第四大类： 社会问题类（上）

1. 青少年犯罪的概念

段落大意：青少年犯罪指18岁以下青少年犯罪。

Juvenile (青少年) Crime, in law, refers to various offenses committed by children or youths under the age of 18. Such acts are sometimes referred to as juvenile delinquency (少年犯罪). Children’s offenses typically include delinquent acts, which would be considered crimes if committed by adults, and status offenses, which are less serious misbehavior such as truancy (逃学) and parental disobedience. Both are within the jurisdiction (管辖范围) of the juvenile court. More serious offenses committed by minors may be tried in criminal court and be subject to prison sentences.

2. 青少年犯罪的动机

段落大意：有犯罪动机的违法行为才构成犯罪。长期以来，人们认为14岁以下儿童没有犯罪动机。这一说法现在受到质疑。

Under Anglo-American (英美的) law, a crime is an illegal act committed by a person who has criminal intent (动机). A long-standing presumption held that, although a person of almost any age can commit a criminal act, children under 14 years old were unlikely to have criminal intent. Many juvenile courts have now discarded this so-called infancy defense and have found that delinquent acts can be committed by children of any age.

3. 美国的青少年犯罪

段落大意：公众对青少年犯罪的关注度日益增长。过去的青少年犯罪涉及各种严重犯罪；现在，青少年犯罪中的轻度犯罪比例呈上升趋势。

The public appears to be much more aware of juvenile crime today than in the past; this is due in part to more thorough reporting techniques and greater emphasis on publicizing delinquent acts in the media. Official U.S. crime reports in the 1980s showed that about one-fifth of those arrested for crimes are under 18 years of age. In the 1970s, juvenile arrests increased in almost every serious crime category, and female juvenile crime more than doubled. During the recent five years, juvenile arrests have decreased slightly each year. Unofficial reports, however, suggest that a higher percentage of juveniles are involved in minor criminal behavior. Grossly underreported common offenses include vandalism (破坏公物), shoplifting (商店行窃), underage drinking, and using marijuana (大麻).

4. 青少年犯罪多为团伙作案

段落大意：大多数青少年犯罪为团伙作案。犯罪团伙成员一般具有不稳定的性格。

Official records indicate that much juvenile crime is a group or gang (团伙) activity. Juvenile gangs are typically classified as violent, delinquent and social. Members of violent gangs sometimes have unstable personalities. Disputes center on territory or gang warfare and are assaultive (武力的), often involving deadly weapons. While group violence is sanctioned (批准), individual violence is discouraged. The delinquent gang is a small cohesive (团结的) group developed to carry out criminal acts, such as petty thievery (小偷小摸) and robbery. Although violence may be used, the primary goal is material gain. The social gang is a relatively permanent group of youths. In contrast to the common characterization of gang-generated crime, however, studies often reveal that youth crime is a personal, independent effort not directly related to group activity.

5. 青少年犯罪的诱因

段落大意：青少年犯罪一般是由于个人因素或社会影响。如果先前的违法行为未得到足够的惩处，则会导致继续犯罪。与社会疏离的人更容易犯罪。如果青少年无法成功提升自己的社会经济地位，或对中产阶级价值观持对抗态度，也会导致犯罪。

Many theories concerning the causes of juvenile crime focus either on the individual or on society as the major contributing influence. Theories centering on the individual suggest that children engage in criminal behavior because they were not sufficiently penalized (惩罚) for previous delinquent acts or that they have learned criminal behavior through interaction with others. A person who becomes socially alienated (疏离) may be more inclined to commit a criminal act. Theories focusing on the role of society in juvenile delinquency suggest that children commit crimes in response to their failure to improve their socio-economic conditions, or as disapproval of middle-class values.

6. 家庭对青少年犯罪的影响

段落大意：贫穷家庭和富裕家庭的孩子都有可能犯罪。缺少家长控制、无法及时取得成年人身份、有享乐倾向——这些因素都会导致富裕家庭的孩子犯罪。

Most theories of juvenile delinquency have focused on children from disadvantaged families, ignoring the fact that children from affluent homes also commit crimes. The latter may commit crimes because of the lack of adequate parental control, delays in achieving adult status, and hedonistic (享乐) tendencies. All theories, however, are tentative (试验性的) and are subject to criticism.

