英语专业四级听力50篇02：A Change in Women’s Life

The important change in women's life-pattern has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity, and most of them took a full-time¹ job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly² before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards return to full-time or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life and with both husband and wife sharing more equally³ in providing the money, and running the home, according⁴ to the abilities and interests of each of them.

1 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

2 shortly   

adv.立即，不久；简略地，简言之

参考例句：

• You go along with him. I'll come shortly.你陪陪他，我马上就来。
• He answered my questions rather shortly.他相当简慢地回答我的问题。

3 equally   

adv.平等地；公平地

参考例句：

• Divide the cake into quarters and share it equally.把蛋糕分成四份，大家平均享用。
• The blue sky belongs equally to us all.蓝天为人所共有。

4 according   

adj.按照，根据

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• We must cut our coat according to our cloth this year.今年我们必须学会量入为出。