A
体裁：议论文 主题：科学技术 难度：★★★★ 建议用时：9 min 正确率：/5
新素养·思维品质 ①Free time is rare in modern life. Just look around you. Aren’t the adults all busy with something? But why is that?
②Imagine yourself as a busy office worker. Now, you have a set of technology. It could make every part of your job easier. What would you do with all that extra time? Well, you would probably work the same amount(数量) of time as before, or even more. You doubt about this, don't you? But in fact, something similar happened in the USA in the 20th century—not in factories or offices, but in people's homes.
③American homes in the early 1900s weren't much different from those in the 1500s. There was no electricity. Most families had no water pipes. Family members had to carry every drop of water in and out of the house.
④Over the following years, many new appliances(家用电器) were made to save people's time. Modern toilets, fridges and washing machines made their way into more and more homes. However, none of them saved hours of work. In the 1920s, full-time housewives spent 51 hours a week doing housework. In the 1960s, they were working 53 hours.
⑤This may seem surprising, but the reasons are simple. Better technology leads to higher expectations, and higher expectations create more work. For example, before modern technology, most people washed their clothes only twice a year. Bad smell was unavoidable. Washing machines changed that. People began washing their clothes more often. And because it was easier to wash the clothes, people bought more shirts and dresses. As a result, housewives found themselves washing and drying more clothes.
⑥Technology has cut down the time it takes to cook a meal or wash a shirt. But it has not saved time for other housework, especially childcare. Since the 1980s, American parents have nearly doubled the amount of time they spend raising, teaching and driving their kids around town.
⑦Most of us can make our lives easier with modern technology. But instead of enjoying more rest time, we often find ourselves working more towards a better life. Without big changes in society's expectations, people will take on more work and never feel like enough.
1. To support his ideas, the writer mostly discusses American in the 20th century.
A. factory life B. office life C. school life D. home life
2. The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 5 refers to(指) “”.
A. people seldom washing their clothes B. people buying more shirts and dresses
C. people spending much time washing clothes D. housewives washing all of the family's clothes
3. How has the time American parents spend on childcare changed since the 1980s?
A. It has dropped. B. It has nearly doubled.
C. It has slightly risen. D. It has stayed about the same.
4. 新趋势·篇章结构 Which of the following shows the structure of this passage?
＞＞ 篇章结构题解题策略见 P119 重点精讲
A. ①/②/③④⑤⑥/⑦ B. ①/②③④⑤/⑥/⑦
C. ①②③④/⑤⑥/⑦ D. ①②③/④⑤⑥/⑦
5. What's the best title for this article?
A. More technology, less work! B. More technology, less work?
C. The technology behind less work D. The technology behind more work

【语篇解读】本文是一篇议论文，讨论了技术进步究竟是否减少了工作量。
1. D 细节理解题。根据“But in fact, something similar happened in the USA in the 20th century—not in factories or offices, but in people's homes.”可知作者通过讨论 20 世纪美国家庭生活中的技术对生活的影响来佐证自己的观点。故选 D。
2. A 代词指代题。根据“For example, before modern technology, most people washed their clothes only twice a year. Bad smell was unavoidable. Washing machines changed that.”可知改变的是人们很少洗衣服这一现象，that 指代“人们很少洗衣服”。故选 A。
3. B 细节理解题。根据“Since the 1980s, American parents have nearly doubled the amount of time they spend raising, teaching and driving their kids around town.”可知自 1980 年代以来，美国父母花在照料孩子上的时间几乎翻了一番。故选 B。
4. A 篇章结构题。①段引发读者思考；②段引入主题；③④⑤⑥段讲述科技影响生活的历史和现状；⑦段总结。故选 A。
5. B 标题归纳题。文章讨论了技术进步究竟是否减少了工作量，用“More technology, less work?”作为标题最合适。故选 B。