7. 社会结构变化对青少年犯罪的影响

段落大意：社会结构变化会影响青少年犯罪率。经济变化导致青年人的就业机会减少，由此引发的不满可能会导致犯罪。

Changes in the American social structure may indirectly affect juvenile crime rates. For example, changes in the economy that leads to fewer job opportunities for youth and rising unemployment in general, make gainful employment increasingly difficult for young people to obtain. The resulting discontent may in turn lead more youths into criminal behavior.

8. 家庭变化和学校对青少年犯罪的影响

段落大意：家庭变化，如单亲家庭，使孩子受不到足够的家庭监护。缺少家长监护会导致青少年犯罪。学校里的挫折和失败、毒品和酒精的滥用、虐待和忽略儿童——这些都是导致青少年犯罪的因素。

Families have also experienced changes in the last 25 years. More families consist of one-parent households or two working parents; consequently, children are likely to have less supervision at home than in the traditional family structure. This lack of parental supervision is thought to be an influence on juvenile crime rates. Other identifiable (可确认的) causes of delinquent acts include frustration or failure in school, the increased availability of drugs and alcohol, and the growing incidence of child abuse and child neglect. All these conditions tend to increase the probability of a child committing a criminal act, although a direct causal relationship has not yet been established.

9. 青少年犯罪的处置I：社区处置

段落大意：对青少年犯罪的处置有四大方法：社区处置、居所处置、非居所社区处置和专门机构收容。社区处置对犯罪孩子实行缓刑，但其必须受到青少年法庭官员的监控，并遵守特殊约定。

The juvenile justice system tries to treat and rehabilitate (改造) youngsters who are involved in delinquency. The methods can be categorized as community treatment, residential treatment (居所处置), nonresidential community treatment (非居所社区处置), and institutionalization (机构收容). In most cases community treatment involves placing the child on probation (察看). When the child is believed to be not harmful to others, he or she is placed under the supervision of an officer of the juvenile court and must abide by the specific rules that are worked out between the officer and the child. In some instances community treatment also takes the form of restitution (赔偿), in which the child reimburses (偿还) the victim either through direct payment or through some form of work or public service.

10. 青少年犯罪的处置II：居所处置和非居所社区处置

段落大意：居所处置包括犯罪青少年群居、为其提供的心理和职业指导，以及森林营地或劳教农场。非居所社区处置指犯罪青少年居住在家中，同时接受心理健康治疗等服务。

Residential treatment generally takes place in a group home (教养所) where the juvenile is provided with psychological and vocational counseling. Other forms of residential treatment include rural programs such as forest camps and work farms (劳改农场). Youngsters placed in nonresidential community-based treatment programs do not reside at the facility. Instead they live at home and receive treatment from mental health clinics or similar services.

11. 青少年犯罪的处置III：专门机构收容

段落大意：专门机构收容是对青少年犯罪者最严厉的处置手段。犯罪青少年被监禁在专门机构中，并被限制自由。专门机构负责犯罪青少年的辅导、教育、娱乐、食宿和其他日常活动。

Institutionalization is the most severe punishment for juvenile offenders. The child is incarcerated (监禁) in a secure facility and denied freedom to come and go in the community. The institution is responsible for the child’s counseling (劝告), education, recreation, room and board, and other daily activities.

12. 青少年犯罪处置方式的有效性

段落大意：处置方式的有效性是通过累犯率来衡量的。所有处置方式的累犯率都相同。

No specific treatment has been proven the most effective form. Effectiveness is typically measured by recidivism (累犯) rates, that is, by the percentage of children treated who subsequently commit additional criminal acts. The recidivism rates for all forms of treatment, however, are about the same. That a large percentage of delinquent acts are never discovered further complicates this measurement. Thus, an absence of subsequent reported delinquent acts by a treated child may mean nothing more than that the child was not caught.

