Listen to the following passage. Write in English a short summary of around 150-200 words of what you have heard. You will hear

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问题 Listen to the following passage. Write in English a short summary of around 150-200 words of what you have heard. You will hear the passage only once and then you will have 25 minutes to finish your summary. This part of the test carries 20 points. You may need to scribble a few notes to write your summary.
Until yesterday and for most women even today, every wife becomes a housewife. And this is not always a congenial role.
    Statistics show that a generation ago only about a third of the girls among high school graduates displayed interest in the domestic arts, and even fewer — less than a fifth — among college women. The figures would doubtless be less today. A fairly large number of women are drawn into housework as an occupation by marriage, in spite of an absence of positive interest. Coming to terms with domesticity is not the least of the housewife’s trauma, however much the sheer drudgery of housework has been alleviated. Housekeeping remains an uncongenial occupation to many women.
    I remember what Philip Slater once said " The housewife is nobody". Her work is menial labor. And the unpaid nature of her job is even more status-degrading. Few deny the economic as well as the sociological importance of housework. Housework is part of the great infrastructure on which, as David Riesman has reminded us, the entire superstructure of the economy and the government rests. If women did not supply the services of taking care of the living arrangements of workers, industry would have to do so, as in the case of lumber camps, ships, and the military. But housewives are not in the labor force. They are not paid for the services that they perform.
    Housework is a dead-end job; there is no chance of promotion. One cannot grow in it. Not only does the wife not grow but the non-specialized and detailed nature of housework may actually have a deteriorating effect on her mind.  Since her husband’s work is highly competitive and thus more prestigious, the wife is often left to feel inadequate.
    The difference in the work of wives and husbands has other alienating effects on the relationship also. They do not share the same kinds of problems.
    As life is now organized in small, private living units, housework is isolating. Isolation has negative psychological effects on people. It encourages brooding; it leads to erratic judgments, and it renders one more susceptible to psychoses. It also heightens one’s sense of powerlessness. Anything, therefore, that increases isolation constitutes a hazard.
    On the other hand, while it is true that not all girls may display a positive interest in housework, or in bringing up children, it is also true that not many men display similar interests before marriage.
    It is argued that, in most Western societies at least, housekeeping is no longer menial drudgery or a form of unpaid labour for whoever does the work. Most homes are relatively easy to maintain and to run.
    If the woman chooses to work more at home, or entirely in the home, as some choose to do, or as is the custom in some societies, then her share of the bargain is reasonable. She is the boss in her own four walls. She has no one to tell her what to do. She has no anxieties over reaching a higher rank and a higher salary and no fear of unemployment. A comfortable home is much less a cul-de-sac than a tunnel in a mine or a remorseless assembly line. How can she experience any reduction in status if her work is needed and is appreciated by her husband and children? And if the wife argues that her work at home is uninteresting, she should not forget that few workers, male or female, outside the home find every aspect of their work to their taste.
    As for the complaint that the domestic work in one’s own home is unpaid labour, it could be argued that whoever works in the home on a full-time basis, the husband or the wife, does not normally have to earn the money to buy food, or clothes, and pay the rent.
    The enjoyment of the children, the marriage relationship, the wider network of family and friends, and the respect given by society through intangible rewards, are of greater value than cash.
    The person who runs the home is the master of the immediate environment, and is free to plan the daily routine to allow for time off, or for reading, or cultural and social activities, much more so than the worker in a factory or office.
    Thus, any housewife who is easily affected by a sense of injustice about the traditional occupation of wife, home-builder and mother, might well ask herself whether she is more imprisoned in her role than the working woman is imprisoned in hers, which is to provide food, shelter and financial security and also contribute to running the home and bringing up children after a hard day’s work.

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答案 Until yesterday and for most women even today, every wife becomes a housewife. And this is not always a congenial role. Statistics show that a generation ago only about a third of the girls among high school graduates displayed interest in the domestic arts, and even fewer — less than a fifth — among college women. The figures would doubtless be less today. A fairly large number of women are drawn into housework as an occupation by marriage, in spite of an absence of positive interest. Coming to terms with domesticity is not the least of the housewife’s trauma, however much the sheer drudgery of housework has been alleviated. Housekeeping remains an uncongenial occupation to many women. I remember what Philip Slater once said, " The housewife is a nobody. " Her work is menial labor. And the unpaid nature of her job is even more status-degrading. Few deny the economic as well as the sociological importance of housework. Housework is part of the great infrastructure on which, as David Riesman has reminded us, the entire superstructure of the economy and the government rests. If women did not supply the services of taking care of the living arrangements of workers, industry would have to do so, as in the case of lumber camps, ships, and the military. But housewives are not in the labor force. They are not paid for the services that they perform. Housework is a dead-end job; there is no chance of promotion. One cannot grow in it Not only does the wife not grow but the non-specialized and detailed nature of housework may actually have a deteriorating effect on her mind. Since her husband’s work is highly competitive and thus more prestigious, the wife is often left to feel inadequate. The difference in the work of wives and husbands has other alienating effects on the relationship also. They do not share the same kinds of problems. As life is now organized in small, private living units, housework is isolating. Isolation has negative psychological effects on people. It encourages brooding; it leads to erratic judgments, and it renders one more susceptible to psychoses. It also heightens one’s sense of powerlessness. Anything, therefore, that increases isolation constitutes a hazard. On the other hand, while it is true that not all girls may display a positive interest in housework, or in bringing up children, it is also true that not many men display similar interests before marriage. It is argued that, in most Western societies at least, housekeeping is no longer menial drudgery or a form of unpaid labour for whoever does the work. Most homes are relatively easy to maintain and to run. If the woman chooses to work more at home, or entirely in the home, as some choose to do, or as is the custom in some societies, then her share of the bargain is reasonable. She is the boss in her own four walls. She has no one to tell her what to do. She has no anxieties over reaching a higher rank and a higher salary and no fear of unemployment. A comfortable home is much less a cul-de-sac than a tunnel in a mine or a remorseless assemblyline. How can she experience any reduction in status if her work is needed and is appreciated by her husband and children? And if the wife argues that her work at home is uninteresting, she should not forget that few workers, male or female, outside the home find every aspect of their work to their taste. As for the complaint that the domestic work in one’s own home is unpaid labour, it could be argued that whoever works in the home on a full-time basis, the husband or the wife, does not normally have to earn the money to buy food, or clothes, and pay the rent. The enjoyment of the children, the marriage relationship, the wider network of family and friends, and the respect given by society through intangible rewards, are of greater value than cash. The person who runs the home is the master of the immediate environment, and is free to plan the daily routine to allow for time off, or for reading, or cultural and social activities, much more so than the worker in a factory or office. Thus, any housewife who is easily affected by a sense of injustice about the traditional occupation of wife, home-builder and mother, might well ask herself whether she is more imprisoned in her role than the working woman is imprisoned in hers, which is to provide food, shelter and financial security and also contribute to running the home and bringing up children after a hard day’s work.

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