题干
Most couples who get married or decide to live together generally plan to have children. Several years ago, people thought that having big families was common and this was seen as an advantage. That was mainly because children began working at an early age to help provide for the family. But with the changing times and with the cost of living getting higher every single year, having a big family is no longer considered to be a practical option. In fact, more couples consider that they have only one child and some do not have any desire to become parents at all.
According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, by 1986, women aged 40 to 44 years, were considerably more likely to have given birth to two children than three children (36% vs. 27%) or four or more children (19%). However, taken together, women were still more likely to have had three or more children than to have had two children (46% vs. 36%).
In recent years, women were more likely to have had two children than three or more children – a trend that was most marked in the most recent period (38% vs. 25% in 1996; 38% vs. 22% in 2006). These days, most families in Australia have two children. But the number of women who had given birth to a single child increased progressively from only 8% in 1981 to 13% in 2006.
The U.S. Census Bureau states that there are approximately 14 million only children in America today. This comprises 20% of the children's population compared to only 10% around fifty years ago.
1. Several years ago, people thought that having big families was
A. uncommon and this was seen as an advantage
B. common and this was seen as a disadvantage
C. common and this was seen as an advantage
2. By 1986, taken together, women were still more likely to have had children.
A. less
B. more
C. no
3. In recent years, women were more likely to have had .
A. three or four children
B. more children
C. fewer children
4. According to the passage, we can predict that the number of family with a single child will (将会增长).
A. decrease dramatically
B. increase dramatically
C. remain steady
5. Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?
A. Families Having Fewer Children Nowadays.
B. Couples Having More Children Nowadays.
C. Women Being Likely to Have More Children.
反馈
解析：
1. 这是一道细节题。本题询问“几年前，人们认为拥有大家庭？”，第一段第二句话告诉读者 “人们认为有个大家庭，很常见，而且大家庭也被认为是个优势”，所以选C。
2. 这是一道细节判断题。第二段第一句话意为“而综合来看，妇女仍然有可能要三个或更多个孩子而不是要两个孩子（其比例为46% vs. 36%）”，此句表明有可能要多个孩子，所以选B。
3. 这是一道细节判断题。本题询问“近年来，妇女有可能要多少个孩子？”，第三段第一句话告诉读者妇女更有可能要2个而不是3个或更多个孩子，所以选C。
4. 这是一道推断题。按照短文内容，我们可以了解到现今澳大利亚大部分家庭拥有2个孩子，而要1个孩子妇女数量（increased progressively）逐渐增加，所以我们推断将来拥有1个孩子的家庭会显著增多，所以选B
5. 这是一道主旨大意题。通读全文可知，文章讲过去有个大家庭（多生孩子），很常见，而且大家庭也被认为是个优势。但近几年来，由于生活成本逐年增长，拥有大家庭已不再是一个现实的选择，妇女愿意要3个或更多个孩子的越来越少。而如今澳大利亚大部分家庭拥有2个孩子，要1个孩子的家庭逐年递增。所以选A。