2009安徽高考英语＂任务型读写题＂专项训练

　　9

　　At the beginning of the twentieth century, many people thought that the American family was falling apart. A century later, we know that this was not the case. However, although the family is still alive in the United States, its size and shape were very different 100 years ago.

　　In the late 1800s and early 1900s, there were mainly two types of families in the United States: the extended and the nuclear. The extended family usually includes grandparents, parents, and children living under the same roof. The nuclear family consists of only parents and children.

　　Today there are many different kinds of families. Some people live in traditional families, that is, a stay-home mother, a working father, and their own biological children. Others live in two-paycheck families, single-parent families, adoptive or foster, families, blended families (where men and women who were married before marry again and combine the children from previous marriages into the new families），child less families, and so on.

　　What caused the structure of the family to change? In the early 1900s the birthrate began to fall and the divorce rate began to rise. Women were suddenly choosing to go to college and take jobs outside the home. In the 1930s and 1940s, many families faced serious financial, or money problems during the Great Depression, when many people lost their jobs. During World War II（1939-1945)，5 million women were left alone to take care of their homes and their children. Because many men were at war, thousands of these war widows had to go to work outside their home.

　　During the next ten years, the situation changed. There were fewer divorces, and people married at a younger age and had more children than the previous generation. It was unusual for a mother to work outside the home during the years when her children were growing tip. Families began leaving cities and moving into single-family homes in the suburbs. The traditional family seemed to be returning.

　　In the years between 1960s and 1990s, there were many important changes in the structure of the family. From the 1960s to the early 1970s, the divorce rate doubled and the birthrate fell by half. The number of single-parent families tripled, and the number of couples living together without being married doubled again. In fact, the single-parent household, once unusual, has replaced the traditional family as the typical family in the States. If we can judge from history, however, this will probably change again in the twenty-first century.

　　The Changes of the American Family

Main comparisons

Contexts

Different___1____

There were two __2___ types of families in the past, ___3____, the extended and the nuclear.

Nowadays __4___types of families can be seen than before.

Changes in different ___5_____.

In the 1900s and 1940s

Many of the women had to work outside due to the __6___of money., thus causing the fall of __7__and the rise of divorce rate.

In the 1950s

Divorce rate slided and there were more children . The families tended to be ___8___ again.

In the years between 1960s and 1990s

Different types of familes__9____. Traditional families are no longer the typical ones in America.

A trend worth noting

Authors opinion on changes

The present structure is ___10____; it will experience changes again in the near future.

　　1. kinds/ types 2. main 3. namely 4. more 5.periods 6. lack 7. birthrate 8. fewer 9. occurred 10. temporary

　　10

　　The family sphere(范围) used to be defined by its isolation from the public realm. There was the public male realm（领域）of rational accomplishment and cruel competition, and the private female and child-rearing sphere of home, intuition（直觉）and emotion. The private realm was supposed to be isolated from the realities of adult life. For both better and worse, television and other electronic media tend to break down the difference between those two worlds. The membrane around the family sphere is much more permeable(可渗透的). TV takes public events and transforms them into dramas that are played out in the privacy of our living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms.

　　Parents used to be the channel through which children learned about the outside world. They could decide what to tell their children and when to tell it to them. Since children learn to read in stages, books provide a kind of natural screening process, where adults can decide what to tell and not tell children of different reading abilities. Television destroyed the system that separated adult from child knowledge and separated information into year-by-year slices for children of different ages. Instead, it presents the same information directly to children of all ages, without going through adult filters.

　　So television presents a real challenge to adults. While a parent can read a newspaper without sharing it with children in the same room, television is accessible to everyone in that space. And unlike books, television doesn't allow us to flip（翻转）through it and see what's coming up. We may think we're giving our children a lesson in science by having them watch the Challenger take off, and then suddenly they learn about death, disaster and adult mistakes.

　　Books allow adults to discuss privately what to tell or not tell children. This also allows parents to keep adult material secret from children and keep their secret keeping secret. Take that same material and put it on The Today Show and you have 800,000 children hearing the very things the adults are trying to keep from them. Television takes our kids across the globe before parents give them permission to cross the street.

　　More importantly, children gradually learn that adults are worried and anxious about being parents. Actually, television has also places families under a lot of stress.

　　How Television Changes Childhood?

Main comparisons

Contexts

Distance between ___1__and the outside.

Homes used to be isolated from the ___2___realm.

Homes nowadays are __3__to the outside world.

Media through which children can obtain information

In the past, children might learn __4__about the outside world with the help of parents and ___5___.

More information is got directly through TV and other electronic media, which breaks down the __6___ between adult world and the child world.

_____7___ of the information children get

Traditionally, kids could only knew what they should learn at their age, carefully___8___by their parents.

