Question

The British aren’t having as many children as they used to. One reason is that people are having children much older than before, meaning they have fewer years in which they can have them. After years at university, they need a few years of work experience before they can get the job they want. They might then get married, but it’s incredibly expensive to buy a house in the UK.

The above explains why young British people now don’t move out of their parents’ home until they are around 30 years old on average. It is not until they are 30 that they can afford their own home. Increasingly, it is not until that age that they can afford to get married and start a new life in a new home. It’s only after this age that many young people start thinking about having a child.

So a British person manages to get a job, get a home and get married. Why isn’t he or she then having at least two children on average? The main reason is that it is quite expensive to bring up a child in the UK. Why is it expensive? Well, these days, both parents need to work just to pay for their home and living expenses. Because both parents are at work, that means they then need to pay someone to look after their child during the day. Paying for this childcare is nearly always expensive.

The recent financial crisis is making things even harder for families, since unemployment is rising and even fewer people can afford to have children. With so much pressure on families, is it any surprise that the divorce rate is so high?

So what is Britain doing to try and save the British family? The government is trying to make it cheaper to have children. For example, there have been increases in money families can claim from the state each month. Also, there are increasing government subsidies for nursery schools, so that parents do not need to pay so much for child care.

The government is also trying to reduce the number of hours British parents have to work to earn enough money to pay their bills. If parents didn’t have to work so many hours, they’d have more time to spend with their children and wouldn’t need to spend so much on childcare. On average, a Briton works 49 hours a week, which is the most in Europe. The state is now considering introducing laws to encourage companies to improve their employees’ work-life balance. Let’s hope they’re not too late to save the British family. Otherwise, the British will always be too tired, and won’t have enough time and money, to have children.

1.Young British people live in their parents’ home until around 30 because         .

A．They are allowed to get married at 30

B．they can’t find jobs to support themselves

C．they can’t afford a house of their own until then

D．they enjoy family life with their parents

2.The British are now having fewer children than before for all the following reasons EXCEPT that         .

A．they have fewer years to have children

B．they live much shorter lives than before

C．it is more expensive to bring up a child

D．people are losing their jobs because of the recent financial crisis

3.To make it cheaper to have children, the British government is         .

A．bringing down prices

B．raising the salaries of parents

C．reducing family income tax

D．increasing subsidies for families and nursery schools

4.It can be inferred from the text that         .

A．with long work hours, it is hard for British parents to balance life and work

B．more and more families in Britain are breaking up because they are having fewer children

C．among Europeans, British people work hardest and earn the least

D．childcare takes up too much energy and time for the British

5.The underlined word “subsidies” in Paragraph 5 means _________.

A．food paid by the government

B．school buildings for poor students

C．free transportation

D．money from the government to benefit the public

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.A

5.D

【解析】

试题分析：本文介绍了英国人的孩子越来越少，生孩子的年龄越来越大。文章中分析了具体的原因，也提及了英国政府为了解决这个问题做出了很多的努力。

1.C 细节题。根据第二段3，4行Increasingly, it is not until that age that they can afford to get married and start a new life in a new home可知直到30岁左右，英国人才买得起房子，才能搬出去住，故C正确。

2.B 细节题。根据1,3,4段meaning they have fewer years in which they can have them.和The recent financial crisis is making things even harder for families,以及The main reason is that it is quite expensive to bring up a child in the UK.可知ACD三项都是原因。B项文章没有提及。

3.D 细节题。根据文章倒数第二段The government is trying to make it cheaper to have children. For example, there have been increases in money families can claim from the state each month. Also, there are increasing government subsidies for nursery schools, so that parents do not need to pay so much for child care. 说明D项是英国政府所采取的措施。

4.A 推断题。根据文章最后一段前3行The government is also trying to reduce the number of hours British parents have to work to earn enough money to pay their bills. If parents didn’t have to work so many hours, they’d have more time to spend with their children and wouldn’t need to spend so much on childcare.说明工作时间太长，英国人很难能够照顾孩子。所以英国政府就减少人们的工作时间，让人们有更多的时间来照顾孩子。故A正确。

5.D 推理题。根据本句there are increasing government subsidies for nursery schools, so that parents do not need to pay so much for child care.说明有越来越多的政府补贴，让父母亲在照顾孩子方面不要付太多的钱了。故该词是指D项。

考点：考查社会现象列短文阅读