大学英语六级考试阅读单词：18

　　[背景了解]
　　文章取自于2004年1月的阅读真题，是关于职业女性的文章，选段有点长，希望耐心看下，自己先猜下划线部分单词的意思吧
　　[文章部分]
　　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 marriages. 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.
　　[单词学习]
　　portend v.预示
　　hypothesis n.假设
　　prospect n.景色, 前景, 前途, 期望 vi.寻找, 勘探
　　downturn n.低迷时期
　　rebound n.回弹 v.回弹
　　[课后作业]
　　今天的作业就是翻译下面几个句子,来试下吧
　　1.What do these strange events portend?
　　2.People have proposed all sorts of hypotheses to explain why dinosaurs have become extinct.
　　3.The prospects for this year's wine harvest are poor.
　　4.There is a downturn in the market but it is hard to define exactly why.
　　5.The scheme rebounded on her in a way she had not expected.
　　答案：1.这些奇怪的事件预示着什么?
　　2.人们提出种种假设, 试图说明恐龙为什么会灭绝。
　　3.今年葡萄酒的收成不好。
　　4.市场有下降趋势，但很难准确地指明原因。
　　5.她未曾想到这计谋反倒使她自食其果。