Passage Two  Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:

The traditional two-parents family is fast giving way in the America of the 1980s to households in which one adult must juggle¹ the often enormous demands of making a living and raising children.

For many, single parenthood is synonymous with economic need. More than 3 million single-parent families live in poverty, according to the Census² Bureau, and joblessness, plus cuts in public assistance, has helped drive up the number of poor children in such families by about 20 percent in just three years.The biggest burden falls on households that are headed by single mothers. Nearly half of these families are below the poverty as“ the most compelling social fact ”of the last 10 years.

This deprivation³ is not only hard on its  for taxpayers⁴ since single women and their offspring receive 40 to 80 percent of the benefits in various welfare programs that cost the government a total of 40 billion dollars a year. Despite cuts in benefits averaging 10 percent, rising number of eligible⁵ women are likely to keep the overall cost up, according to economist⁶ Alice Rivlin, former director of the Congressional Budget office.

Fanning the single-parent spiral are two dramatic offshoots of the sexual revolution: divorce and unwed（未婚的） motherhood. The divorce rate has doubled in the last 15 years, and the number of illegitimate births has more than doubled to 700,000 annually⁷. One tenth of white children and more than one half of black children are now born out of wedlock⁸. What’s more, there is a strong tendency now for women and teenagers who have illegitimate children to keep them rather than put them up for adoption⁹.

Typical is Rufina Nera of Los Angeles.When she became pregnant at 15,abortion was never mentioned in her home.Instead,her mother encouraged her to have the child,says Nera,adding：“She even gave a baby shower for me.”

Now, Nera shares a crowded bedroom with her 2-year-old daughter as well as her sister. She holds no hope of help from the father, although she remarked during the only time he saw the child that she was prettier than his other illegitimate baby. Even so, Nera tries to keep her attention on two goals: moving into her own apartment and getting enough education to become a secretary or a nurse. Her first step along that path is attending Rarnona High School, an ”opportunity school“ where she and 110 other girls study while their babies are cared for in a nursery.

26.What effect does joblessness and cuts in public assistance have on children of single-parent families
A) Another 3 million of them live in poverty.
B) The number of them increased by about 20 percent in just three years.
C) The number of them increased by about 3 percent in the 1980s.
D) They were not affected¹⁰ at all.

27.How much money do single women and their children get from welfare programs every year
A) 40 to 80 billion dollars.
B) 16 to 40 billion dollars.
C) 32 to 40 billion dollars.
D) 16 to 32 billion dollars.

28.We can come to the conclusion that ____.
A) 60 percent of American children are now born illegitimately
B) at least 50 percent of black children are now born illegitimately in America
C) 60 percent of American children were born illegitimately in the 1960s
D) at least 60 percent of American children were born illegitimately in the 1960s

29.What will probably happen to most illegitimate children
A) They will be kept by their fathers.
B) They will be kept by their grandparents.
C) They will be kept by their mothers.
D) They will be adopted by someone else.

30.What does Nera do for the preparation for becoming a secretary or a nurse
A) She is working in a nursery.
B) She is moving into her own apartment.
C) She is studying in a high school.
D) She is asking help from the father.

内容概要:本文讨论的是二十世纪八十年代美国单亲家庭的问题。根据美国人口调查局的统计，有三百多万个单亲家庭的孩子生活在贫困中。这个问题不仅使单亲家庭自己受害，而且给纳税人增加了很大的负担，因为政府花在资助单亲家庭的各种福利支出每年达二、三百多亿美元。导致单亲家庭成上升趋势的是性革命的两个衍生物：离婚和未婚妈妈。当然，其后果就是非婚生子女的人数大幅员上升。

26．【答案】B。【译文】失业和公共资助的减少对单亲家庭的孩子有什么影响？【试题分析】细节推理题。【详细解答】这使得单亲家庭贫穷孩子的人数增加了约20%。短文第二段很清楚地讲到了这一点：...and joblessness, plus cuts in public assistance, has helped drive up the number of poor children in such families by about 20 percent in just three years.

27．【答案】D。【译文】单亲母亲及其孩子每年从福利项目中得到多少钱？【试题分析】细节推理题。【详细解答】每年福利项目的支出约为四百亿美元，她们得到了其中的百分之四十至八十，即十六亿至三十二亿美元。短文第四段明了地谈到了这一点：... since single women and their offspring receive 40 to 80 percent of the benefits in various welfare programs that cost the government a total of 40 billion dollars a year.

28．【答案】B。【译文】我们可以得出结论：现在美国黑人孩子中至少有百分之五十的是非婚生的。【试题分析】细节推理题。【详细解答】短文第五段很清楚地讲到了这一点：One tenth of white children and more than half of black children are now born out of wedlock. 这里的关键是要理解wedlock这个词，它的意思是“婚姻（状况）”，out of wedlock 就是illegitimately（私生的）。

29．【答案】C。【译文】大多数私生子会发生什么情况？【试题分析】细节推理题。【详细解答】他们将会由母亲抚养。短文第五段最后一句谈到了这一点： What’s more, there is a strong tendency now for women and teenagers who have illegitimate children to keep them rather than put them up for adoption.

30．【答案】C。【译文】为了准备当秘书或护士，Nera现在做什么？【试题分析】细节推理题。【详细解答】短文的最后两段举了Nera这样一个十五岁怀孕生子的未婚妈妈。最后一段谈到了她为了当秘书或护士在一所中学学习：Nera tries to keep her attention on two goals: moving into her own apartment and getting enough education to become a secretary or a nurse. Her first step along that path is attending Rarnona high school,...