中文大意为:他们的结论是,诸如纺纱珍妮、缝纫机、打字机和吸尘器等剧烈的技术革新并没有给妇女的经济地位或对妇女工作的普遍评价带来同样巨大的社会变化。D选项符合题意。
3.推理判断题。由题干可定位到原文第一段中 “In the nineteenth century, when women began to enter factories...”,中文翻译为:19世纪,当女性进入工厂……,以及第二段中“ The employment of young women in textile mills during the Industrial Revolution...”,中文翻译为:工业革命期间,年轻妇女在纺织厂的就业情况……和文章最后一段首句“Women's work has changed considerably in the past 200 years, moving from the household to the office or the factory...”,中文翻译为:过去的200年中,妇女的工作有了相当程度的变化,从家庭劳动到办公室或工厂……。综合可知,在工业革命之前,女性工作场所一般在B项“私人(个人)家庭”。
4.推理判断题。由题干关键词“alteration改变”对应“change改变”可以定位到文章第三段中 “Women's work has changed considerably in the past 200 years, moving from the household to the office or the factory, and later becoming mostly white-collar instead of blue-collar work.”,中文翻译为:在过去的200年中,妇女的工作有了相当程度的变化,从家庭劳动到办公室或工厂,并且近来很多蓝领工作变成白领工作。以及“Fundamentally, however, the conditions under which women work have changed little since before the Industrial Revolution: the segregation of occupations by gender, lower pay for women as a group, jobs that require relatively low levels of skill and offer women little opportunity for advancement all persist, while women's household labor remains demanding.”,中文翻译为:但是,基本 上,工业革命一来,妇女们的工作条件改变甚少:按性别区分职业、整体报酬低、 工作技能水平要求相对低、升迁机会少仍存在,同时家务劳动依然繁重。可以得知D选项:“人口普查结果显示,职业妇女的工资和薪金平均与男子一样高”才表明妇女工作条件发生了根本的变化。
5.推理判断题。由题干关键词“twentieth century”可以定位到文章第二段尾句 “The increase in the numbers of married women employed outside the home in the twentieth century had less to do with the mechanization of housework and an increase in leisure time for these women—than it did with their own economic necessity and with high marriage rates that shrank the available pool of single women workers, previously, in many cases, the only women employers would hire.” 中文翻译为:20世纪对己婚妇女雇佣的增加不是因为家务劳动机械 化,使这些妇女有闲暇,而是由于她们经济上的必需性,以及结婚率升高使单身 妇女来源减少,而在这以前,在多数情况下,单身妇女是雇主唯一想雇佣的。因此B选项:“他们往往会雇佣单身妇女而不是己婚妇女”最符合。