13. 不同国家青少年犯罪率的比较

段落大意：不同国家青少年犯罪率的比较受到国家司法体系、犯罪形式、犯罪报告方式等因素的限制。然而，有些相似性是很明显的。

Comparisons of the juvenile crime rates in various countries are severely limited by wide variations in national legal systems, categories of criminal behavior, and methods of reporting crimes. Certain similarities are apparent, however. For example, Canadian, Australian, and European criminal studies show the actual number of crimes to be several times those known to the authorities. According to one study in Finland, the larcenies (盗窃罪) known to the police were only 5 percent of the total that occurred. Also, homicide (杀人) rates in France, Spain, and the United Kingdom are far lower than those in such countries as the United States and Mexico.

14. 父母与孩子的法定关系

段落大意：父母与孩子的法定关系规定：父母双方均为孩子的监护人；离婚或分居后任一方家长均可作为孩子的监护人；父母必须为孩子提供生活必需品，如食物、衣物、住所、教育和医护；身体或精神虐待孩子的父母会受到法律制裁。

The legal relationships of parent and child established under common law have been modified by statute (成文法) in Britain and the U.S. In general, such statutes provide (规定) that a married woman is a joint guardian of her children with her husband, with equal powers, rights, and duties. Either parent has the right to custody of the children of the marriage. In a divorce or separation, the court can award custody to the parent best qualified and able to care for the children. Parents must provide for their children such necessities of life as food, clothing, shelter, education, and medical care, and if they cannot or will not, state laws authorize intervention by designated authorities to ensure that children’s needs are met. Children who are physically or emotionally abused by their parents may be the subject (对象) of legal action in order to protect the children. Parents’ rights to custody of their children may be limited or, in extreme cases, terminated (终结) because of failure to provide adequate care. Laws require a father to support his minor children if he is able to do so, whether or not he has ever been married to their mother. Failure to provide support may result in civil or criminal proceedings against him. If paternity (父亲的身份) has been admitted or established, laws permit children to inherit from their father’s estate unless specifically excluded in his will.

15. 家庭暴力

段落大意：家庭暴力指家庭成员间发生的身体或情感伤害行为，包括配偶间暴力、虐待儿童、虐待老人等。

Family violence refers to physically or emotionally harmful acts between individuals in families or in intimate relationships. The term “family violence” covers a wide range of behaviors and includes domestic violence (sometimes referred to as spouse abuse), child abuse, and abuse of the elderly. Violence between adult partners can include threats and coercion (胁迫), physical and sexual assault, and murder. Child abuse ranges from physical or sexual assault to neglect of a child’s basic needs. Violence toward the elderly may involve physical, psychological, or financial abuse or neglect.

16. 虐待儿童

段落大意：虐待儿童指导致儿童身体或情感伤害的有意行为。虐待儿童是主要社会问题之一。不同国家对虐待儿童评判的标准各不相同。

Child abuse refers to intentional acts that result in physical or emotional harm to children. The term “child abuse” covers a wide range of behavior, from actual physical assault by parents or other adult caretakers to neglect of a child’s basic needs. Child abuse is also sometimes called child maltreatment. Although the extent of child abuse is difficult to measure, it is recognized as a major social problem, especially in industrialized nations. It occurs in all income, racial, religious, and ethnic groups and in urban and rural communities. It is, however, more common in some groups, especially those below the poverty line. Cultures around the world have different standards in deciding what constitutes child abuse. In Sweden, for example, the law prohibits any physical punishment of children, including spanking (掌掴). By contrast, in some countries of Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, parents are expected to punish their children by hitting them.

17. 虐待儿童的行为种类

段落大意：虐待儿童的行为包括身体虐待、情感虐待等。

There are several different types of child abuse, and some children experience more than one type. Physical abuse includes deliberate acts of violence that injure or even kill a child. Unexplained bruises, broken bones, or burn marks on a child may be signs of physical abuse. Sexual abuse occurs when adults use children for sexual gratification or expose them to sexual activities. Sexual abuse may begin with kissing or fondling（爱抚） and progress to more intrusive sexual acts, such as oral sex and vaginal (阴道的) or anal (肛门的) penetration. Emotional abuse destroys a child’s self-esteem. Such abuse commonly includes repeated verbal abuse of a child in the form of shouting, threats, and degrading or humiliating criticism. Other types of emotional abuse are confinement, such as shutting a child in a dark closet, and social isolation, such as denying a child’s friends.

