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Questions 32-41
The status of women in colonial North America has been well studied and described
and can be briefly summarized. Throughout the colonial period there was a marked
shortage of women, which varied with the regions and was always greatest in the
frontier areas. This favorable ratio enhanced women's status and position and allowed
them to pursue different careers. The Puritans, the religious sect that dominated the
early British colonies in North America, regarded idleness as a sin, and believed that life
in an underdeveloped country made it absolutely necessary that each member of the
community perform an economic function. Thus work for women, married or single,
was not only approved, it was regarded as a civic duty. Puritan town councils expected
widows and unattached women to be self-supporting and for a long time provided
needy spinsters with parcels ofland. There was no social sanction against married
women working; on the contrary, wives were expected to help their husbands in their
trade and won social approval far doing extra work in or out of the home. Needy
children, girls as well as boys, were indentured or apprenticed and were expected to
work for their keep.
The vast majority of women worked within their homes, where their labor produced
most articles needed for the family. The entire colonial production of cloth and clothing
and partially that of shoes was in the hands of women. In addition to these occupations,
women were found in many different kinds of employment. They were butchers,
silversmiths, gunsmiths, upholsterers. They ran mills, plantations, tanyards, shipyards,
and every kind of shop, tavern, and boardinghouse. They were gatekeepers, jail keepers,
sextons, journalists, printers, apothecaries, midwives, nurses, and teachers.
32. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) Colonial marriages
(B) The Puritan religion
(C) Colonial women's employment
(D) Education in the colonies
33. The word "marked" in line 2 is closest in meaning to
(A) underlined
(B) graded
(C) prolonged
(D) distinct
34. According to the passage, where in colonial North America were there the fewest
women?
(A) Puritan communities
(B) Seaports
(C) Frontier settlements
(D) Capital cities
35. The word "enhanced'" in line 4 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A) Supplemented
(B) Confirmed
(C) Improved
(D) Determined
36. It can be inferred from the passage that the Puritans were
(A) uneducated
(B) hardworking
(C) generous
(D) wealthy
37. According to the passage, Puritans believed that an unmarried adult woman should be
(A) financialIy responsible for herself
(B) returned to England
(C) supported by her family
(D)trained to be a nurse
38. The phrase "unattached women" line 10 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
(A) Women without high social status
(B) Women without property
(C) Unmarried women
(D) Unemployed women
39. According to the passage, what did the Puritans expect from married women ?
(A) They should adopt needy children.
(B) They should assist in their husbands' trade or business.
(C) They should work only within their own homes.
(D) They should be apprenticed.
40. According to the passage, which products were made entirely by women?
(A) Gunpowder and bullets
(B) Cups and plates
(C) Paper and books
( D) Cloth and clothing
41.The lists in lines l9-22 are intended to show which of the following ?
(A) The influence of the Puritans in the colonies
(B) The limits of job opportunities in the colonies
(C) The main industries of the colonial economy
(D) The variety of work done by colonial women
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