The radical transformation of the Soviet society had a profound impact on women's lives. Marxists had traditionally believed that both capitalism and the middle-class husbands exploited women. The Russian Revolution of 1917 immediately proclaimed complete equality of rights for women. In the 1920s divorce and abortion were made easily available, and women were urged to work outside the home and liberate themselves sexually. After Stalin came to power, sexual and familial liberation was played down, and the most lasting changes for women involved work and education.

These changes were truly revolutionary. Young women were constantly told that they had to be equal to men, that they could and should do everything men could do. Peasant women in Russia had long experienced the equality of backbreaking physical labor in the countryside, and they continued to enjoy that equality on collective farms. With the advent of the five-year-plans, millions of women also began to toil in factories and in heavy construction, building dams, roads and steel mills in summer heat and winter frost. Most of the opportunities open to men through education were also open to women. Determined women pursued their studies and entered the ranks of the better-paid specialists in industry and science. Medicine practically became a woman's profession. By 1950, 75 percent of doctors in the Soviet Union were women.

Thus Stalinist society gave woman great opportunities but demanded great sacrifices as well. The vast majority of women simply had to work outside the home. Wages were so law that it was almost impossible for a family or couple to live only on the husband's earnings. Moreover, the fun-time working woman had a heavy burden of household tasks in her off hours, for most Soviet men in the 1930s still considered the home and the children the woman's responsibility. Men continued to monopolize the best jobs. Finally, rapid change and economic hardship led to many broken families, creating further physical, emotional, and mental strains for women. In any event, the often-neglected human resource of women was mobilized in Stalinist society.

52. The main idea of this passage is that women in Stalinist society ______.

A) had economic opportunities that had never been available before

B) had difficulty balancing their work and family responsibilities

C) had new opportunities but also many hardships

D) moved quickly into the highest levels of government

53. In the last paragraph, "monopolize" probably means ______.

A) hold       B) earn       C) leave       D) pay

54. The author's main purpose in writing this passage is to ______.

A) compare different systems of government

B) tell stories about women in Soviet Union

C) amuse the reader

D) provide information

55. The author's tone in this passage can best be described as ______.

A) disapproving     B) emotional

C) objective          D) sympathetic

56. We can conclude that the economic and social status of women in Stalinist society ______.

A) had been improved

B) was worse than before

C) had not Changed much

D) was better than that in capitalistic countries

 

参考答案：52--56 CADCA

解析：

52.主旨题。文章第一段作者提出话题，苏联的根本性社会变革对女性的生活产生了深刻的影响。第二段作者描述了这些变化：女性获得了参与各种工作和受教育的同等机会，甚至进入了一些专业领域。第三段作者指出，女性在获得机会的同时电不得不付出巨大的代价。因此，纵观全文，作者既写到了变革带给女性的机会，电提到了她们面对的困难。故正确答案为C项。

53.词义推断题。第三段作者陈述了变革后女性面对的各种困境。女性参与工作导致工资水平下降。这又反过来迫使她们不得不出去工作，补充丈夫的收入来养家，但女性还得同时兼顾家庭。除此之外，在工作方面，男性继续垄断了好的工作机会。因此，这里和“monopolize”意思最为接近的是“hold”，故答案为A项。

54.写作目的题。结合第一题主旨题可以看出作者写作此文不是为了娱乐读者(选项C)，也不是在讲故事(选项B)，更没有比较不同的政府体制(选项A)，作者只陈述了苏联社会变革对女性的生活产生了深刻的影响，是属于提供信息，故答案为D项。

55.文章基调(作者态度)题。作者既陈述了变革给女性带来的机会，也写到她们由此不得不做出的牺牲。因此，作者客观地提供信息，文章基调是客观的。故正确答案为C项。

56.推断题。文章第二段指出变革赋予女性和男性平等的权利。她们可以从事同样的工作，接受相同的教育，通过努力同样进人专业领域。尽管第三段提到她们由此也不得不付出很大的代价，但我们可以推断，和过去相比，女性的经济和社会地位还是有所提高的。故正确答案为A项。 

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