Question

    A scene from China’s biggest soap opera last year, Ode to Joy Season 2, has triggered much discussion on whether virginity is still a prized asset for women in “modern” China. In the scene, Qiu Yingying, a young but naive character, holds a dinner party to introduce her boyfriend to her friends, but the evening turns dramatic after her neighbour accidentally exposes her past relationship. Her boyfriend, Ying Qin, storms off, furious, expressing his thought that having sex before marriage is a moral spot for a woman.

However controversial the show is, it does reveal a universal phenomenon that sex education in China is often relatively backward and of minor significance. Parents very rarely share information about sex with children. What almost all parents do, however, is to warn their children, especially daughters not to have any dates before they graduate from university, fearing that they get hurt or become pregnant. There are stories of biology teachers skipping details of the reproductive system in class and ask students to learn it by themselves. Chinese communities also traditionally expect virginity before marriage.

Ren Yi, a student from East China Normal University, said it was perfectly reasonable for a boyfriend who was a virgin himself to require his girlfriend to be so. The only problem, she said, was if it was a double standard and the man expected virginity from a woman but not himself.

The issue was also being discussed by her university classmates in WeChat. Someone questioned why there wasn’t gender equality when it came to virginity, but another said she couldn’t accept Ying Qin’s comment on women who had sex before marriage.

While some still concentrate on virginity itself, others have shifted the focus of this debate.

Zhu Pingping, a Shanghai-based English teacher, commented that even debating the topic was old-fashioned in the 21^st Century. She thought it was “disgusting” for the show to make an issue of it in modern cities, women are more independent and liberated, she said.

Her husband, Shen Peng, also a teacher, added that not everyone will and can advance with the times as he or she ages and some even want to restore the so-called traditional Chinese virtues of being a woman (女德), which from his perspective has long been used as a means to oppress women both physically and mentally throughout the history.

“Teaching students knowledge about sex doesn’t mean we encourage them to eat the forbidden fruit. Actually, it is just the opposite, because only when sex---like other aspects of lives---is dealt with frankly and appropriately in the educational process can the healthy growth of children raised in it be truly encouraged,” he said.

1.Which one of the following might be Wrong according to the first two paragraphs?

A.The TV series Ode to Joy Season 2 has brought female virginity to attention.

B.Qiu Yingying’s relationship has been buried with her previous romance revealed.

C.Parents and teachers tend to avoid answering questions about sex from children.

D.Sex education in China has weighed strongly in the current educational system.

2.It can be learned from the three interviewees’ opinions that ________.

A.a double standard encouraged in attitudes towards virginity is allowed

B.the topic on virginity is still worth public discussion in the present day

C.keeping pace with the times is not necessarily a natural outcome of age

D.teaching students sex is likely to lead them to have sex at an early age

3.What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?

A.Measures to advocate sex education

B.Historical evidence of female oppression

C.Professional comments on the show

D.Examples to illustrate the virginity issue

4.The author’s purpose for writing this article is to ________.

A.introduce a popular TV drama

B.explain a universal phenomenon

C.criticize the current education

D.arouse people’s food for thought

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.A

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇夹叙夹议文，介绍了《欢乐颂2》中的一个情节引发的人们对少女贞操这一问题的讨论以及其背后反映出的中国在性教育方面的不足。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段中的“However controversial the show is, it does reveal a universal phenomenon that sex education in China is often relatively backward and of minor significance.”可知，不管这部剧有多大争议，它确实揭示了一个普遍现象，即中国的性教育往往相对落后，意义不大，因此“中国的性教育在当前的教育体系中占有重要的地位”这一说法是错误的，故D项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段“Ren Yi, a student from East China Normal University, said it was perfectly reasonable for a boyfriend who was a virgin himself to require his girlfriend to be so. The only problem, she said, was if it was a double standard and the man expected virginity from a woman but not himself.”可知，华东师范大学学生任怡说，对于自己还是处男的男朋友来说，要求女朋友是处女是完全合理的，她说，唯一的问题是，这是否是一个双重标准，自己不是处男却要求女朋友是处女；根据第六段“Zhu Pingping, a Shanghai-based English teacher, commented that even debating the topic was old-fashioned in the 21st Century. She thought it was “disgusting” for the show to make an issue of it in modern cities, women are more independent and liberated, she said.”可知，上海英语教师朱平平评论说， 21世纪讨论这个话题已经过时了，她认为这部剧在现代城市里引起人们的反感，女性更加独立和自由；再根据第七段“Her husband, Shen Peng, also a teacher, added that not everyone will and can advance with the times as he or she ages and some even want to restore the so-called traditional Chinese virtues of being a woman (女德), which from his perspective has long been used as a means to oppress women both physically and mentally throughout the history.”可知，她的丈夫沈鹏也是一名教师，他补充说，并不是每个人都会而且能够随着年龄的增长而与时俱进，有些人甚至想恢复所谓的中国传统美德，在他看来，这种美德长期以来一直被用作压迫妇女身心的手段，从这三位受访者的观点可以判断出关于贞操的话题在当今仍值得公众讨论，故B项正确。

3.

4.推理判断题。通读全文，特别是根据第二段中的“it does reveal a universal phenomenon that sex education in China is often relatively backward and of minor significance.”可知，本文主要介绍了《欢乐颂2》中的一个情节揭示的一个普遍现象——中国的性教育相对落后，因此文章的目的就是解释这种现象，故B项正确。