四级复习资料大全阅读(12)

　　Passage 2

　　It is not often realized that women held a high place in southern European societies in the 10th and 11th centuries. As a wife, the woman was protected by the setting up of a dowry or decimum. Admittedly, the purpose of this was to protect her against the risk of being abandoned, but in reality its function in the social and family life of the time was much more important. The decimum was the wifes right to receive a tenth of all her husbands property. The wife had the right to hold back consent, in all transactions the husband would make. And more than just a right: the documents show that she enjoyed a real power of decision, equal to that of her husband. In no case do the documents indicate any degree of difference in the legal status of husband and wife.

　　The wife shared in the management of her husbands personal property, but the opposite was not always true. Women seemed perfectly prepared to defend their own inheritance against husbands who tried to exceed their rights, and on occasion they showed a fine fighting spirit. A case in point is that of Maria Vivas, a Catalan woman of Barcelona. Having agreed with her husband Miro to sell a field she had inherited, for the needs of the household, she insisted on compensation. None being offered, she succeeded in dragging her husband to the official in charge to have a contract as expected drawn up assigning her a piece of land from Miros personal inheritance. The unfortunate husband was obliged to agree, as the contract says, for the sake of peace. Either through the dowry or through being hot-tempered, the Catalan wife knew how to win herself, within the context of the family, a powerful economic position.

　　6. A decimum was ________.

　　the wifes inheritance from her father

　　a gift of money to the new husband

　　a written contract

　　the wifes right to receive one-tenth of her husbands property

　　7. In the society described in the passage, the legal standing of the wife in marriage was ________.

　　higher than that of her husband

　　lower than that of her husband

　　the same as that of her husband

　　higher than that of a single woman

　　8. What compensation did Maria Vivas get for the field?

　　Some of the land Miro had inherited

　　A tenth of Miros land.

　　Money for household expenses.

　　Money from Miros inheritance.

　　9. Could a husband sell his wifes inheritance?

　　No, under no circumstances.

　　Yes, whenever he wished to.

　　Yes, if she agreed.

　　Yes, if his father-in-law agreed.

　　10. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an effect of the dowry system?

　　The husband had to share the power of decision in marriage.

　　The wife was protected from being abandoned.

　　The wife gained a powerful economic position.

　　The husband was given control over his wifes property