Women's Roles in Early Nineteenth―century Britain 19世纪早期英国妇女的地位

Women's Roles in Early Nineteenth―century Britain 19世纪早
期英国妇女的地位
The importance of marriage in the lives of Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters may be difficultfor modern readers to understand. Young women today have a variety of options（选择）open tothem regarding their future-they can marry，of course，but they can also go to college，followany career path that may interest them，and live on their own. Young women of Austen's daydid not have these advantages. Although the daughters of the middle and upper class could besent to school，their education there consisted more of becoming "accomplished"（有修养的）thanit did of expanding their academic（学术的）knowledge. Additionally，women in early nineteenth-century Britain were not allowed in higher education，so private tutors，governesses（家庭女教师），and private schools were the extent of education open to them. Naturally，a young womanlike Elizabeth Bennet with a lively，curious mind would have been able to further her educationindependently through reading. In discussing a woman's accomplishments，Darcy comments thata really commendable（值得赞美的）woman will improve her mind by
extensive reading.
A woman's formal education was limited because her job opportunities were limited. Societycould not imagine a woman entering a profession such as medicine or the law and therefore didnot offer her the chance to do so. In fact，
middle-and-upper-class women had few doors open tothem for a secure future. If unmarried，they would remain dependent upon their relatives，livingwith or receiving a small income from their fathers，brothers，or other relations who could a 忏Ordto support them. In Elizabeth's case，she is dependent upon her father while he is living and sheis unmarried，but because of the British law and the fact that she has no brothers，her situationcould become quite diflicult when he dies. She and her mother and sisters would be forced to relyupon the charity （慈善）of their relatives，such as Mr. and Mrs. Phillips，Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner，andeven Mr. Collins. Such a position would be extremely distasteful and humiliating.
Other options available to a young woman who needs to support herself would be to takea position as a governess or a lady's companion. Both jobs allowed a woman to earn a livingwithout sacrfficing（牺牲）her social position. However，
the working conditions of these jobs wereoften unpleasant. Governesses might be harassed（骚扰）by the men in the family for which theyworked，while lady's companions might be treated poorly by their employers and given menial（适合仆人做的）tasks to attend to. Any other form of employment a woman could take wasconsidered unacceptable and would most likely harm her social standing for good. woman who had never been married was not living with her family，she should at least be livingwith a suitable companion. Therefore，when the Bennet daughters travel in Pride and Prejudice，they always stay in the company of a relative or a respectable married woman. Jane visitsthe Gardiners，Elizabeth stays with the now-married Charlotte，Elizabeth later travels with theGardiners，and Lydia goes to Brighton as the guest of Mrs. Forster. When Lydia runs away withWickham，however，her reputation and social standing are ruined by the fact that she lived withhim alone for two weeks. Consequently，Darcy's efforts to find Wickham and Lydia and to buyWickham's marriage to Lydia saves not only Lydia's reputation，but the whole Bennet family aswell.
1. According to the passage，the girlsborn in the middle and upper class were sentto school to
A. get their academic knowledge
B. follow any career path
C. make them look elegant
D. be dependent on themselves
2. In Darcy's opinion， a woman canimprove her accomplishment by _
A. going to university
B. reading many kinds of books
C. taking part in various activities
D. taking a position as a governess
3. The underlined words can be replaced
A. embarrassing and unsatisfactory
B. exciting and satisfying
C. disappointing and boring
D. inspiring but tiring
4. According to the passage，if a womanworked as a lady's companion she might
A. sacrifice her social status
B. have perfect working conditions
C. get enough income to support herfamily
D. be treated badly by the lady
5. From the last paragraph，we can inferthat
A，the unmarried women must live withtheir parents
B. when the unmarried women travelledthey could be with unmarried men
C. if an unmarried woman lived with aman alone，it made no difference to her socialsituation
D. if an unmarried woman lived with aman alone，her family may disown her
答案与解析
1.C。

细节理解题。

根据文章第一段中“their education there consisted
ofbecoming“accomplished”than it did of expanding their academic knowledge”司。

2.B。

细节理解题。

根据文章第一段中Darcy also comments that a reallycommendable woman will improve“her mind by extensive reading.”可知达西认为提高妇女修养要通过广泛的阅读，故选B。

3.A。

词义理解题。

根据划画线词语前面的语境“She and her mother and sisterswould be forced to rely upon the charity of their relatives”以及常识可知distasteful andhumiliating表示“令人不愉快并感到羞耻的”，故选A。

4.D。

推理判断题。

根据文章第三段中“while lady's companions，such as
Miss DeBourgh's companion，Mrs. Jenkinson，might be treated poorly by their employers and givenmenial tasks to attend to。

”可知选D。

5.D。

推理判断题。

根据文章最后一段内容可知未婚女士可以与女伴住在一起，故A项错误；但如果她们与男士在一起就会影响到她们家庭的声誉以及她们的社会地位，所以家庭可能会与她们断绝关系，故选D。

难句分析
1. Although the daughters of the middle and upper class could be sent to school，theireducation there consisted more of becoming "accomplished" than it did of expanding theiracademic knowledge.虽然出身中、上等家庭的女儿们可以上学，但她们的教育更多地是让她们变得有修养，而不是增长她们的学术知识。

此句中Although the daughters of the middle and upper class could be sent to school为让步状语从句；句子主干中more...than...表示“与其说……不如说……”。

2. Other options available to a young woman who needs to support herself would beto take a position as a governess or a lady's companion。

对于那些需要自己养活自己的年轻女子来说，其他的选择还包括当家庭女教师或小姐的女伴。

句子的主干是：Other options would be to take a position
as a governess or a lady'scompanion。

to take a position as a governess or a lady's companion为动词不定式短语作表语。

available to a young woman为形容词短语作options的定语。

who needs to supportherself为定语从句，先行词为a young woman。