A new study by the Pew Research Center shows that the number of dads who choose to stay home and care for their children and families has quadrupled (成为四倍) over the past 25 years. Can social and economic factors explain the change?
Make no mistake; fathers who are the primary caregiver for their children are far from the norm. In fact, they are only 16% of all stay-at-home parents.but that number is up from 10% since 1989. When pew started analyzing data. The steady growth since then suggests that these numbers represent a growing trend.
“It’s up from 1.1 million to 2 million,” says Gretchen Livingston, one of the study authors. “ More significantly, the number of man who say they stay at home specially to take care of their home and children is at an all-time high, more than four times the rate of fathers who gave that same answer in 1989.”
As women have taken on more high-paying careers, the assumption that they’ll stay home with the children has become less automatic.
“My wife and I were earning about the same income at the time just after our daughter was born. We felt that if someone was going to raise our children it would have to be one of us,” says Al Watts, the president of the national At-Home Dad Network. “My wife was promoted shortly after she got back from maternity leave and that rise in pay would allow us to live on one income.”
In 1989, 10% of fathers were stay-at-home parents. In 2014, 16% are. Fourteen percent of the fathers without a high school diploma stay at home, compared to 3% of those with a college degree. In 1989, more than half (56%) of dads who stayed at home cited (引用) illness or disability ass the top reason. Thirty-five percent cite that reason now. Only 5% of stay-at-home dads in 1989 said caring for family was the main reason for staying at home. Now, that number is 21%.
The rise in stay-at-home dads coincides with a change in social and economic trends regarding women in the workforce, says Farnoosh Torabi, author of When She Makes More. “We know that before they even get married, women are out-earning and out-earning men,” she says, noting that younger women are now getting more degrees and better paying jobs, on average, than men.
61.The underlined sentence in the second paragraph means that ________.
A. there are not enough stay-at-home dads
B. being stay-at-home dads is a trend now
C. stay-at-home dads are still in the minority
D.stay-at-home dads are making a mistaken decision
62.What impresses Gretchen Livingston most according to paragraph 3?
A.The total number of stay-at-home dads.
B. The purpose of becoming stay-at-home dads.
C. The quick increase in the number of stay-at-home dads.
D. The reason for the wide acceptance of stay-at-home dads.
63.What made Al Watts decide to become a stay-at-home dad?
A. His being out of work. B. His making more money.
C. His wife’s wage increase. D. His wife’s encouragement.
64.In Farnoosh Torabi’s opinion, the rise in stay-at-home dads results from _________.
A. the terrible economic environment B. the rise in women’s economic status
C. the ever-increasing cost of raising children D. the change of men’s attitude towards family
知识点：日常生活类阅读
61.C 62.B 63.C 64.B
试题分析：目前社交和经济倾向于职业女性，越来越多的男士照顾家、看孩子。
61.C句意猜测题。根据第二段第二句In fact, they are only 16% of all stay-at-home parents.but that number is up from 10% since 1989.事实上，留在家里的父母只占16%，但那个数字是从1989年的10%上升的。可推知前面画线句子的意思是：留在家里的父亲仍然是少数。故选C。
62.B推理判断题。根据第三段中More significantly, the number of man who say they stay at home specially to take care of their home and children is at an all-time high, more than four times the rate of fathers who gave that same answer in 1989.”很明显，那些说他们待在家里是为了照顾他们的家和孩子的男人的数量是史上最高，是1989年的四倍多。可知这给他留下的印象最深刻，故选B。
63.C细节理解题。根据倒数第三段最后一句“My wife was promoted shortly after she got back from maternity leave and that rise in pay would allow us to live on one income.”妻子工资的提高使Al Watts想依靠一个人的收入，呆在家里。故选C。
64.B细节理解题。根据最后一段第一句The rise in stay-at-home dads coincides with a change in social and economic trends regarding women in the workforce, says Farnoosh Torabi社交和经济倾向于职业女性，这就会导致更多的男性留在家里。故选B。
【学法指导】
阅读材料中的每个词与它前后的词语或句子甚至段落都有联系。近年来全国统一高考中加大了对考生猜词义能力的考查，因此，掌握一定的猜词技巧，对突破高考阅读理解、提高我们的英语语言能力都有非常重要的意义。做这种类型的题，要根据词、词组、句子所在的语境来判断其意义。我们要特别注意熟词生义，切不可脱离语境想当然。在句子或段落中，我们可以利用熟悉的词语，根据语言环境所表示的关系推断生词词义。比如，第61.小题，C句意猜测题。根据第二段第二句In fact, they are only 16% of all stay-at-home parents.but that number is up from 10% since 1989.事实上，留在家里的父母只占16%，但那个数字是从1989年的10%上升的。可推知前面画线句子的意思是：留在家里的父亲仍然是少数。故选C。其中only是关键词。