六級閱讀考前強化練習題原文

　　Employment became widespread when the enclosures of the 17th and 18th centuries made many people dependent on paid work by depriving them of the use of the land, and thus of the means to provide a living for themselves. Then the factory system destroyed the cottage industries and removed work from people’s homes. Later, as transport improved first by rail and then by road, people commuted longer distances to their places of employment until, eventually, many people’s work lost all connection with their home lives and the places in which they live.?

　　Meanwhile, employment put women at a disadvantage. In preindustrial times, men and women had shared the productive work of the household and village community. Now it became customary for the husband to go out to paid employment, leaving the unpaid work of the home and families to his wife. Tax and benefit regulations still assume this norm today, and restrict more flexible sharing of work roles between the sexes.?

　　It was not only women whose work status suffered. As employment became the dominant form of work, young people and old people were excluded—a problem now, as more teenagers become frustrated at school and more retired people want to live active lives.?

　　All this may now have to change.?

　　The time has certainly come to switch some effort and resources away from the idealist goal creating jobs for all, to the urgent practical task of helping many people to manage without full-time jobs. ?

　　六級閱讀考前強化練習題

　　21.What is the main idea of the passage??

　　A) Employment became widespread in the 17th and 18th centuries.?

　　B) Unemployment will remain a major problem for industrialized nations.?

　　C) The industrial age may now be coming to an end.?

　　D) Some efforts and resources should be devoted to helping more people cope with the problem of unemployment. ?

　　22.Which of the following was NOT mentioned as a factor contributing to the spread of employment??

　　A) The enclosures of the 17th and 18th centuries.?B) The development of factories.?

　　C) Relief from housework on the part of women.?D) Development of modern means of transportation. ?

　　23.It can be inferred from the passage that____.?

　　A) most people who have been polled believe that the problem of unemployment may not be solved within a short period of time?

　　B) many farmers lost their land when new railways and factories were being constructed?

　　C) in preindustrial societies housework and community service were mainly carried out by women?

　　D) some of the changes in work pattern that the industrial age brought have been reversed?

　　24.What does the word “daunting” in the third paragraph mean??

　　A) Shocking B) Interesting?C) Confusing D) Stimulating ?

　　25.Which of the following is NOT suggested as a possible means to cope with the current situation??

　　A) Create situations in which people work for themselves.?B) Treat employment as the norm.?

　　C) Endeavor to revive the household and the neighborhood as centers of production.?

　　D) Encourage people to work in circumstances other than normal working conditions.?

　　六級閱讀考前強化練習題答案

　　DCAAB