Question

    If you’ve ever compared a woman’s button-up shirt to a man’s, you’ve probably noticed that the buttons are on the opposite sides. This would make sense if all women were left-handed and all men were right-handed, but because the majority of all people are right-handed, that’s clearly not the reason. So what gives?

An age-old theory is that it all has to do with the well-known fact that women can’t dress themselves. I’m kidding. of course (I dress myself nearly every day!), but many years ago, it was a lot harder for females to get dressed. As Live Science puts it: “Depending on the era, men might wear waistcoats and wool jackets. But women’s clothing was far more elaborate, and could consist of a dozen or more garments. Thus, especially in middle and upper-class society, men generally dressed themselves, whereas women did not. Instead, maids and servants might spend an hour or more dressing the lady of the house.” So, it’s long been thought that women’s buttons were placed on the opposite side to cater to the servants dressing them.

But as Elle recently pointed out, buttons on women’s shirts weren’t introduced until 1860—hundreds of years after servants were first used in the dressing room.

Or, according to Cosmopolitan UK, maybe babies are the reason. Women usually hold a child on their left side to free up a dominant hand and a shirt that opens on the right makes breastfeeding easier.

Or, there’s another reasonable but depressing theory.

In Man and Woman: A Study of Secondary and Tertiary Sexual Characters, 1894, Havelock Ellis writes that women’s clothes were designed so that the women had to button themselves with the “inferior (下等的)” left hand as an indicator of their social position as not on the same level as men.

Sigh. We prefer the breastfeeding explanation.

1.From Para. 1 we can learn that ________.

A.the buttons on women’s shirts are on the left

B.the buttons on men’s shirts are on the left

C.That all women are left-handed would make sense

D.That the majority of opeple are right-handed makes no sense

2.By adding what Elle pointed out, the author wants to ________.

A.prove that the buttoning way was originally to cater to the servants

B.show that the reason mentioned above is doubtful

C.introduce a new reason to account for the present buttoning way

D.convince the readers that servants were used much later

3.Why did the author find the reason pointed out by Havelock Ellis depressing?

A.It made no sense at all. B.It suggested discrimination against women.

C.It seemed painful that women used left hands. D.It forced women to button themselves.

4.Which explanation for women’s buttoning shirts does author favor?

A.Women cannot dress themselves.

B.It makes breastfeeding babies easier.

C.It caters to the servants dressing them.

D.It indicates women’s social position isn’t on the same level as men.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.B

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章先是提出如果有人比较过女人和男人的系扣衬衫，你可能会注意到扣子是在相反的两边。文章就为什么女性的衬衫扣子是在左边提出了几个相关理论解释。

1.

细节理解题。根据第一段中If you’ve ever compared a woman’s button-up shirt to a man’s, you’ve probably noticed that the buttons are on the opposite sides. This would make sense if all women were left-handed and all men were right-handed, but because the majority of all people are right-handed, that’s clearly not the reason.可知如果你曾经比较过女人和男人的系扣衬衫，你可能会注意到扣子是在相反的两边。如果所有女性都是左撇子，所有男性都是右撇子，这就说得通了，但因为大多数人都是右撇子，这显然不是原因。以及倒数第二段In Man and Woman: A Study of Secondary and Tertiary Sexual Characters, 1894, Havelock Ellis writes that women’s clothes were designed so that the women had to button themselves with the “inferior (下等的)” left hand as an indicator of their social position as not on the same level as men.可知在1894年出版的《男人和女人：对第二性和第三性角色的研究》一书中，Havelock Ellis写道，女性的衣服被设计成必须用“下等”的左手来扣纽扣，以此表明她们的社会地位与男性不一样。由此可知，女衬衫的纽扣在左边。故选A。

2.

推理判断题。根据第二段中So, it’s long been thought that women’s buttons were placed on the opposite side to cater to the servants dressing them.可知因此，长久以来，人们认为女性的纽扣是相对的，是为了迎合仆人的着装。以及第三段But as Elle recently pointed out, buttons on women’s shirts weren’t introduced until 1860—hundreds of years after servants were first used in the dressing room.可知但正如《Elle》杂志最近指出的，女性衬衫上的纽扣直到1860年才被引入，那是在佣人首次出现在更衣室之后的几百年。由此可推知，通过加入《Elle》指出的内容，作者是想表明上述原因是值得怀疑的。故选B。

3.

细节理解题。根据倒数第二段In Man and Woman: A Study of Secondary and Tertiary Sexual Characters, 1894, Havelock Ellis writes that women’s clothes were designed so that the women had to button themselves with the “inferior (下等的)” left hand as an indicator of their social position as not on the same level as men.可知在1894年出版的《男人和女人：对第二性和第三性角色的研究》一书中，Havelock Ellis写道，女性的衣服被设计成必须用“下等”的左手来扣纽扣，以此表明她们的社会地位与男性不一样。由此可推知，作者发现Havelock Ellis指出的原因令人沮丧，是因为它暗示歧视妇女。故选B。

4.

推理判断题。根据倒数第四段Or, according to Cosmopolitan UK, maybe babies are the reason. Women usually hold a child on their left side to free up a dominant hand and a shirt that opens on the right makes breastfeeding easier.可知或者，根据《Cosmopolitan UK》杂志的说法，婴儿可能是原因。女性通常用左手抱着孩子，腾出惯用手，而右边敞开的衬衫会让母乳喂养更容易。以及最后一段中We prefer the breastfeeding explanation.可知我们更喜欢母乳喂养的解释。由此可推知，作者对女性系扣衬衫扣子位置的解释是，这么做使母乳喂养婴儿更容易。故选B。