四级阅读真题完全解析(2)

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

Educating

girls

quite

possibly

yields

a

higher

rate

of

return

than

any

other

investmentavailable in the developing world.

Women's

education

may

be

unusual

territory

for

economists,

but

enhancing

women's

contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social issue. And economics,

with its emphasis onincentives (

激励

), provides guideposts that point to an explanation for why

so many girls are deprived of an education.

Parents in low- income countries fail to invest in their daughters because they do not expect

them to make an economic contribution to the family: girls grow up only to marry into somebody

else's

family

and

bear

children.

Girls

are

thus

seen

as

less

valuable

than

boys

and

art

kept

at

home

to

do

housework

while

their

brothers

are

sent

to

school-theprophecy

(

预言

)

becomes

self-fulfilling, trapping women in a viciouscircle (

恶性循环

) of neglect.

An educated mother, on the other hand, has greater earning abilities outside the home and

faces an entirely different set of choices. She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can

insist on the development of all her children, ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance.

The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls,

as

well

as

of

boys,

will

be

educated

and

healthy.

The

vicious

circle

is

thus

transformed

into

a

virtuous circle.

Few

will

dispute

that

educating

women

has

great

social

benefits.

But

it

has

enormouseconomic advantages as well.

Most

obviously,

there

is

the

direct

effect

of

education

on

the

wages

of

female

workers.

Wages

rise

by

10

to

20

per

cent

for

each

additional

year

of

schooling.

Such

big

returns

are

impressive

by

the

standard

of

other

available

investments,

but

they

are

just

the

beginning.

Educating women also has a significant impact on health practices, including family planning.

26. The author argues that educating girls in developing countries is ________.

A) troublesome

B) labor-saving

C) rewarding

D) expensive

27. By saying

that ________.

A) girls will turn out to be less valuable than boys

B) girls will be capable of realizing their own dreams

C) girls will eventually find their goals in life beyond reach

D) girls will be increasingly discontented with their life at home

28. The author believes that a vicious circle can turn into a virtuous circle when ________.

A) women care more about education

B) girls can gain equal access to education

C) a family has fewer but healthier children

D) parents can afford their daughters' education

29. What does the author say about women's education?

A) It deserves greater attention than other social issues.

B) It is now given top priority in many developing countries.

C) It will yield greater returns than other known investments.

D) It has aroused the interest of a growing number of economists.

30. The passage mainly discusses ________.

A) unequal treatment of boys and girls in developing countries

B) the potential earning power of well-educated women

C) the major contributions of educated women to society

D) the economic and social benefits of educating women

文章共有四段，

第一段总起介绍了本文的内容，

介绍了在发展中国家，

对女孩子教育的

投资可能比起其他的 投资要有更高的回报率；女性教育的问题已经引起了经济学家的关注，

并从经济刺激角度 来分析女性教育的问题。

第二段 承接第一段最后一句话，

从经济角度分析，

为什么女孩子会被剥 夺受教育的机会，

因为发展中国家的家长认为女孩子的价值要比男孩子少，因此造成了恶 性循环。

第三段 也是从经济角度来分析，

受过教育的女性会有更强的挣钱能力，

也会做出不同的

选择，让自己的子女接受同等的教育，从而改变上述的恶性循环。

第四段总结上文，

指出受过教育的女性不仅对社会有很大益处，

对经济也有巨大的好处。