18. 最常见的虐待儿童行为：忽略

段落大意：最常见的虐待儿童行为是忽略，包括身体忽略——即父母没有提供足够的食物、衣物等，情感忽略以及教育忽略等。

The most common form of child abuse is neglect. Physical neglect involves a parent’s failure to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care to a child. It may also include inadequate supervision and a consistent failure to protect a child from hazards（危险） or danger. Emotional neglect occurs when a parent or caretaker fails to meet a child’s basic needs for affection and comfort. Examples of emotional neglect include behaving in a cold, distant, and unaffectionate（无温情的） way toward a child, allowing a child to witness chronic or severe spousal abuse (配偶间暴力), allowing a child to use alcohol or drugs, and encouraging a child to engage in delinquent behavior. Another form of neglect involves failing to meet a child’s basic education needs, either by failing to enroll a child in school or by permitting a child to skip school frequently.

19. 虐待儿童的原因I：代代相传

段落大意：许多孩子受到其父母暴力行为的影响，在长大后，会继而虐待自己的孩子。

Many children learn violent behavior from their parents and then grow up to abuse their own children. Thus, the abusive behavior is transmitted (传递) across generations. Studies show that some 30 percent of abused children become abusive parents, whereas only 2 to 3 percent of all individuals become abusive parents. Children who experience abuse and violence may adopt this behavior as a model for their own parenting. However, the majority of abused children do not become abusive adults. Some experts believe that an important predictor of later abuse is whether the child realizes that the behavior was wrong. Children who believe they behaved badly and deserved the abuse become abusive parents more often than children who believe their parents were wrong to abuse them.

20. 虐待儿童的原因II：压力

段落大意：压力导致虐待儿童趋势上升。压力可能来自：失业、生病、贫困的家庭状况、多人口、新生儿降生、残疾家庭成员等。

Stress from a variety of social conditions raises the risk of child abuse within a family. These conditions include unemployment, illness, poor housing conditions, a larger-than-average family size, the presence of a new baby or a disabled person in the home, and the death of a family member. A large majority of reported cases of child abuse come from families living in poverty. Child abuse also occurs in middle-class and wealthy families, but it is better reported among the poor for several reasons. Wealthier families have an easier time hiding abuse because they have less contact with social agencies than poor families. In addition, social workers, physicians, and others who report abuse cases subjectively label children from poor families as victims of abuse more often than children from rich families.

21. 虐待儿童的原因III：社会疏离

段落大意：虐待儿童的父母一般与社会疏离。缺少社会参与导致虐待儿童的父母无法得到社会帮助。

Parents and caretakers who abuse children tend to be socially isolated. Few violent parents belong to any community organizations, and most have little contact with friends or relatives. This lack of social involvement deprives abusive parents of support systems that would help them deal better with social or family stress. Moreover, the lack of community contacts makes these parents less likely to change their behavior to conform (遵守) to community values and standards.

22. 虐待儿童的原因IV：家庭结构

段落大意：虐待儿童的一大原因是由于特定的家庭结构，如单亲家庭、好争吵家庭、虐待配偶家庭等。

Certain types of families have an increased risk of child abuse and neglect. For example, single parents are more likely to abuse their children than married parents. Moreover, single-parent families usually earn less money than other families, so this may account for the increased risk of abuse. Families with chronic marital discord (婚姻不和) or spousal abuse have higher rates of child abuse than families without these problems. In addition, families in which either the husband or wife dominates in making important decisions, such as where to live, what jobs to take, when to have children, and how much money to spend on food and housing, have higher rates of child abuse than families in which parents share responsibility for these decisions.

23. 虐待儿童的文化因素

段落大意：文化因素通常决定了家庭所能得到的社会帮助和支持。在低儿童虐待率的国家，照顾儿童被认为是社会责任。

Cultural factors often determine the amount of community support a family receives. In cultures with low rates of child abuse, child care is usually considered the responsibility of the community. That is, neighbors, relatives, and friends help with child care when the parents are unwilling or unable. In the United States, parents often shoulder child-care demands by themselves, which may result in a higher risk of stress and child abuse.

