Question

    In the past, American families tended to be quite large. Parents __________ five or more children were common. Over the years, the__________ of the family has decreased. One reason for this is an increase in the __________ of living. On the average, children attend schools for more years than they used to, making them ____________ dependent on their families longer. Moreover, children nowadays are better __________ and have more money to spend on _________ . The parents usually take the responsibility for all the expenses. Meanwhile, families are less close than they used to be. More and more American mothers _________ away from home. The break up of the family occurs when the parents ________ . A lot of children in the U. S. live part of their young lives with only one parent. Broken families usually result in problems for children and parents alike. Children blame themselves when their parents separate. They grow up feeling _________ as they are moved back and forth between parents. Usually one parent is responsible for raising the children. These single parents must care for the children’s emotional and psychological __________ while also supporting them financially. This is very demanding and __________ very little time for the parent’s own personal_________ . Single parents often marry other single parents. In this type of family, unrelated children are _________ to develop brother or sister relationship. The situations of many American families today are not good. However, recent signs ___________ that things are getting better. The divorce rate is__________ . The rate of childbirth is rising. Perhaps Americans have learned how important families are.

1.A.breeding B.raising C.feeding D.bringing

2.A.amount B.number C.size D.scale

3.A.level B.standard C.wage D.cost

4.A.finally B.financially C.fashionably D.faintly

5.A.worn B.wearing C.dressing D.dressed

6.A.luxury B.activity C.playing D.entertainnment

7.A.are B.run C.work D.separate

8.A.devoice B.apart C.divide D.scatter

9.A.uncomfortable B.uneasy C.noisy D.unsettled

10.A.needs B.notions C.motions D.blows

11.A.gives B.pays C.shows D.leaves

12.A.interest B.interests C.property D.possession

13.A.oppressed B.asked C.forced D.shown

14.A.oppressed B.refer C.explain D.indicate

15.A.declining B.lower C.weaker D.smaller

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.B

5.D

6.D

7.C

8.A

9.D

10.A

11.D

12.B

13.C

14.D

15.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。本文主要介绍了美国的家庭问题。

1.考查动词词义辨析。句意：过去父母抚养五个孩子甚至更多是很常见的事情。A. breeding饲养，生产，培育； B. raising升起，抚养，饲养；C. feeding饲养；D. bringing带来。根据children可知此处要用raising，意为“抚养孩子，养育孩子”。故选B。

2.考查名词词义辨析。句意：多年来，家庭的规模缩小了。A. amount数额，总数；B. number数字，数；C. size尺寸，规模；D.scale规模，比例。根据has decreased可知，现在美国家庭里的孩子在减少。故选C。

3.考查名词词义辨析。句意：原因之一是生活成本的增加。A. level水平；B. standard标准；C. wage工资，报酬；D. cost费用，成本。根据下文的children nowadays are better dressed and have more money to spend on entertainment.可知，孩子减少的原因之一就是现在的生活费用提高了。故选D。

4.考查副词词义辨析。句意：平均而言，孩子们上学的时间比过去要长，这使得他们在经济上依赖家庭的时间更长。A. finally最后，最终；B. financially财政上，金融上；C. fashionably赶时髦地；D. faintly微弱地，模糊地。根据下文的The parents usually take the responsibility for all the expenses.可知，孩子们在经济上要依靠家里。故选B。

5.考查动词词义辨析。句意：此外，现在的孩子穿着更好。A. worn磨损；B. wearing穿着；C. dressing装扮，穿……衣服；D. dressed给……穿衣。根据are better可知此处用dressed，表示状态，短语be well dressed穿着讲究。故选D。

6.考查名词词义辨析。句意：有更多的钱花在娱乐上。A. luxury奢侈品，享受；B. activity活动；C. playing玩耍；D. entertainment娱乐。根据for all the expenses可知，成本包括了穿着和娱乐。故选D。

7.考查动词词义辨析。句意：越来越多的美国母亲外出工作。A. are是；B. run跑；C. work工作；D. separate分离，分开。根据mothers推测是外出工作。故选C。

8.考查动词词义辨析。句意：当父母离异时，家庭就破裂了。A. devoice离婚；B. apart分离；C. divide使分开，分成；D. scatter散开。根据break up可知是当父母离婚时家庭会破裂。故选A。

9.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：当他们在父母之间来回奔波时，他们会感到不安。A. uncomfortable不舒服的；B. uneasy心神不宁的，不稳定的；C. noisy嘈杂的，喧闹的；D. unsettled不平稳的，不安的。根据as they are moved back and forth between parents可知在父母之间来回奔波的孩子是没有安全感的，会感到不安。故选D。

10.考查名词词义辨析。句意：这些单亲父母必须照顾孩子的情感和心理需求，同时在经济上支持他们。A. needs需求，需要；B. notions观念；C. motions运动，提议；D. blows吹。根据emotional and psychological可知，此处指情感和心理的需求。故选A。

11.考查动词词义辨析。句意：这是非常苛刻的，而且留给父母个人爱好的时间非常少。A. gives给与；B. pays支付；C. shows展示；D. leaves离开，留下。根据very little time for可知此处用leaves，意为“留给”。故选D。

12.考查名词词义辨析。句意：这是非常苛刻的，而且留给父母个人爱好的时间非常少。A. interest兴趣；B. interests利益，爱好；C. property财产，性质；D. possession占有，拥有。根据the parent’s可知，此处指父母的爱好，意为“爱好”时是可数名词。故选B。

13.考查动词词义辨析。句意：在这种家庭中，没有血缘关系的孩子被迫发展兄弟姐妹关系。A. oppressed压迫；B. asked询问；C. forced 强迫；D. shown给与，展示。根据Single parents often marry other single parents.可知，他们是被迫发展成为兄妹关系。故选C。

14.考查动词词义辨析。句意：然而，最近的迹象表明情况正在好转。A. oppressed压迫；B. refer涉及，提到；C. explain解释；D. indicate表明，指出。根据that things are getting better可知，此处用indicate。故选D。

15.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：离婚率正在下降。A. declining下滑的，衰退的；B. lower（数字或数量）较小的，较低的；C. weaker较弱的；D. smaller较小的。根据上文that things are getting better.可推测，离婚率应该是下降的。故选A。