Exercise 1. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
For Catherine Lumby, deciding to take on the role of breadwinner in her relationship was not a difficult choice. When she discovered she was pregnant with her first child, she had just been offered a demanding new role as Director of the Media and Communications department at the University of Sydney. But she didn't see this as an obstacle, and wasprepared to use childcare when the children were old enough. It came, therefore, as a surprise to Lumby and her husband Derek that, after the birth of their son, they couldn’t actually bear the thought of putting himinto childcare tor nine hours a day. As she was the one with the secure job,the role of primary care-giver fell to Derek, who was writing scripts for television. This arrangement continued for the next four years, w ith Derek working from home and caring for both of their sons. He returned to full-time work earlier this year.
Whilst Lumby and her husband are by no means the only Australians making such a role reversal, research suggests that they are in the minority. In a government-funded survey in 2001, only 5.5 percent of couples in the 30-54 year age group saw the women working either part- or full-time while the men were unemployed.
The situation is likely to change, according to the CEO of Relationships Australia, Anne Hollonds. She suggests that this is due to several reasons, including the number of highly educated women in the workforce and changing social patterns and expectations. However, she warns that for couples involved in role-switching, there are many potential difficulties to be overcome. For men whose self-esteem is connected to their jobs and the income it provides to the family, a major change of thinking is required. It also requires women to reassess, particularly with regard to domestic or child-rearing decisions, and they may have to learn to deal with the guilt of not always being there at key times for their children. Being aware of these issues can make operating in non-traditional roles a lot easier.
118. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Men being the bread winnersB. Traditional roles of women
C. Women being the home makersD. Reversed roles between men and women
119. Catherine and her husband decided that Catherine would be the primary earner because ____.
A. she had a badly paid jobB. she was not good at childcare
C. she had a reliable jobD. she wanted her husband to stay at home
120. In paragraph 1, the word “him" refers to ____.
A. their sonB. her husband C. DerekD. her colleague
121. They decided that Derek would look after their son because they____.
A. couldn’t afford to put their child in care for long periods each day
B. didn’t want to put their child in care for long periods each day
C. thought childcare was not safe enough for their children
D. worried about their son’s health problems
122. In paragraph 2, the word “reversal" is closest in meaning to ____.
A. stabilityB. modificationC. rehearsalD. switch
123. One reason tor a change in the number of men staying home is ____.
A. the stability in the number of highly-educated women who are working
B. the fall in the number of highly-educated women who are working
C. the rise in the number of highly-educated women who are working
D. the fluctuation in the number of highly-educated women who are working
People are not always happy when they win the lottery. People can make bad decisions or have terrible arguments with family and friends.
(Không phải lúc nào mọi người cũng vui khi thắng xổ số. Người ta có thể đưa ra những quyết định sai lầm và và có những cuộc cãi vã tệ hại với gia đình và bạn bè.)
Tạm dịch:
Vào cuối tuần trước, đã có ai đó mua một tờ vé số, chọn hết tất cả các con số chính xác và thằng hang triệu đô. Thật may mắn làm sao! Hoặc không. Vào thập niên 70 của thế kỷ trước, các nhà khoa học tại Đại học Illinois đã nghiên cứu về những người thắng xổ số và so sánh mức độ hạnh phúc với những người khác. Kết quả thật thú vị. Những người thắng cuộc cảm thấy vui mừng trong một thời gian ngắn, nhưng ngay sau đó, mức độ hạnh phúc của họ quay lại ở mức bình thường. Một nghiên cứu tương tự thực hiện tại Đại học California năm 2008 cũng cho ra kết quả tương tự. Họ quan sát những người thắng xổ số sau 6 tháng sau chiến thắng của họ và thấy mức độ hạnh phúc hoàn toàn bình thường. Và với một vài người kém may mắn hơn. Một chiến thắng xổ số khổng lồ lại là sự khởi đầu của đa số những rắc rối sau đó. Ví dụ, Alex Toth, thắng 13 triệu đô trong năm 1990. Anh ta nghỉ việc, tiêu xài số tiền đó nhanh chóng, và có những cuộc cãi vã tệ hại với gia đình và bạn của anh ta.