24. 虐待儿童的后果

段落大意：虐待儿童的后果是严重而长远的。身体虐待会导致瘀伤、大脑损伤、永久残疾，甚至死亡。心理虐待会导致低的自我价值观、无法与同龄人沟通、注意力不集中，或学习障碍等。

The consequences of child abuse and neglect can be devastating (严重的) and far-reaching (深远的). Physical injuries can range from bruises, scrapes, and burns to brain damage, permanent disabilities and death. The psychological effects of abuse and neglect can last a lifetime and may include a lowered sense of self-worth, inability to relate to (与……相处融洽) peers, reduced attention span (时间段), and learning disorders (学习障碍). In severe cases, abuse may result in psychiatric disorders (心理失衡) like depression, excessive anxiety, or split personality as well as an increased risk of suicide. Behavior problems often develop after abuse, including violence and juvenile crime.

25. 帮助受虐儿童

段落大意：防止孩子受到虐待的因素有：高智商、学校里取得的成就、好脾性、拥有亲密朋友等。

Despite being abused, the majority of maltreated children do not show signs of extreme disturbance, and many can cope with their problems. A number of factors help insulate (隔 离) children from the effects of maltreatment, including high intelligence, good academic achievement, good temperament, and having close personal relationships.

26. 家庭暴力的程度

段落大意：家庭暴力是广泛存在的社会问题，但家庭暴力的实际程度很难准确评估。

Experts agree that family violence is a widespread problem, but the actual extent is difficult to accurately measure. Most experts believe that the extent of violence is higher than research indicates. Data based on official reports, such as police or hospital records, tend to underestimate the extent of violence and abuse because much violence is never reported. Surveys of individuals, which generally produce higher estimates than official records, are also assumed to underestimate the extent of family violence. Understandably, many respondents may fail to report incidents of violence. Furthermore, definitions of what constitutes abuse may vary. Records indicate that the victims of most instances of family violence are women and children. However, some independent surveys indicate that men are also likely to experience violence from a partner.

27. 家长参与对孩子教育的影响

段落大意：如果家长在孩子小的时候参与其教育，那么，这些孩子以后学习会更加积极。

Parental involvement (家长参与) is a key element of Head Start (领先). Research has shown that if parents become involved in their children’s schoolwork while the children are young, the children are more likely to remain academically motivated in their later school years. Head Start staff members urge parents—but do not require them—to volunteer to help at the centers by supervising children at play, reading to them, working with the staff on serving meals, or preparing art materials for class projects.

28. 美国女性受到的歧视

段落大意：美国女性受到的各种歧视包括选举、就业等。20世纪60年代，女性们组织起来，要求享有与男性平等的合法权利。

American women have historically been victims of discrimination in voting (which was not secured for women until a 1920 constitutional amendment), employment, and other civil rights. For many years, for example, women were denied the right to serve in juries. In the late 1960s women organized to demand legal equality with men. They founded the National Organization for Women and other groups to fight for equality in education, employment, and government. As a result of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (民权法案), women made some gains against employment discrimination. During the 1970s, the effort was aimed not only against discriminatory practices but also against traditional attitudes toward the role of women in society. In 1972 Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment (平等权利修正案) (ERA) to the Constitution and submitted it to the states for ratification (批准). The ERA was designed to eliminate the last vestiges (残留) of legal discrimination against women. With only 35 of the required 38 states ratifying the amendment, however, the necessary approval was not secured by the 1982 deadline. Although this was a defeat of the feminist movement (女权运动), working toward the ERA developed a skilled leadership of female politicians and lobbyists (游说者). The goals of the ERA are being achieved through seperate legislation and through several lawsuits (诉讼) brought to the Supreme Court under the Equal Protection Clause (平等保护条款) of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

29. 种族歧视和宗教歧视

段落大意：美国的种族歧视和宗教歧视。

Throughout the United States history many groups have suffered racial or religious discrimination. Since Europeans first came to America, Native Americans have been forcibly（强制地） deprived of their lands and denied civil rights. Congress enacted (制定) the Indian Civil Rights Act in 1968, and the federal courts have entertained (考虑) a number of suits designed to restore ancestral lands and hunting and fishing rights to Native American tribes. Many religious groups, including Roman Catholics, Jews, and others, have been discriminated against as well.