Everything can possibly be known by children, including many aspects of _____ life.

Effects on family education

Parental instruction

Families are now under greater stress than before. Adults are anxious about being parents and faced with new __10_____.

1. Homes 2. public 3.connected 4.indirectly 5.books 6.difference 7. Content 8. decided/ chosen 9.adult 10. challenges

　　11

　　Some people believe that greed and selfishness has become the basis of modern society, and we should return to the old traditions of family and community then we will have a better life. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above opinion?

　　In this fast-paced world, many values are undergoing major changes. While people traditionally prioritize caring, sharing and generosity in life and work, modern people seem to be more self-absorbed and self-concerned.

　　Modern people act selfishly to survive the harsh competition of life. They say that it is a jungle out there. To survive, you have to fight with whatever means that come handy. Obviously greedy and selfishness go perfectly well with such ideas. In a company, employees do everything they can to get better pay and higher position, even at the cost of colleagues. We are in any way advocating any selfish conduct. It is just that people are pressured to act in a certain way due to outside influences.

　　In spite of common practice, it is hard to conclude that modern society is built on greed and selfishness, both of which are not newly invented vocabulary. In ancient times people also did greedy and selfish things though such behaviors were more condemned then. But we can not ignore the fact that people in the past lived a relatively more isolated life and faced less pressure compared with their modern counterparts.

　　Are we happier to share with others and be generous to them? There is no fixed answer either. Some people take great pleasure helping and giving to others while others feel happy doing the opposite. But I personally think that people should not be too selfish. Caring for others can actually encourage the development of a mutually beneficial relationship.

　　In conclusion, modern people appear to be more self-centered than those in the past due to strong outside pressure. However, we should encourage people to know the importance of being caring and generous and to build a mutually beneficial relationship with others.

　　Are Modern People Becoming More Selfish?

Main comparisons

Contexts

__1__ are changing

In the past people put caring, sharing and generosity in the first ____2____.

Nowadays, people seem to be more ____3____about themselves.

___4___are changing too.

People in the past appeared to be modest and self-effacing(谦让的).

People may strive to achieve their own __5___ at the price of their coworkers.

The authors understanding

___6____ for the changes in authors eyes

Fierce __7___ and great __8___on modern people may be responsible for the changes.

The authors ___9____towards topic

A relationship which can ___10___ two sides should be established.

1.Values 2. place 3. concerned 4. Behaviors 5. goals 6. Reasons 7. competition 8. pressure 9. attitudes 10. benefit

　　12

　　Traditionally, customers may consider more about what they buy the product for. However, the image of product and the consuming circumstance have become the key points to attract customer awareness and stimulate their buying needs. Frequently, customers buy goods just because they are cute, lovely and unique. With a less emphasis on functional utilities, the experience and imaginative space are placed into an increasingly important role. The image of product is emphasized, as well as the communication between products and consumers. 　　Customer behavior, which appears to be focused and directed at the object and at pleasure, in fact responds to quite different objectives: displaced expression of desire, and the production of a code of social values through the use of differential signs(Baudrillard) . The reason for image-oriented customer behavior is probably that customers lifestyle has been continuously virtualized by paying much attention to Virtual Reality. The evidences can be traced from computer games and Hollywood movies, in which customers preference for fleeing reality is perfectly matched.

　　This change requires us to take efforts to enhance product image by integrating style, color, taste, shape and material, and communicate with customers creatively, imaginatively and innovatively, and enable them to enjoy the distinctive experience image brings. [A] need is not a need for a particular object as much as it is a need for difference ( Baudrillard). The typical example is Apple Computers IMAC, which has strong visual impact and outstanding dynamics. By this way, customer relationship can be set up through image, and brand can be treated as living that can transform people. Other examples commonly used are Disney Fairyland and Las Vegas, where new experience and imagination are fully demonstrated. In sum, consumption is negotiation, a never-ending conversation held in the languages of advertising, packaging, branding, fashion, and entertainment.

　　More Attention to the Image of Product

Main comparisons

Contexts

Different aspects ____1____about by people when they are shopping.

In the past, people think more about the __2__of the goods.

People today are more easily ___3____by the ___4___ of product and the buying atmosphere.

Different ____5__ to promote sales

Traditionally, producers may focus more on the functional utilities of goods.

Nowadays, product image should be __6___and there should be more effective ___7____with customers.

More details worth noticing

The___8___ for image-centered behavior

Influenced by computer games and Hollywood movies, peoples ___9____is virtualized.

___10_____are given to prove the importance of image

Apple Computers IMAC/ Disney Fairyland/ Las Vegas

1.concerned/ cared 2. use/ function 3. attracted 4.image 5. ways 6. stressed 7.communication 8. reason 9. lifestyle 10. Examples