Passage Twenty- nine
This is supposed to be an enlightened age, but you wouldnt think of if you could heat what the average man thinks of the average woman/ Women won their independence years ago. After a long, bitter struggle, they now enjoy the same educational opportunities as men in most parts of the world. They have proved repeatedly that they are equal and often superior to men in almost every field. The hard-fought battle for recognition has been won, but it is by no means over. It is men, not women who still carry on the sex war because their attitude remains1 basically hostile. Even in the most progressive societies, women continue to be regarded as second-rate citizens. To hear some men talk, youd think that women belonged to a different species!
On the surface, the comments made by men about womens abilities seem light-hearted. The same tired jokes about women drivers are repeated day in, day out. This apparent light-heartedness dose not conceal2 the real contempt that men feel for women. However much men sneer3 at women, their claims to superiority are not borne out by statistics. Lets consider the matter of driving, for instance. We all know that women cause far fewer accidents than men. They are too conscientious4 and responsible to drive like maniacs5. But this is a minor6 quibble. Women have succeeded in any job you care to name. As politicians, soldiers, doctors, factory-hands, university professors, farmers, company directors, lawyers, bus-conductors, scientists and presidents of countries they have often put men to shame. And we must remember that they frequently succeed brilliantly in all these fields in addition to bearing and rearing children.
Yet men go on maintaining the fiction that there are many jobs women cant don Top-level political negotiation7 between countries, business and banking8 are almost entirely9 controlled by men, who jealously guard their so-called rights. Even in otherwise enlightened places like Switzerland women havent even been given the cote. This situation is preposterous10! The arguments that men put forward to exclude women from these fields are all too familiar. Women, they say, are unreliable and irrational11. They depend too little on cool reasoning and too much on intuition and instinct to arrive at decisions. They are not even capable of thinking clearly. Yet when women prove their abilities, men refuse to acknowledge them and give them their due. So much for a mans ability to think clearly!
The truth is that men cling to their supremacy12 because of their basic inferiority complex. They shun13 real competition. They know in their hearts that women are superior and they are afraid of being beaten at their own game. One of the most important tasks in the world is to achieve peace between the nations. You can be sure that if women were allowed to sit round the conference table, they would succeed brilliantly, as they always do, there men have failed for centuries. Some things are too important to be left to men!
1. What does the first sentence imply?
[A]. It is not really an enlightened age. [B]. It is different from an enlightened age.
[C]. It is the same as an enlightened age. [C]. It is like an enlightened age.
2. Why do men carry on the sex war against women?
[A]. Because of their inferiority. [B]. Because they shun real competition.
[C]. Because of their claim to supremacy. [D]. Because they still look down upon women.
3. The fiction is closest in meaning to
[A]. Novel. [B]. Man-made idea. [C]. False idea. [D]. Story.
4. What is the main argument men have raised against women?
[A]. Women are lack of cold reasoning. [B]. They depend on intuition too much.
[C]. They are unreliable and irrational. [C]. They are too still look down upon women.
Vocabulary
1. conscientious 认真的，真心实意的
2. maniac 疯狂的，疯子
3. preposterous 反常的，荒谬的
4. quibble 狡辩，摸棱两可
难句译注
1. the inferiority complex 自卑情绪，指一种由自悲感引起的复杂心理状况，对应词是the superiority complex 自高情绪
2. So much for a mans ability to think clearly! 这是对男性想了解能力的讽刺，译文应依据上下文而定。上文说到妇女甚至很难想得了解。可是当妇女证明她们有此能力时，男性拒否认。
[参考译文] 男性想了解的能力可真大啊。
3. But this is a minor quibble.
[参考译文] 这是一个小小的狡辩。
4. They have often put men to shame.
[参考译文] 她们常常使男性无地自容。
写作办法与文章大意
文章论及男性轻视妇女的问题。使用对比因果的手法写作。先提出妇女经过艰苦卓绝的斗争，取得了独立的胜利，得到了承认，可是斗争远没结束。由于男子继续在进行性别斗争。下面就从男女双方对比，也可以说，男方轻视妇女及其理由，女方据理反驳。最后作者指出男性轻视妇女的根本缘由是他们的自卑情绪。
答案祥解
1. A. 这确实不是一个启蒙年代。（1）这是第一句话语气和言词传递出来的内容。这个年代应该是一个启蒙时期，可是倘若你听到男性如何说女性的，你就不会这么觉得。（2）正篇文章也传递了这个信息。
B. 不同于启蒙时期。 C. 这个时候代跟启蒙年代一样。 D. 这个时候代象个启蒙时期。 这三项都不对。
2. C. 他们对至高无上权威的追求。答案在最后一段事实是因为男性们基本的自卑情绪，他们追求至高无上的权威。他们躲避真的的角逐。他们心里了解妇女比他们出色，因此他们害怕在他们我们的游戏中失利。
A. 由于他们自卑。 B. 由于他们躲避真的的角逐。 D. 由于他们仍然轻视妇女。
3. C. 错误看法。Fiction本意为虚构，此处上下文决定此义：可是男性们继续坚持这种错误的看法：有很多工作妇女干不了，两国高级政治谈判，商业和银行几乎全部为男性们所控制，他们忌妒地守卫着他们所谓的权利。
A. 小说。 D. 故事。 这是fiction两种基本含义，这里不对。 B. 人为思想。文中没这种意义。
4. C. 他们不可信，不理智。答案见第三段他们把妇女排除这类范围以外，所提出的论点是（大家都知道）老调重弹。他们说妇女不可信，不理智。在做决定时，太依靠于直觉和本能。冷静得推理太少。
A. 他们缺少冷静的推理。 B. 他们太依靠于直觉，这两项只不过本段中用以讲解不可信，不理智的。 D. 他们太认真。这是在第二段总提到的内容大家都了解妇女引起的交通事故比男性少得多，她们很认真负责不会像发疯似的开车。