30. 其他社会歧视现象

段落大意：其他社会歧视现象包括：城市选民无法享有同等的国会代表权；老年人受到就业和住房歧视；有犯罪前科的人和精神病人被剥夺了合法权利；外来人口无法享有同等的就业机会等。

Discrimination has also taken other forms. For many years, urban voters have been denied equal representation in Congress and state legislatures. The elderly have been faced with discrimination in employment and housing, despite federal and state laws enacted (制定) to prevent such practices. Former prisoners and mental patients have suffered unfair treatment after their terms of confinement (拘禁) ended. Some aliens (外来人) have been deprived of equal employment opportunities. Moreover, people with physical disabilities have endured discrimination in employment and access to public facilities and transportation. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 addressed these problems on the national level.

31. 对外来人口和少数族群的歧视

段落大意：大部分国家歧视外来人口和少数族群，包括宗教歧视、种族歧视和性别歧视。

Most nations practice discrimination against foreigners and disfavored (不被喜欢的) minorities (少数群体) within their borders. Such discrimination has various types. It may be religious, such as policies that disfavor people holding certain belief like Roman Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and so forth. It can be racial, as the apartheid (种族隔离) policy that was enforced in South Africa from 1948 to 1992. It may also be the sex discrimination. For example, in many countries women were deprived of voting right for a long time. The laws of each country should be the means of combating discrimination. Nevertheless, instead of reducing it, these laws often encourage discriminatory practices.

32. 人权保护的主要障碍

段落大意：保护人权的主要障碍在于大部分国家不愿接受对其内部事务的干涉。

The major obstacle to international protection of human rights is that most nations will not accept any interference with their internal affairs（国内事务）, including questions of discrimination against their own citizens. To a modest degree these difficulties have been overcome through regional bodies（区域性组织） such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The administration of U.S. president Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s introduced human rights as a principal element of foreign policy. This initiative was often ineffectual（无效的）, but did lead to some practical gains as well as increased international awareness of the importance of securing human rights for all. During most of the 1980s, the conservative administration of President Ronald W. Reagan showed less inclination（倾向） to include the human rights issue in foreign policy pursuits.

33. 女性权利的定义

段落大意：女性权利指女性享有与男性同等的社会地位、经济地位和政治地位。

Women’s Rights refer to the rights that establish the same social, economic, and political status for women as for men. Women’s rights guarantee that women will not experience discrimination on the basis of their sex. Until the second half of the 20th century, women in most societies were denied some of the legal and political rights accorded (给予) to men. Although women in much of the world have gained significant legal rights, they still haven’t fully achieved political, economic, and social equality with men.

34. 历史上的女性权利

段落大意：历史上，女性被剥夺了财产权、受教育权和合法身份权。女性是自己的丈夫或父兄的职责。但与此同时，也出现了一些敢于争取女性权利的人物。

In most societies throughout history, women were deprived of property, education, and legal status. They were simply the responsibility of their husbands if married, or of their fathers or other male relatives if not. However, there were examples of exceptional women who challenged patriarchal（家长制的）structures in their lives and writings. For example, a German abbess（女修道院长）, Hildegard of Bingen, defied the authority of male church leaders. An Italian writer and courtier（朝臣）, Christine de Pisan, defended women and wrote biblical (圣经的) commentaries that challenged the patriarchal ideas inherent（固有的）in Christianity. By the end of the 17th century, a number of women writers, such as Mary Astell in England, had called for improvements in women’s education.

35. 女权主义思想的社会影响

段落大意：女权主义思想引导大众关注男女不平等这一社会现象。这导致人们对女性角色的重新思考，也导致了促进平等薪酬和机会的政策的出台。

Feminist thinking has succeeded in drawing public attention to inequality between women and men and to the structures within society that belittle women’s worth and work against women. It has led to the reconsideration of women’s role in workplace and resulted in the promulgation (颁布) of policies that promote equal pay and equal opportunities. Moreover,  it has identified and tackled the problem of sexual harassment (性骚扰) at work. Feminism has also succeeded in challenging people’s perceptions（认知）of women’s skills, with the result that some women are entering nontraditional areas of female employment such as the construction industry.

