全国2007年1月高等教育自学考试基础英语试题3

四、阅读理解（本大题共10小题，每小题2分，共20分）
本部分有两篇短文，每篇短文后有五个问题,每个问题有四个选项,选择答案完成句子。错选、多选或未选均无分。
Passage 1
　　For most people, life is easier and more comfortable than ever before. Convenience foods from the supermarket simplify shopping and cooking. Household appliances like the vacuum cleaner and the washing machine have taken the tediousness out of housework. Released from these household chores, many wives have found jobs outside the home. Women are achieving economic independence.
　　Families, too, are simpler today. In America, it is not customary for parents to live with their married children. With our greater mobility, relatives have scattered, and the young people, after they get married, go wherever their jobs or their interests take them.
　　Young adult women have new freedom, too. While attending college, they often live away from home, sometimes far from their parents or their relatives. After college, they move to the city, find a job, and set up a “bachelor” apartment. This is the era of women’s liberation.
　　But all this freedom and richness have had an unforeseen and in some respects a destructive effect on marriage.
56. In the U. S. , families are becoming ______.
A. bigger
B. simpler
C. healthier
D. poorer
57. Women are able to achieve economic independence because ______.
A. they have nothing to do at home
B. they have babysitters to help them
C. they have their own jobs
D. they are college graduates
58. The vacuum cleaner and the washing machines are cited to show that ______.
A. they are modern devices
B. they are examples of freeing housewives from housework
C. they are easy to handle
D. many wives find it easy to use
59. Which of the following statements is true?
A. American children do not live with their parents.
B. American parents generally do not live with their married children.
C. American parents do not like living with their children.
D. American family members usually live apart.
60. The passage implies that the author ______.
A. appreciates the development of science and technology
B. enjoys free and rich life
C. recommends a new way of life
D. worries about the bond of marriage