阅读真题

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 " ... the prophecy becomes self-fulfilling..." (Lines 45, Para. 2). the author means 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

答案详解
【文章分析】

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。

【重点词汇】

1.yield: (vt.) 产出，收益，These apple trees yield plenty of fruit this year. (vi.)屈服，投降，We will never yield to invaders. (vt.)放弃，He was forced to yield the castle.

2.fail: (vi.)失败，He failed in everything he tried. (vi.) (指健康)衰退，His hearing is failing. (vt.)不能，He did very well, but failed to break the record.

3.impact: (n.)影响，作用，(have/make impact on) The book made a great impact on its readers. (vi.)产生影响，It is obvious how bad movies will impact on children.

【试题分析】

26. 答案C

原文第一段第一句话Educating girls quite possibly yields a higher rate of return than any other investment available in the developing world.（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。）答案A、B、D的意思分别为麻烦的、省力的和昂贵的。只有答案C，rewarding的意思是有回报的，与原文意思相同。

27. 答案A

原文第二段Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and art kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school-the prophecy (预言) becomes self-fulfilling, trapping women in a vicious circle (恶性循环) of neglect.（女孩的价值似乎要比男孩少。女孩子只能在家里做做家务，而男孩子则可以去上学因为男孩子要自食其力，这就使得女孩子陷入了这种被忽视的恶性循环。）这句话和选项A是一致的，因此答案为A。

28. 答案B

题干在原文第三段的最后一句话，这句话是对第三段的总结。而整个第三段是总分总的结构，第一句话"An educated mother, on the other hand, has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices."（另一方面，受过教育的母亲在家外会有更强的挣钱能力，而且会做出完全不同的选择。）则是对整段内容的总起句，与总结句The vicious circle is thus transformed into a virtuous circle.（这样，恶性循环就会转变为良性循环）相呼应。因此，本题的答案Bgirls can gain equal access to education（女孩能得到公平的教育）为正确选项。

29. 答案C

本题的答案也可以在原文第一段第一句话中找到。Educating girls quite possibly yields a higher rate of return than any other investment available in the developing world.（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。）

30. 答案D

本题的答案是通过全文的综合分析得到的。但在文章的最后一段第一句话也可以分析得出Few will dispute that educating women has great social benefits. But it has enormous economic advantages as well.（有人会认为受过教育的女性对社会有很大益处，同时，她们对经济也有巨大的益处。）这是一句承上启下的句子，既是对上文内容的总结，又是对下文内容的总起。又由于这是全文的最后一段，因此这句句子也是对全文内容的一个总结。

【阅读技巧】

四级阅读中的文章有点类似于古代的八股文，都是有一定的套路的，只要摸清套路，阅读起来就会事半功倍。这个套路就是：文章的重点信息一般包含在段落的首末句，主题内容一般是包含在首段和末段。

首末句可能就是段落内容的概括句。而首段和末段则是整篇文章的导语和总结。所以看文章时，着重看一下首末段和首末句。