Exercise 9. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

For Catherine Lumby, deciding to take on the role of breadwinner in her relationship was not a difficult choice. When she discovered she was pregnant with her first child, she had just been offered a demanding new role as Director of the Media and Communications department at the University of Sydney. But she didn't see this as an obstacle, and was prepared to use childcare when the children were old enough. It came, therefore, as a surprise to Lumby and her husband Derek that, after the birth of their son, they couldn’t actually bear the thought of putting him into childcare tor nine hours a day. As she was the one with the secure job, the role of primary care-giver fell to Derek, who was writing scripts for television. This arrangement continued for the next four years, w ith Derek working from home and caring for both of their sons. He returned to full-time work earlier this year.

Whilst Lumby and her husband are by no means the only Australians making such a role reversal, research suggests that they are in the minority. In a government-funded survey in 2001, only 5.5 percent of couples in the 30-54 year age group saw the women working either part- or full-time while the men were unemployed.

The situation is likely to change, according to the CEO of Relationships Australia, Anne Hollonds. She suggests that this is due to several reasons, including the number of highly educated women in the workforce and changing social patterns and expectations. However, she warns that for couples involved in role-switching, there are many potential difficulties to be overcome. For men whose self-esteem is connected to their jobs and the income it provides to the family, a major change of thinking is required. It also requires women to reassess, particularly with regard to domestic or child-rearing decisions, and they may have to learn to deal with the guilt of not always being there at key times for their children. Being aware of these issues can make operating in non-traditional roles a lot easier.

118. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Men being the bread winners                                B. Traditional roles of women

C. Women being the home makers                            D. Reversed roles between men and women

119. Catherine and her husband decided that Catherine would be the primary earner because ____.     

A. she had a badly paid job                                         B. she was not good at childcare

C. she had a reliable job                                             D. she wanted her husband to stay at home

120. In paragraph 1, the word “him" refers to ____.

A. their son                  B. her husband            C. Derek                      D. her colleague

121. They decided that Derek would look after their son because they ____.

A. couldn’t afford to put their child in care for long periods each day

B. didn’t want to put their child in care for long periods each day

C. thought childcare was not safe enough for their children

D. worried about their son’s health problems

122. In paragraph 2, the word “reversal" is closest in meaning to ____.

A. stability                   B. modification           C. rehearsal                D. switch

123. One reason tor a change in the number of men staying home is ____.

A. the stability in the number of highly-educated women who are working

B. the fall in the number of highly-educated women who are working

C. the rise in the number of highly-educated women who are working

D. the fluctuation in the number of highly-educated women who are working