在2014年6月29日的托福閱讀考試中有這樣一道題：男女分工在農(nóng)業(yè)發(fā)展中的變化。出國留學網(wǎng)(www.liuxue86.com)小編提醒大家：本文屬于因果型文章，側(cè)重點在影響，涉及到男女分工在農(nóng)業(yè)發(fā)展中的變化，背景知識不難，在理解時重點提取產(chǎn)生的影響體現(xiàn)在什么方面，假設(shè)是否成立。
托福閱讀真題再現(xiàn)：
版本一：原始社會男女各自司職的變化 以前原始女人地位高 因為他們負責種田收獲務(wù)實 后來工具發(fā)明后男人地位比女人高 女人只能生產(chǎn)副產(chǎn)品 比如養(yǎng)牛羊 織布 帶孩子
版本二：性別作用和地位在農(nóng)業(yè)發(fā)展中的變化
版本三：農(nóng)業(yè)發(fā)展對男女角色分工和的影響 從女人務(wù)農(nóng)到男耕女
解析：本文屬于因果型文章，側(cè)重點在影響，涉及到男女分工在農(nóng)業(yè)發(fā)展中的變化，背景知識不難，在理解時重點提取產(chǎn)生的影響體現(xiàn)在什么方面，假設(shè)是否成立。
相關(guān)背景：
The gender division of labor varies significantly across societies. In particular, there are large differences in the extent to which women participate in activities outside of the home. For instance, in 2000, the share of women aged 15 to 64 in the labor force ranged from a low of 16.1% in Pakistan to 90.5% in Burundi.
A number of scholars have argued that these differences reflect differences in underlying cultural values and beliefs. Consistent with this, data on self-reported values about gender confirm that countries with lower female labor force participation also have stronger beliefs of gender inequality. However, this culture-based explanation still leaves unanswered the deeper question of why cultural differences exist in the first place.
One hypothesis, initially proposed by Ester Boserup (1970), is that the origin of these differences lies in the different types of agriculture traditionally practiced across societies. In particular, she highlights important differences between shifting agriculture and plough agriculture. Shifting agriculture, which uses hand-held tools like the hoe and the digging stick, is labor-intensive with women actively participating in farm work. By contrast, plough agriculture is more capital-intensive, using the plough to prepare the soil. Unlike the hoe or digging stick, the plough requires significant upper body strength, grip strength, and bursts of power, which are needed to either pull the plough or control the animal that pulls it. As well, farming with the plough is less compatible with simultaneous childcare, which is almost always the responsibility of women. As a result, men tended to specialize in agricultural work outside the home.
Within plough agriculture societies, centuries of a gender-based division of labor created a cultural belief that it is more natural for men to work outside the home than women. These cultural beliefs then continue to persist even after the economy transitions from agriculture to industry and services. Through this cultural channel, traditional agriculture affects the participation of women in activities performed outside of the home today.
>>>點擊進入托福頻道了解更多信息