The cohesiveness(内聚力 ) of a family seems to rely on members sharing certain routine practices and events. For a growing share of the American labor force, however, working shifts beyond the normal daylight hours--what we here call "shift work"--makes the lives of families difficult.
Existing research shows that both male and female shift workers express high levels of stress and a sense of conflict between the demands of work and family life. But shift work couples still maintain a traditional attitude to the meaning of marriage and the individual roles of husband and wife. They expressed a willingness to do "whatever it takes" to approximate their view of a proper marriage, including sacrificing sleep and doing conventional things at unconventional hours. For the majority of couples interviewed, even when wives worked outside their homes, a proper marriage is characterized by a very clear division of roles: husbands are "providers" whose major responsibility is to sup- port the family; wives arc "homemakers" who clean, cook, and care for husbands and children.
The women's definitions of a "good husband" are typified by the following wife's response:
I expect him to be a good provider, and be there when I need him, loyal about the same things as he would expect out of me, expect that I expect him to dominate over me. But in a manner of speaking, when it's time to be a man I expect him to stand up instead of sitting back expecting me to do everything. To husbands, a good wife is someone who is:
Understanding of what I feel go through at work. I need that respect at work, I hope I get it at work. I want my wife to realize what I expect at work. I don't want her to give me a lot of shit when I come home from work because I don' t know if this makes much sense.
These views seemed critical to maintain the families of the shift workers.
1.[单选题]In order to continue the marriages of the shift workers,- A.wives must learn to care for the children when their husbands are absent
- B. shift work couples must administer their time and activities
- C.wives mustn' t adapt their own feelings of boredom to their husbands'
- D. all of these work
2.[单选题]Despite , shift work couples still hoped to maintain a stable life.- A. traditional beliefs about marriage
- B.lack of control over time
- C.a very clear division of roles
- D.the demands of work
3.[单选题]What is implied by the author?- A. Shift work had a direct effect on the attitudes and behavior of family members.
- B.Shift workers could live a normal life.
- C. Shift work couples had unconventional ideas about marriage.
- D.Female shift workers were satisfied with the time spent together with their families.
4.[单选题]From the selection, we can conclude that female shift workers were NOT satisfied with- A.their work
- B. their children
- C.their husbands' inability to protect the family and provide companionship
- D.leisure activities
5.[单选题]The best title for this paragraph is- A.Constructing Family Life
- B. Managing Time and Activities
- C.The Meaning of Marriage
- D. Living a Normal Life