8 . A few years ago, a young woman at Facebook came to my desk and asked if she could speak privately. We headed into a conference room, where she began firing off questions about how I balance work and family. As the questions came faster and faster, I started to wonder about her urgency. I interrupted to ask if she had a child. She said no, but she liked to plan ahead. I inquired if she and her partner were considering having a child. She replied that she did not have a husband, then added with a little laugh, “Actually, I don’t even have a boyfriend.”
It seemed to me that she was jumping the gun but I understood why. From an early age, girls get the message that they will have to choose between succeeding at work and being a good mother. By the time they are in college, women are already thinking about the trade-offs they will make between professional and personal goals! When asked to choose between marriage and career, female college students are twice as likely to choose marriage as their male classmates. And this concern can start even younger. Peggy Orenstein, the author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, related the story of a five-year-old girl who came home distraught from her after-school program and told her mother that both she and the boy she had a crush on wanted to be astronauts.When her mother asked why that was a problem, the little girl replied, “When we go into space together,who will watch out kids?” At five,she thought the most challenging aspect of space travel would be dependable childcare.
As I’ve mentioned, I’m a big believe in thoughtful preparation. Everywhere I go, I carry a little notebook with my to-do list. But when it comes to integrating career and family, planning too far in advance can close doors rather than open them. I have seen this happen over and over. Women rarely make one big decision to leave the workforce. Instead, they make a lot of small decision along the way, making accommodations and sacrifices that they believe will be required to have a family. Of all the ways women hold themselves back, perhaps the most pervasive is that they leave before they leave.
1. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph two “she was jumping the gun” mean in the passage?
| A．She was taking action before everyone else did. |
| B．She was making preparations earlier than she was supposed to. |
| C．She was reluctant to make the decisions all by herself. |
| D．She was wondering how to balance work and family. |
2. What is paragraph two mainly about?
| A．After-school programs in primary schools encourage children to picture their future life. |
| B．Domestic life is preventing women nowadays from pursuing higher goals in workplaces. |
| C．Females nowadays start to weigh their choice between family and career at an even earlier age. |
| D．Female college students are more willing to assume domestic responsibilities than their male classmates. |
3. What does the underlined word “
distraught” in paragraph two mean?
| A．upset | B．delighted | C．satisfied | D．excited |
4. Which of the following statements would the author probably agree with?
| A．Females are advised to make life-decisions after thoughtful preparation. |
| B．It’s better for girls to plan for leaving the workplace step by step. |
| C．Women usually make up the their mind to quit their job in a very short period of time. |
| D．Planning too early for balancing career and family is hindering females from promotion in the workplace. |
