Today's parents miss the golden age that their own mothers enjoyed in the 1970s and 1980s, researchers found. Mothers have less time to themselves and feel under greater pressure to _ work and family life than the previous generation. As a result, 88 per cent said they felt guilty about the lack of time they spent with their children. The survey of 1,000 mothers also found that more than a third said they had less time to themselves than their mothers did -- just three hours a week or 26 minutes a day And 64 percent said this was because they felt they 'had' to go out to work, while nearly a third (29 per cent) said they were under constant pressure to be the 'perfect mother', the report found. Other findings showed social network and parenting website were important in proving help and support among female communities Kate Fox, of the Social Issues Research Centre, which conducted the survey for Procter & Gamble, said: "With increasing pressure on mothers to work a 'double shift' -- to be the perfect mother as well as a wage-earner -- support networks are more important than ever It comes as a separate report examining childcare in the leading industrialized nations found that working mothers in Britain spend just 81 minutes a day caring for their children as a "primary activity". Critics say the pressure on women to work long hours, and leave their children in the hands of nurseries or child minders, is putting the well-being of their children at risk. The study also reveals that, despite the fact that more and more modern mothers go out to work, the burden of childcare still falls on them -- even if their husband is not in work A father who is not in work tends to spend just 63 minutes a day looking after his child -- 18 minutes less than a mother who goes out to work. Working fathers spare less than three quarters of an hour with their children. According to Kate Fox,_. A) people should learn to relax by using the network B) network plays an important role in society C) mothers should make use of the network to gain support D) it is impossible for woman to become the "double shift"
C
(Question)
Consult the page adapted from an English dictionary and do Questions 53-56. Important words to learn: E Essential I Improver A Advanced shoot [Su:t] ^verb (shot, shot) WEAPON-1 E to fire a bullet or an arrow, or to hit, injure or kill a person or animal by firing a bullet or arrow at them: If he's not armed, don't shoot. [?]The kids were shooting arrows at a target.[?]She was shot three times in the head.[?]He has a license to shoot pheasants on the farmer's land. [?]A policeman was shot dead in the city centre last night. [?] The troops were told to shoot to kill. SPORT-2 A to try to score points for yourself or your team, in sports involving a ball, by kicking, hitting or throwing the ball towards the goal: He shot from the middle of the field and still managed to score. MOVE QUICKLY-3 A to move in a particular direction very quickly and directly: She shot past me several meters before the finishing line. [?] He shot out of the office a minute ago - I think he was late for a meeting.[?]They were just shooting off to town so we didn't stop to speak. shooter ['Su:t@] noun[C]He's thought to be the best shooter in the league. ^idioms have shot your bolt UK INFORMAL to have already achieved all that you have the power, ability or strength to do and to be unable to do more: He started off the game well but seemed to have shot his bolt by half-time. * shoot yourself in the foot to do something without intending to which spoils a situation for yourself * shoot your mouth off INFORMAL to talk too much in a loud and uncontrolled way: It's just like Richard to go shooting his mouth off about other people's affairs. * shoot for the moon US to ask for the best or the most you could hope for: You might as well shoot for the moon and ask for a promotion as well as a raise. * shoot questions at sb to ask someone a lot of questions very quickly, one after the other: He shot questions at me so quickly that I didn't even have time to answer. * shoot the breeze US INFORMAL to talk with someone or a group of people about things... If you are suffering from the consequence of the plan without full consideration, we say you are _ . A) shooting the breeze B) shooting your mouth off C) shooting yourself in the foot D) shooting questions at somebody
(Answer)
C
Question: Chicken feathers are useful, and not just to a chicken. Some go into pillows, coats and other products. But countless chicken feathers go to waste. In the United States, billions of chickens are produced yearly. Most of their feathers are thrown away. But instead of being buried in land, some feathers could find a future in plastics . One of the products they have developed is a flowerpot . It may look like other flowerpots. But the container breaks down in the earth within one to five years. And as it _ , it naturally becomes nutrient in the soil. The environmentally friendly flowerpot is the work of two researchers. Walter Schmidt is with the Agricultural Research Service, part of the United States Agriculture Department. Masud Huda is with the Horticultural Research Institute, a private organization . Walter Schmidt has been working to find uses for chicken feathers since the 1990s. Progress in 2002 showed that plastic made from feathers could be formed like other plastics. He says feathers are much stronger and last longer than another plant material. "Feathers are stronger. By design, feathers are also more durable . And the other part about it is if feathers were twice as heavy, or half as strong, then birds couldn't fly." He points out that traditional flowerpots made from other plastics can last much longer. But he wonders if there is really a need. He says most flowerpots are never re-used. "Why would you want a plastic that you use for a year to last for two hundred years? It makes no sense. You want to match the product with the use." said Walter Schmidt. Walter Schmidt and Masud Huda are now adding another chicken product to their flowerpots -- chicken waste. The waste will add more nutrients to the soil as the pot breaks down. The scientists say they hope their flowerpot will be on the market in a year or two. What does Walter Schmidt think of traditional flowerpots? A) Too heavy B) Too old C) Never re-used D) lasting longer but unnecessary
Answer:
D