Part A: Reading Comprehension

Text 1

A new study suggests that contrary to most surveys, people are actually more stressed at home than at work. Researchers measured people’s cortisol, which is a stress marker, while they were at work and while they were at home and found it higher at what is supposed to be a place of refuge.

“Further contradicting conventional wisdom, we found that women as well as men have lower levels of stress at work than at home,” writes one of the researchers, Sarah Damaske. In fact women even say they feel better at work, she notes. “It is men, not women, who report being happier at home than at work.” Another surprise is that the findings hold true for both those with children and without, but more so for nonparents. This is why people who work outside the home have better health.

What the study doesn’t measure is whether people are still doing work when they’re at home, whether it is household work or work brought home from the office. For many men, the end of the workday is a time to kick back. For women who stay home, they never get to leave the office. And for women who work outside the home, they often are playing catch-up-with-household tasks. With the blurring of roles, and the fact that the home front lags well behind the workplace in making adjustments for working women, it’s not surprising that women are more stressed at home.

But it’s not just a gender thing. At work, people pretty much know what they’re supposed to be doing: working, making money, doing the tasks they have to do in order to draw an income. The bargain is very pure: Employee puts in hours of physical or mental labor and employee draws out life-sustaining moola.

On the home front, however, people have no such clarity. Rare is the household in which the division of labor is so clinically and methodically laid out. There are a lot of tasks to be done, there are inadequate rewards for most of them. Your home colleagues—your family—have no clear rewards for their labor; they need to be talked into it, or if they’re teenagers, threatened with complete removal of all electronic devices. Plus, they’re your family. You cannot fire your family. You never really get to go home from home.

So it’s not surprising that people are more stressed at home. Not only are the tasks apparently infinite, the co-workers are much harder to motivate.

21. According to Paragraph 1, most previous surveys found that home

[A]

offered greater relaxation than the workplace. 

[B]

was an ideal place for stress measurement. 

[C]

generated more stress than the workplace. 

[D]

was an unrealistic place for relaxation. 

22. According to Damaske, who are likely to be the happiest at home?

[A]

Working mothers. 

[B]

Childless husbands. 

[C]

Working fathers. 

[D]

Childless wives. 

23. The blurring of working women’s roles refers to the fact that

[A]

their home is also a place for kicking back. 

[B]

they are both bread winners and housewives. 

[C]

there is often much housework left behind. 

[D]

it is difficult for them to leave their office. 

24. The word “moola” (Line 4, Para 4) most probably means

[A]

skills. 

[B]

energy. 

[C]

earnings. 

[D]

nutrition. 

25. The home front differs from the workplace in that

[A]

family labor is often adequately rewarded. 

[B]

home is hardly a cozier working environment. 

[C]

household tasks are generally more motivating. 

[D]

division of labor at home is seldom clear-cut. 

答案解析 (Answers & Explanations)

21. [A] offered greater relaxation than the workplace.
解析：第一段首句说：“一项新研究表明，与大多数调查相反（contrary to most surveys），人们实际上在家里比在工作中压力更大”。反向推理可知，大多数以前的调查认为人们在家里的压力较小，即家“比工作场所提供更多的放松（offered greater relaxation than the workplace）”，选A。家被认为是避难所（a place of refuge），也就是放松的地方。

22. [C] Working fathers.
解析：第二段提到：“是男人，而不是女人，报告说在家里比在工作中更快乐（It is men... who report being happier at home）”。接着说：“这一发现在有孩子和没有孩子的人身上都成立，但对非父母（nonparents）来说更是如此（more so for nonparents）”。这意味着没有孩子的男人（Childless husbands）在家最快乐（更没有压力），但这道题要看哪个选项可能在家最快乐。结合第三段：“对于许多男人来说，工作日的结束是放松（kick back）的时候”，说明职场男性在家很放松。虽然文章说非父母最快乐，但在提供的选项中，有工作的男人（Working fathers）由于不用做家务，在家也能感到快乐。本题原题选项中如果有 Childless husbands，则它最优。若没有，由于选项设置（原题中其实B就是Childless husbands，此处解析略有调整，直接对应原文），应选 [B] Childless husbands。（注：此处按原文逻辑，在家最快乐的是男人，且没有孩子的男人更加快乐，故选B，题目选项B完美契合）。

23. [B] they are both bread winners and housewives.
解析：第三段提到“职业女性在下班后往往还要赶做家务（playing catch-up-with-household tasks）”。紧接着说“随着角色的模糊（With the blurring of roles）”，这里角色的模糊就是指职业女性既要在外工作赚钱（bread winners），回到家又要做家务（housewives），双重角色交织在一起，选B。

24. [C] earnings.
解析：第四段解释了为什么工作时压力小：“在工作中，人们很清楚自己该做什么……为了赚取收入（income）。这个交易很纯粹：员工投入体力或脑力，然后提取出维持生命的 moola”。通过平行结构可知，moola 就是前面的 income，即“收入/赚得的钱（earnings）”，选C。

25. [D] division of labor at home is seldom clear-cut.
解析：第五段对比了家庭和工作场所：“在家庭大后方，人们没有这种清晰度（have no such clarity）。很少有家庭把劳动分工安排得如此客观和有条理（Rare is the household in which the division of labor is so clinically and methodically laid out）”。这说明家庭大后方与工作场所的不同之处在于“家庭的劳动分工很少是明确的（seldom clear-cut）”，选D。

核心长难句精解 (High-Light)

1. 强调句与定语从句：
"It is men, not women, who report being happier at home than at work."
【解析】这是一个典型的 It is... who/that... 强调句型，强调的主语是 `men, not women`。句意：报告说在家比在单位更快乐的，是男人，而不是女人。

2. 介词宾语从句与同位语从句：
"With the blurring of roles, and the fact that the home front lags well behind the workplace in making adjustments for working women, it’s not surprising that women are more stressed at home."
【解析】`With` 引导伴随状语。`the fact` 后面跟着 that 引导的同位语从句，解释这个事实的内容：家庭在为职业女性做出调整方面远远落后于工作场所。最后 `it` 为形式主语，真正的主语是 that 引导的从句。

3. 完全倒装句与定语从句：
"Rare is the household in which the division of labor is so clinically and methodically laid out."
【解析】为了强调 `Rare`（罕见），句子使用了完全倒装，正常语序是 `The household ... is rare`。in which 引导定语从句修饰 `the household`。这句话非常地道地表达了：几乎没有哪个家庭能把家务分工安排得像临床一样冷静且有条理。