36. 对女性角色的偏见

段落大意：西方文化对女性角色有着根深蒂固的偏见。许多人认为女性的自然角色就是母亲和妻子，女性更适合于养育孩子和做家务。

Throughout much of the history of Western civilization, deep-rooted (根深蒂固的) cultural beliefs allowed women only to perform certain roles in society. Many people believed that women’s natural roles were as mothers and wives. They considered women to be better suited for child-bearing (生育) and homemaking（家政） rather than for involvement in public life, business and politics. The widespread belief that women were intellectually inferior to men caused most societies to limit women’s education to mere domestic (家庭的) skills. On the other hand, well-educated, upper-class men controlled most essential positions in society.

37. 对“女性保护法”的质疑

段落大意：女性保护法一直处于争议中。反对者认为该保护法会阻碍女性要求同等权利的斗争；基于性别的保护法仍然认为女性软弱无助，限制了女性的就业选择面。

Protective legislation for women has been a controversial (有争议的) issue ever since the beginning of the women’s rights movement. Opponents of protective legislation have argued that setting up special rules for women would inhibit（抑制） women’s struggle for equality with men, even if the legislation involves only labor laws. They have claimed that sex-based labor legislation upheld the stereotypes (刻板印象) of women as weak and defenseless, limited their options in employment, and reinforced the notion（观念）that women belonged to the home.

38. 当今女性的政治参与度

段落大意：当今，女性的政治参与度大幅度增加，然而，女性在政府决策中的作用仍受到限制。

In recent decades women around the world have made strides (取得进步) in political participation. By the 1980s women could vote virtually everywhere in the world, except for a few Muslim (穆斯林) countries. As of mid-2005, when women in Kuwait（科威特） won suffrage (选举权), women could vote in all countries where men could vote except Saudi Arabia (沙特阿拉伯). The right to vote usually included the right to run for (竞选) elected office. In 2005 there were 12 female national leaders in the world, including 8 heads of state —3 monarchs（元首） and 5 presidents—and 4 heads of government (prime ministers). In 2005 women made up almost 16 percent of legislative（立法的） bodies worldwide, compared to 11 percent in 1999 and 9 percent in 1987. Despite these advancements, women’s role in governmental decision-making remains limited.

39. 女性合法权利和其经济地位的不协调

段落大意：女性合法权利和其经济地位不协调。

Many disparities (不一致) persist between women’s legal rights and their economic status. Women still haven’t achieved the equality with men in work. Women today constitute nearly 70 percent of the world’s poor, despite international efforts to compensate（补偿） women and men equally in the workplace. While women made up about 32 percent of the world’s labor force in 1990, the percentage of women in decision-making positions was far lower. In 2002 women held only 15.7 percent of corporate executive (执行的) positions in the 500 largest companies in the United States, with an increase of 7 percent since 1995. In the mid-1990s women comprised（构成）only 1 percent of executives in the 1,000 largest corporations outside the United States.

40. 女性受教育权利

段落大意：女性受教育的权利具有明显劣势。女性文盲占世界文盲总数的三分之二。

Women remain at a distinct disadvantage in education as well. While primary school enrollment（招生）of girls now roughly equals that of boys, women constitute about two-thirds of the world’s one billion illiterate (不识字的) adults. Among more than 100 million children who drop out of school before completing the fourth grade, two-thirds are girls. On the other hand, women are entering colleges and universities in increasing numbers. In Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean (加勒比海), more women than men enrolled in institutions of higher education during the 1990s.

