1．Educating girls quite possibly brings in a higher rate of return than any other investment available in the developing world．Women education may be an unusual field for economists，but increasing women's contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social issue．And economics provides guideposts that point to an explanation for why so many girls are deprived （被剥夺） of an education．
Parents in low-income countries fail to invest in their daughters because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family：girls grow up only to marry into somebody else's family and bear children．Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and are kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school-the prophecy （预言） becomes self-fulfilling，trapping women in a bad circle of neglect．．
An educated mother，on the other hand，has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices．She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children，ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance．The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls，as well as of boys，will be educated and healthy．The bad circle is thus transformed into a good one．
Few will question that educating women has great social benefits．But it has enormous economic advantages as well．Most obviously，there is the direct effect of education on the wages of female workers．Wages rise by 10to 20percent for each additional year of schooling．Such big returns are impressive by the standard of other available investments，but they are just the beginning．Educating women also has a significant effect on health practices，including family planning．
49．By saying""the prophecy becomes self-fulfilling…" in Paragraph 2，the author means thatD．
A．girls will be increasingly discontented with their life at home
B．girls will be capable of realizing their own dreams
C．girls will eventually find their goals in life beyond reach
D．girls will turn out to be less valuable than boys
50．The author believes that a bad circle can turn into a good circle whenC．
A．women care more about education
B．a family has fewer but healthier children
C．girls can gain equal access to education
D．parents can afford their daughters'education
51．What does the author say about women's education？A
A．It will bring in greater returns than other known investments．
B．It is now given attention before anything else in many developing countries．
C．It deserves greater attention than other social issues．
D．It has aroused the interest of a growing number of economists．
52．The passage mainly discussesB．
A．unequal treatment of boys and girls in developing countries
B．the economic and social benefits of educating women
C．the major contributions of educated women to society
D．the potential earning power of well-educated women．
分析 本文是一篇说明文．文章主要介绍从经济学的角度论证了在发展中国家女性教育的价值．在发展中国家，女性教育可能会获得比任何其他投资更高的回报．父母们认为女孩不会对家庭经济做出贡献．女孩的价值因而被认为比男孩低而被剥夺了受教育的权利，使女性教育陷入恶性循环． 受教育女性会带来的价值，对外，赚钱的能力更强．对内，在教育问题上对男女孩一视同仁，这样下一代女孩因为受到了足够的教育，在处理自己的儿女教育问题时，同样会重视女孩的教育．因而形成良性循环，女性教育的巨大经济效应，多上一年学，工资增长10-20%．
解答 49．D 推理判断题．根据第二段中"they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family"可知，父母们认为女孩不会对家庭经济做出贡献，女孩的价值因而被认为比男孩低而被剥夺了受教育的权利，使女性教育陷入恶性循环． 故选D
50．C 细节理解题．根据第三段中""An educated mother，has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices．She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children，ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance．The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls，as well as of boys，will be educated and healthy"可知，受教育女性在教育问题上对男女孩一视同仁，这样下一代女孩因为受到了足够的教育，因而形成良性循环． 故选C．
51．A 推理判断题．根据最后一段的句子"Such big returns are impressive by the standard of other available deal，but they are just the beginning．Educating women also has a significant impact on health practices，including family planning．"可知，教育妇女比其他已知任何的事情都有更多的回报，故选A．
52．B 推理判断题．根据最后一段中"Few will argue that educating women has great social benefits．But it has enormous economic advantages as well．"可知，这篇文章讲的是教育女性带来的社会和经济利益，故选B．
点评 解答细节理解题时，一个常用的方法就是运用定位法，即根据题干和选项中的关键词从原文中找到相关的句子，与选项进行比较从而确定答案；推理判断题既要求学生透过文章表面文字信息推测文章隐含意思，又要求学生对作者的态度、意图及文章细节的发展作正确的推理判断，力求从作者的角度去考虑，不要固守自己的看法或观点．
