Question

According to a new US study, couples who expect their children to help care for them in old age should hope they have daughters because they are likely to be twice as attentive overall.

The research by Angelina Grigoryeva, a sociologist at Princeton University, found that, while women provide as much care for their elderly parents as they can manage, men do as little as they can get away with and often leave it to female family members.

Her analysis of the family networks of 26,000 older Americans concluded that gender(性别) is the most important predictor(预示物) of whether or not people will actively care for elderly parents.

In a paper being presented at the annual conference of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco, she concludes that simply having a sister makes men statistically likely provide less care.

Using data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, a study which has been tracking a cross-section of over-50s for the last decade, she calculated that women provide an average of 12.3 hours a month of care for elderly parents while men offer only 5.6 hours.

“Sons reduce their relative care-giving efforts when they have a sister, while daughters increase theirs when they have a brother.”

“This suggests that sons pass on parent care-giving responsibilities to their sisters.”

In the UK, the 2011 census(人口普查) showed that there are now around 6.5 million people with caring responsibilities, a figure which has risen by a tenth in a decade.

But many are doing so at the risk of their own health. The census showed that those who provide 50 hours or more of care a week while trying to hold down a full-time job are three times more likely to be struggling with ill health than their working counterparts(相对应的人) who are not carers.

1.In the text, what’s the most important factor to predict if people will actively care for the elderly?

A. Career.    B. Education.

C. Gender.  D. Family networks.

2.The US study finds that _______.

A. sons are twice likely as daughters to care for parents in old age

B. having a sister makes men less likely to do their fair share

C. sons and daughters seem to give equal care to their parents

D. sons are unwilling to leave care-giving responsibilities to female family members

3.What does the author stress in the last paragraph?

A. People should give up their jobs to care for the elderly.

B. Many care providers work longer hours than others.

C. People shouldn’t pass on caring responsibilities to others.

D. Many care providers have potential health problems.

4.The author develops the text by _______.

A. analyzing various research and data

B. describing people’s experiences

C. explaining social networks of careers

D. comparing different gender behavior

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：研究表明，在照顾年迈的父母方面，性别差异影响着子女照顾父母时间的长短。其中，女儿比儿子更愿意付出时间照料年迈的父母。家中有姐妹的男士常常将照看老人的责任推给其姐妹。

1.

2.

3.】D 推理判断题。根据最后一段的主题句第一句But many are doing so at the risk of their own health.可知，作者在最后一段中着重指出很多护理提供者自己也有潜在的健康问题。故D正确。

4. 写作手法题。在文章第四段以及倒数第二段中作者列举了一些研究的数据，同时文章通过分析各种研究及数据得出相关结论。所以C项正确。

【名师点睛】

在阅读中，我们经常会遇到一些长而难的句子。长难句通常含有较多、较长的修饰成分、并列成分或从句。长难句的丰富内容和复杂结构往往会导致理解的困难。理解长难句的关键是了解长难句的类型，理清句子成分，抓住句子中的关键部分。 纵观历年高考英语试题，可以发现阅读文章中出现了许多结构复杂的句子。不难理解，命题者在句子难度上大做文章，无非是想通过增加句子长度和使用复杂结构来打断和干扰考生正常的阅读习惯和思维方式，从而达到考查考生综合阅读能力的目的。下面我们来了解长难句最常见的形式。

一、 复合从句

这些句子往往较长，一个从句套着另一个从句，环环相扣，使得考生搞不清楚整个句子结构。其实，不管句子有多长有多复杂，它只由两部分构成，即主干和修饰成分。主干是整个句子的骨架，主要指主谓宾结构(如: I want a ticket.)或主系表结构(如:The man is a teacher.)。而修饰成分在句中只起修饰或补充主干的作用，它既可以是单词，也可以是短语，更常见的则是从句，尤其是定语从句和状语从句。这些从句都很常见，考生比较熟悉，但很多时候不少考生分不清单词、短语和从句之间的相互关系，这样会导致整个句子分析混乱。

这时，考生应通过仔细分析，将每个修饰成分划出来，找出句子的主干，这样整个句子结构就清晰了。

二、 分隔结构

为了调整语气和增加补充信息，更主要的是为了平衡句子结构，避免头重脚轻，使语义严密，结构紧凑，可将语法关系密切的两个句子成分用其他语法成分分隔开来，这就是所谓的分隔结构。考试中出现较多的是插入语、用破折号插入的新话题或补充信息。此外，还有一些句子成分（一般是定语）过长而出现后置，也可以看作是插入现象，只不过它只是句子原有成分位置的调整，没有新增信息。

三、 成分省略

在英语句子中，节约用词是一条重要的修辞原则。省略主要是为了避免重复，突出关键词并使上下文紧密连接。成分省略一般和从句相结合，一正一反，使句子富于变化，增强表现力。

例如在以than，as引导的比较状语从句中，一些成分往往被省略，会给理解带来一定的影响，而且这类句子出现频率较高，考生需要熟记。

四、 改变语序

改变语序主要指倒装句式。这种打破相对固定的常规语序的做法，或是为了强调句子的意义表达的重心，或是强调一种表达语气，如虚拟语气、否定语气等。这些句子往往和一些副词、连词相关，有明显的标志。 当然，被动句、双重否定句等句式在阅读考试中也屡屡出现，限于篇幅本文未将其归入。希望考生能结合阅读实践来体会上述句法特征。

【第五段】Using data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, a study which has been tracking a cross-section of over-50s for the last decade, she calculated that women provide an average of 12.3 hours a month of care for elderly parents while men offer only 5.6 hours.

分析: 此句为复合句。句中Using data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study 为现在分词作状语；a study which has been tracking a cross-section of over-50s for the last decade 为同位语，其中which引导定语从句，修饰先行词study; that 引导宾语从句，作calculated的宾语，宾语从句中while连接两个并列分句。

考点：考查说明文阅读