The text notes that thirty years later this pattern seems to:

• A. It still seems to be the case.
• B. It is no longer the case.
• C. It has reversed.
• D. It has become more balanced.

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is persistence of social patterns over time. When a pattern described in a text remains evident after thirty years, it shows continuity rather than change in how people behave and how families operate. This persistence happens because norms, routines, and the institutions that shape family life—like education, work, and laws—toster evidence of the pattern and make deviations costly or unlikely. In families, for example, long-standing expectations about who does certain tasks or who takes responsibility for childcare can continue across generations, even as some shifts occur elsewhere. Therefore, the claim that thirty years on the pattern still seems to be the case points to enduring stability rather than reversal, no longer being the case, or becoming more balanced.