一篇英语阅读、请给点分析。

Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

Some futurologists have assumed that the vast upsurge(剧增)of women in the workforce may portend a rejection of marriage. Many women, according to this hypothesis, would rather work than marry. The converse(反面)of this concern is that the prospects of becoming a multi-paycheck household could encourage marriage. In the past, only the earnings and financial prospects of the man counted in the marriage decision. Now, however, the earning ability of a woman can make her more attractive as a marriage partner. Data show that economic downturns tend to postpone marriage because the parties cannot afford to establish a family or are concerned about rainy days ahead. As the economy rebounds, the number of marriages also rises.

Coincident with the increase in women working outside the home is the increase in divorce rates. Yet, it may be wrong to jump to any simple cause-and-effect conclusions. The impact of a wife"s work on divorce is no less cloudy than its impact on marriage decisions. The realization that she can be a good provider may increase the chances that a working wife will choose divorce over an unsatisfactory marriage. But the reverse is equally plausible. Tensions grounded in financial problems often play a key role in ending a marriage. Given high unemployment, inflationary problems, and slow growth in real earnings, a working wife can increase household income and relieve some of these pressing financial burdens. By raising afamily"s standard of living, a working wife may strengthen her family"s financial and emotional stability.

Psychological factors also should be considered. For example, a wife blocked from a career outside the home may feel caged in the house. She may view her only choice as seeking a divorce. On the other hand, if she can find fulfillment through work outside the home, work and marriage can go together to create a stronger and more stable union.

Also, a major part of women"s inequality in marriage has been due to the fact that, in most cases, men have remained the main breadwinners. With higher earning capacity and status occupations outside of the home comes the capacity to exercise power within the family. A working wife may rob a husband of being the master of the house. Depending upon how the couple reacts to these new conditions, it could create a stronger equal partnership or it could create new insecurities.

文章解析：本文是一篇对比文，文章讨论了女性的外出工作对婚姻的两种相反的影响。首段前两句表明专家观点：工作女性的剧增可能预示着拒绝婚姻，后半段又提出转折，工作女性的剧增可能鼓励婚姻。第二段两种相反观点继续讨论女性的外出工作对婚姻影响。第三段支持两种相反观点的两种相反的心理因素。最后一段，随着工作女性的经济能力的提高，女性在家庭的地位上升可能导致两种相反结果。近年考试对比型的文章出现频繁，包括两种观点的议论文和两种事物的说明文，特点是平行论述，没有主次之分，作者不发表态度和结论，一般两种观点的开头可当作文章主旨。26. The word“portend”(Line 2, Para.1) is closest in meaning to“_____”.A) defy B) signal C) suffer from D) result from

词义题从文章第一句话大部分考生都不难理解portend是预示的意思。但是要知道正确选项B)signal也有显示的意思，需要背到字典上signal动词形式的第三个意思。要求考生不能局限于一词一义，而要熟练掌握大纲词汇的每一个解释。A) defy不服从,反抗C) suffer from忍受,遭受D) result from由……产生。