CET4四级深度阅读概要1.ppt

53. Parenthood became more stressful in the 1970s partly due to changes in employment patterns. F)Is it possible that American parents have always been this disillusioned? Anecdotal evidence says no. In pre-industrial America, parents certainly loved their children, but their offspring also served a purpose—to work the farm, contribute to the household. Children were a necessity. Today, we have kids more for emotional reasons, but an increasingly complicated work and social environment has made finding satisfaction far more difficult. A key study by University ofWisconsin-Madisons Sara McLanahan and Julia Adams, conducted some 20 years ago, found that parenthood was perceived as significantly more stressful in the 1970s than in the 1950s; the researchers attribute part of that change to major shifts in employment patterns. The majority of American parents now work outside the home, have less support from extended family and face a deteriorating education and health-care system, so raising children has not only become more complicated—it has become more expensive. Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that it costs anywhere from $134,370 to $237,520 to raise a child from birth to the age of 17—and thats not counting school or college tuition. No wonder parents are feeling a little blue. 解题：关键词+综合 54. The author expects to find signs showing the Sloans were miserable in their home. A) When I was growing up, our former neighbors, whom well call the Sloans, were the only couple on the block without kids. It wasnt that they couldnt have children; according to Mr. Sloan, they just chose not to. All the other parents, including mine, thought it was odd—even tragic. So any bad luck that befell the Sloans—the egging of their house one Halloween; the landslide that sent their pool careering to the street below—was somehow attributed to that fateful decision theyd made so many years before. Well, the other adults would say, you know they never did have kids. Ea