第八篇 $lesson$

The State of Marriage Today

　　Is there something seriously wrong with marriage today? During the past 50 years，the rate of divorce in the United States has exploded：almost 50%of marriages end in divorce now，and the evidence suggests it is going to get worse. If this trend continues，it will lead to the breakup of the family，according to a spokesperson for the National Family Association. Some futurists predict that in 100 years，the average American will marry at least four times，and extramarital affairs will be even more common than they are now.

　　But what are the reasons for this，and is the picture really so gloomy? The answer to the first question is really quite simple：marriage is no longer the necessity it once was. The institution of marriage has been based for years partly on economic need. Women used to be economically dependent on their husbands as they usually didn’t have jobs outside the home. But with the rising number of women in well-paying jobs，this is no longer the case, so they don’t feel that they need to stay in a failing marriage.

　　In answer to the second question，the outlook may not be as pessimistic as it seems. While the rate of divorce has risen，the rate of couples marrying has never actually fallen very much，so marriage is still quite popular. In addition to this，many couples now cohabit and don’t bother to marry. These couples are effectively married，but they do not appear in either the marriage or divorce statistics. In fact，more than 50%of first marriages survive. The statistics are deceptive because there is a higher number of divorces in second and third marriages than in first marriages.

　　So is marriage really an outdated institution? The fact that most people still get married indicates that it isn't. And it is also true that married couples have a healthier life than single people：they suffer less from stress and its consequences，such as heart problems，and married men generally consider themselves more contented than their single counterparts. Perhaps the key is to find out what makes a successful marriage and apply it to all of our relationships!

　　詞匯：

　　divorce n.離婚 cohabit v.同居

　　evidence n.證據，跡象 effectively ad.實際上

　　futurist n.未來主義者 statistics n.統計，統計資料

　　explode v.激增，迅速擴大deceptive adj.迷惑的，騙人的

　　predict v.預言，預料，預報 outdated adj.舊式的，過時的

　　extramarital adj.婚外的 indicate v.表明，暗示

　　gloomy adj.陰暗的;令人沮喪的 consequence n.結果，后果

　　institution n.制度，習俗 contented adj.滿足的，滿意的

　　outlook n.展望，前景 counterpart n.對應的人(或物)

　　pessimistic adj.悲觀的

　　注釋：

　　National Family Association：美國國家家庭聯合會

　　練習：

　　1.Which is true about the problem of marriage in the United States today?

　　A)Divorce leads to the breakup of the family.

　　B)Half of the married couples get divorced.

　　C)American people marry more than four times.

　　D)More and more people are getting divorced.

　　2.What does “this is no longer the case” in paragraph two mean?

　　A ) It is not necessary to get married any more.

　　B) Women do not need a husband any longer.

　　C) Women are not economically dependant any more.

　　D) Many wives do well-paying jobs outside home now.

　　3.Why may the outlook of marriage not be as gloomy as it appears?

　　A) Many people still like to get married.

　　B)The rate of divorce has actually decreased.

　　C)Over 50%of the marriages continue to exist.

　　D)The statistics of divorce is not quite true.

　　4.How do people usually feel in their marriage life?

　　A)They are much healthier.

　　B)They feel no longer single.

　　C)They are more satisfied.

　　D)They suffer a lot less.

　　5.Which of the following about marriage is NOT mentioned in the passage?

　　A)There will be more relationships outside marriage.

　　B)Many people try to get married again after divorce.

　　C)Marriage has long been partly an economical need.

　　D)It is a fact that most people choose to get married.

　　答案與題解：

　　1. D 從第一段里可以了解到選項A與C都是預計將來會發生的，而不是如今的情況。

　　B選項與第一段第二句“almost 50%of the marriages end in divorce”不符。第一段第二句里的“the rate of divorce in the United States has exploded”“the evidence suggests it is going to get worse”話語正好說明了D選項的情況。

　　2. C 第二段第四句、第五句說得很清楚，婦女們如今在外工作在經濟上不再依賴她們的丈夫，因此覺得無需維持行將失敗的婚姻。

　　3. A 從第二段里可以了解到離婚率并沒有下降而是上升了，因此B選項不對。而C選項與第三段里“In fact，more than 50%of first marriages survive”所說不符，該選項沒有提到是第一次婚姻。同樣，D選項在文中也沒有說到，文中第三段的最后一句只是說統計數據具有欺騙性，而沒有說數據失實。

　　4. C 文中第四段第三句的后半句說得很清楚，結了婚的人比單身的人更滿足。A，D選項提到的是實際情況而不是婚后人們的感覺，因此不對。文中并沒有提到選項B所說的情況。

　　5. B A選項在第一段最后一句里提到了，C選項和D選項分別在第二段、第四段里提到了，而B選項卻沒有哪一段具體提到