41. 女性选举权

段落大意：女性选举权指女性享有同男性同等的政治权利，如代表政府、投票选举、掌控公共机构等。

Woman Suffrage（选举权）refers to the right of women to share on equal terms with men the political privileges afforded by representative government and, more particularly, to vote in elections and referendums（公民投票）and to hold public office. Equal political rights for women have been advocated since the start of feminist movement. Under the autocratic (独裁的) forms of government that prevailed（流行）in ancient times and under the feudal regimes（封建制度）of the Middle Ages, however, suffrage was so restricted, even among men, that enfranchisement（选举权授予） of women never attained the status of a major political issue. Conditions warranted organized woman-suffrage movements only after suffrage had been won by large, formerly disfranchised（被剥夺选举权的） groups of the male population as a consequence of the democratic revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries.

42. 造成失业的四大原因I：摩擦性失业

段落大意：造成失业有四大原因：摩擦性失业、季节性失业、结构性失业和循环性失业。摩擦性失业指劳力供求间的不协调。摩擦性失业的数量取决于人们更换工作的频率和找到新工作所需时间。

Economists have described the causes of unemployment as frictional（摩擦的）, seasonal, structural, and cyclical (循环的).

Frictional unemployment arises when workers seeking jobs do not find them immediately. While looking for work, they are counted as unemployed. Friction in this case refers to the incongruity (不协调) between the demand for and supply of labor. The amount of frictional unemployment depends on the frequency with which workers change jobs and the time it takes to find new ones. Job changes occur frequently in the U.S. A January 1983 survey showed that more than 25 percent of all workers had been with their current employers for only one year or less. About a quarter of those unemployed at any particular time are employed one month later. This means that a considerable degree of unemployment in the U.S. is frictional and lasts only a short time. This type of unemployment could be reduced somewhat by more efficient placement services. When workers are free to quit their jobs, however, some frictional unemployment will always be present.

43. 造成失业的四大原因II：季节性失业

段落大意：季节性失业发生在一些有季节性特点的行业，如冬天的户外工作减少。季节性失业同样发生在大量毕业生寻找工作之时。

Seasonal unemployment occurs when industries have a slack (淡季) season, such as construction and other outdoor work in winter. It also becomes conspicuous (明显的) at the end of the school year in June, when large numbers of students and graduates look for work. At its seasonal peak (January and February), unemployment rate in the U.S. between 1976 and 1986 was typically 20 percent higher than that at the seasonal low (October).

44. 造成失业的四大原因III：结构性失业

段落大意：结构性失业指雇主所需工种的工人与寻找工作的工人工种之间的不平衡，这可能是由于技术欠缺、地域或个性等因素引起的。

Structural unemployment arises from an imbalance between the kinds of workers wanted by employers and the kinds of workers looking for jobs. The imbalances may be caused by inadequacy in skills, location, or personal characteristics. Technological developments, for example, necessitate (使成为必须) new skills in many industries, leaving workers who fail to update their skills without a job. A plant (工厂) in a declining industry may close down or move to another area, making those employees who are unable or unwilling to move out of work . Workers with inadequate education or training and young workers with little or no experience may be unable to get jobs because employers believe that these employees would not be productive enough as to be worth paying the legal minimum wage or the rate agreed on with the union. On the other hand, even highly trained workers can be unemployed. This happened in the U.S. in the early 1970s, for example, when the large numbers of new graduates with doctor degrees in physics and mathematics exceeded the number of jobs available in those fields. If employers practice illegal job discrimination against any group of people because of sex, race, religion, age, or national origin, a high unemployment rate for these workers could result even when jobs are plentiful. Structural unemployment shows up most prominently in some cities, some occupations or industries, for those with below-average educational attainments, and for some other groups in the labor force.

45. 造成失业的四大原因IV：循环性失业

段落大意：对劳动力的整体需求缺乏会导致循环性失业。经济发展放缓时，对商品和服务的需求会下降，导致失业。

Cyclical unemployment stems from a general lack of demand for labor. When business follows the downward trend, demand for goods and services drops; consequently, workers are laid off. During the 19th century, the U.S. experienced depressions roughly every 20 years. A long and severe depression occurred in the 1890s, when unemployment rate reached about 18 percent of the civilian (平民的) labor force, and four less-severe depressions occurred in the first quarter of the 20th century. The most destructive depression in the U.S. history happened in the 1930s, at the height of which, one worker in four was unemployed, and some remained out of work for years.

未完待续