-
unit 8
Part 1
Reading comprehension
Directions:
Read
the
following
passages
carefully.
Each
passage is followed by
some questions or unfinished
sentences.
For
each
of
them
there
are
four
choices
marked
A,
B,
C,
and
D.
Choose
the
best
answer
to
each
question.
Questions
1
to
5
are
based
on
the
same
passage
or
dialog.
Manners evolved differently in
different cultures. In
earlier
times
there
was
a
tendency
for
manners
to
become
increasingly formal, and this was often
viewed as
progress. In the 18th and
19th centuries having good
manners
was
seen
as
an
important
part
of
one's
education
and social class,
and it was necessary to be taken as a
lady or a gentleman to get ahead in the
world.
In the 20th and 21st
centuries, manners have gradually
become
more
relaxed
and
informal.
The
hosting
of
dinners
and other social
gatherings are no longer the exclusive
privilege
of
the
wealthy
elite
(
精英
),
and
private
clubs
are
being
gradually
replaced
by
more
open
meeting
places.
So the manners of the salon
(
沙龙
) are gradually
combining
with
the
manners
of
the
pub.
Clothing
is
a
good
indication of the changes in manners,
as can be seen in
the following
examples.
It
is
surprising
that
the
wearing
of
hats
indoors
by
males
is once again becoming
acceptable. Students in North
America
often wear baseball caps to class. In many
countries the wearing of hats indoors
by males was once
acceptable even in
very polite society, but over the
years
this became considered as a lower-class behavior
and was thus discouraged in both the
middle and upper
classes. The young
people who wear hats indoors do not
realize
they
are
actually
restarting
a
very
old
cultural
tradition.
A comparable development
for females is the wearing of
jeans.
Many females now wear jeans on a daily basis,
either at home or at work. Some see
this as a symbolic
declaration
that
they
are
now
modern
women,
not
girls
or
ladies. Some girls, like boys, wear
baseball caps both
indoors and
outdoors.
Sneakers and
shorts are now acceptable for either males
or
females
in
a
variety
of
non-athletic
situations.
Some
companies have rules
requiring informal dress such as
jeans
or
sneakers
on
Fridays
(called
Friday
or
Friday
and
others
permit
it
almost
all
the
time. In these companies, and many
others, it is
acceptable to call the
bosses by their first names.
1.
What does the
passage mainly talk about
A.
Changes of manners over time.
B. Formal manners in the earlier
times.
C. Different manners
in different cultures.
D.
Development of manners in different
classes.
2.
In the 20th and 21st centuries,
_________.
A. manners are
not as formal as in the past
B. manners in a pub are getting more
and more formal
C. proper
clothing is a good indication of good
manners
D. rich
people no longer behave formally in social
gatherings
3.
According
to
the
passage,
manners
of
the
salon
in paragraph 2 most
likely refers to __________.
A. Formal manners of
drinking.
B. Informal
manners of drinking.
C.
Formal manners at social gatherings.
D. Informal manners at social
gatherings.
4.
According to the passage, nowadays
wearing a hat
indoors can actually be
viewed as _________.
A. a
revolution
B. social
progress
C. a worsening
situation
D. a return to the
old tradition
5.
According
to
the
author,
today
wearing
hats
indoors,
and wearing jeans
at work mainly indicate that
_________.
A.
women are no longer inferior to men
B.
people
no
longer
pay
attention
to
dressing
details
C.
people
are
getting
more
relaxed
in
terms
of
manners
D. some companies have lower
requirements for their
employees
Questions
6
to
10
are
based
on
the
same
passage
or
dialog.
Between
the
1950s
and
the
early
1980s,
the
evolving
role
of Japanese women had been most obvious
in their
attitudes toward marriage and
the family system. There
had
been
a
trend
away
from
arranged
marriages.
Many
young
women
admitted that they took paid employment mostly in
order to find a husband on their own.
In spite of this
and
other
influences
a
1982
figure
showed
that
almost
40
percent of marriages were still
arranged. This figure
was,
however,
half
the
size
of
a
1955
survey
which
showed
that almost 81
percent of marriages were arranged. Once
married,
many
women
in
the
early
1980s
continued
to
work,
and
increasingly
they
returned
to
work
after
childbirth,
something
which
was
hard
to
imagine
a
generation
before.
A woman's role in the family was
evolving as well,
becoming more and
more dominant.
Women had
sought more personal satisfaction from their
lives since 1950s. In the beginning of
the1980s, during
their lives before
marriage women made up an almost
free-
wheeling (
随心所欲
) part of
Japanese society. A
survey of new
brides reported that only 12 percent
expected their marriage to be happy. At
that time,
Japanese still regarded
marriage not as the peak of a
romance
but as a duty that was primarily social and
practical in significance. As a result,
Japanese women
took
full
advantage
of
their
years
before
marriage.
Most
women remained at home
while working, living with their
family
in
a
sort
of
extended
dependency.
Japanese
women,
however, must be
careful to maintain themselves within
acceptable social standards, one woman
being told,
you act like that, you will
not be wanted as a bride.
Once married a Japanese women found
herself in a role
opposite
of
the
perceived
sex
roles
in
Japan
–
the
female
was
dominant in the house. The relationship between
the
partners of a Japanese marriage
clearly showed the
evolving
role
of
women.
It
must
be
remembered
that
a
short
one
hundred
years
ago
the
attitude
toward
women
was
that
1980s
the
role
of
women
had
changed:
A
Japanese
woman
had
almost unquestioned
power within the family system of
today's Japan.
6.
What is the
passage mainly about
A.
Changes in the role of Japanese women.
B. Changes in the styles of Japanese
marriages.
C. Japanese
women's struggle for independence.
D. Japanese women's increased power in
their