The idea that equipping homes with electrical appliances and other "modern" household technologies would eliminate drudgery, save labor time, and increase leisure for women who were full-time home workers remained largely unchallenged until the women's movement of the 1970's spawned the groundbreaking and influential works of sociologist Joann Vanek and historian Ruth Cowan. Vanek analyzed 40 years of time use surveys conducted by home economists to argue that electrical appliances and other modern household technologies reduced the effort required to perform specific tasks, but ownership of these appliances did not correlate with less time spent on housework by full-time home workers. In fact, time spent by these workers remained remarkably constant―at about 52 to 54 hours per week―from the 1920's to the 1960's, a period of significant change in household technology. In surveying two centuries of household technology in the United States, Cowan argued that the "industrialization" of the home often resulted in more work for full-time home workers because the use of such devices as coal stoves, water pumps, and vacuum cleaners tended to reduce the workload of married-women's helpers (husbands, sons, daughters, and servants) while promoting a more rigorous standard of housework. The full-time home worker's duties also shifted to include more household management, child care, and the post-Second World War phenomenon of being "Mom's taxi."
According to the passage, which of the following is true about the idea mentioned in highlight text?
It has been undermined by data found in time-use surveys conducted by home economists.
It was based on a definition of housework that was explicitly rejected by Vanek and Cowan.
It is more valid for the time period studied by Cowan than for the time period studied by Vanek.
It is based on an underestimation of the time that married women spent on housework prior to the industrialization of the household.
It inaccurately suggested that new household technologies would reduce the effort required to perform housework.
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正确答案是 A。
A 是正确答案,因为文章指出,Vanek 和 Cowan 通过分析家庭经济学家收集的40年使用时间的调查数据发现,电器和其他现代家庭技术可以减轻特定任务的工作量,但全职家庭工作者的家务工作时间并没有随着这些技术的拥有而减少。因此,这项想法被数据所否定。
错选E:阅读细节被遗漏:"argue that .... reduced the effort rquired.... but ownership of these appliances did not correlate with less time spent on housework", 说明科技进步还是能够减轻工作量的,但是对家务时间的减少并没有太大关联。
reduce effort to certain task, 我也是错选了这个
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