Although the women' s rights movement in the United States is thought of as a recent develop- ment, its beginnings date back over one hundred and seventy years. At that time women were de- pendents in the eyes of the law, and they did not have the rights of adults. A woman had no prop- erty rights, even over what she had got it from her mother or father or over any wages that she earned. Decisions about family matters and about the children were made by her husband, the"head of the family".
The first public protests(情愿) against the low position of women were made in the 1830s. In1848 the leaders of this movement( some of whom were for antislavery(反对奴隶制) activities as well) assembled the first Women's Rights Convention, demanding equality. In this struggle as well as,in the long, hard fight for women' s vote, those who took part in the activities were laughed at and insulted(侮辱) . They were said to be immoral( 违反伦理的 ), and their ideas were considered dangerous to society.
Nevertheless by 1900 women had won the right to vote in several states; and in 1920 the Nine- teenth Amendment to the Constitution granted them the right to vote throughout the United States. By the time man women were attending college, and increasing numbers were entering professions which had before been forbidden to women. A little number of women even held high academic and government positions. In spite of all this progress, "career women" were largely restricted ( 受限制 )to teaching, nursing, and office work.
The Women's Liberation movement, which developed during the 1960s,has focused on eco- nomic rights such as "equal pay for equal work". In addition some groups have stressed psycholo- gical and social equality. The main purpose of Women' s Liberation to free women from the re- stricted role which society has given to them. It seeks to enable them to choose between a career and the home or to choose the two. It claims that society as a whole would benefit if every person was allowed to develop his or her abilities and use them to the full. Women' s Liberation believes that the statement in the United States Declaration of Independence, "all men are created equal" real- ly means "all human beings are created equal".
1.We know from this passage thatover one hundred seventy years ago.
A. no women worked outside their homes
B. women were considered as children by the law
C. women cared nothing about how their family lives were
D. women were not allowed to decide how to spend their money or how to teach children
2. The underlined word "assemble" in the second paragraph probably means
A. to bring a group of people together in one place for a particular purpose
B. to make a public or official statement, especially about a plan, decision
C. to produce many copies of a book, magazine, or newspaper
D. not to take part in an e——ent or not to buy or use something as a protest
3. Which of the following statements is incorrect according to the passage?
A. Women did not have the right to vote before 1900.
B. Women had the right to vote throughout the country in 1920.
C. A little number of women held high academic and government positions in 1920.
D. "Career women" were largely restricted to some areas.
4. Which of the following is TRUE?
A.In the 1920s, women were limited to being teachers, nurses or office workers.
B. Women mainly paid their attention to how they were paid in the 1960s.
C. Women asked to change "all men are created equal" into "all human beings are created equal".
D. No states have ever provided women with jobs in the government.
篇章分析
本文是一篇议论文，介绍了美国妇女解放运动的发展及其社会意义。文章认为：妇女在社会中的发展不仅对妇女自身，而且对整个社会都有极大的意义。
答寨及解析
1.D
【题型】细节题
【解析】题干意为“从文章中我们可以知道170年前，美国的妇女是怎样的”。从文章的第一段最后一句话Decisions about family mattersand about the children were made by her husband.the‘head of thefamily’.可知，当时，美国的妇女根本没有权利过问家庭事务，甚至是孩子的抚养等问题。所以本题的正确答案为D。
