Question

American actress Marisa Tomei won an Academy Award for her work in the 1992 movie My Cousin Vinny. People laughed when they saw her film character telling a boyfriend that they need to get married. Why marriage? Because her biological clock is ticking and she wants a baby.

“Well I hate to bring it up because I know you got enough pressure on you already. But…we agreed to get married as soon as you won your first case(law case). Meanwhile, ten years later…my niece…the daughter of my sister is getting married. My biological clock is ticking like this (stomp, stomp, stomp). And the way this case is going…I ain’t never getting married.”

“Lisa, I don’t need this. I swear to God I don’t need this right now.”

Using it this way, a biological clock means the time in a woman’s life when she is able to bear children. In the not-so-distant past, most people thought that when a woman reached her 40s it was too late for her to have children. The time on her biological clock had run out.

Well, that has changed. These days some women are resetting their biological clocks. They are giving themselves more time to have children.

Make no mistake. Being a “Single Mother by Choice” is very different from younger women who find themselves pregnant, perhaps not by choice.

Generally speaking, single mothers by choice are older and well educated. They are usually financially secure and successful in their careers. So, they have the money. What they may not have is a partner.

This is the place in life where writer Kerry Reichs found herself several years ago. She says she did not plan to become a single mother. She says she just did not find the right partner.

“Well, I think I had a set of standards for the partner I was looking for and I didn’t meet anyone that fit those standards. And, at 39 I found myself single, without children and I wanted them very much. So, I made the difficult decision that I could do this on my own.

1. According to the passage, what is a biological clock?

A. It’s a clock made of biological matters.

B. It refers to a women’s certain life period.

C. It records when women need to bear children.

D. It refers to a woman in her 40s.

2. According to the passage, in the past, when a woman reached her 40s, ________.

A. she can’t get married.

B. she might not be able to have children.

C. her biological clock will need to be reset.

D. her status of being a single mother is difficult.

3.What does “Single Mother by Choice” mean?

A. It means single mothers have a choice.

B. It means single mothers are pregnant by chance.

C. It means single women in their late 30s or early 40s decided to have children.

D. It means women want to make a choice.

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Choosing to be a single mother.

B. A woman’s biological clock.

C. Getting married by force.

D. Single women wanting marriage.

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.C

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：本文是一篇说明文，介绍的是女人体内拥有一种生物钟，意味着在一个特定的时间段，她们能够生孩子，有人认为，等过了这个时间段就生不了，一些单身的大龄成功女性，就非常想要孩子，所以决定做单身妈妈。

1.B推理判断题。根据第四段第一句话“Using it this way, a biological clock means the time in a woman’s life when she is able to bear children.”意思是用这种方法，生物钟意味着女人生命中能够生孩子的时间，可以推断出生物钟是指女人生命中的一个特定的时间段。B选项符合题意，故选B。

2.B推理判断题。根据第四段第二句话“In the not-so-distant past, most people thought that when a woman reached her 40s it was too late for her to have children.”可以知道在不远的过去，大多数人认为当女人到了40多岁的时候，就太迟了而不能生孩子了。B选项符合题意，故选B。

3.C推理判断题。根据第五段第二句话“These days some women are resetting their biological clocks. They are giving themselves more time to have children.”意思是现如今，一些女人正重置她们的生物钟，她们想给自己更多的时间来生孩子，可以推断出，她们会早几年就要孩子，而不是到40多了的时候，C选项意思是一些单身的女人决定在她们30岁晚些时候到40岁早些时候生孩子，符合题意，故选C。

4.“Well, I think I had a set of standards for the partner I was looking for and I didn’t meet anyone that fit those standards. And, at 39 I found myself single, without children and I wanted them very much. So, I made the difficult decision that I could do this on my own.”可以知道一些女人对另一半的选择有一套标准，单身仍没有找到符合这些标准的对象。到39岁了，自己仍然还是单身，就非常想要一个孩子，所以就做出了一个艰难的决定就是自己养孩子,成为单亲妈妈。A选项符合题意，故选A。

【考点】：考察说明类文章的阅读。