第一篇（英译汉） Passage 1 (E---C)

相关词语 Related Words and Expressions

the structure of the family 家庭结构

nuclear family 核心家庭

a good provider 好当家

divorce rate 离婚率

compatibility 投缘，相容，不矛盾

alimony 丈夫在分居或离婚后付给妻子的赡养费

full custody 全部监护权

homosexual 同性恋的

During the traditional wedding ceremony, the bridal couple promise each other lifelong devotion. Yet, about one out of four American marriages ends in divorce. Since 1940, the divorce rate has more than doubled, and experts predict that, of all marriages that occurred in the 1970s, about 50% will end in divorce. The U.S.A. has one of the highest divorce rates in the world, perhaps even the highest.

What goes wrong? The fact that divorce is so common in the United States does not mean that Americans consider marriage a casual, unimportant relationship. Just the opposite is true. Americans expect a great deal from marriage. They seek physical, emotional, and intellectual compatibility. They want to be deeply loved and understood. It is because Americans expect so much from marriage that so many get divorced. They prefer no marriage at all to a marriage without love and understanding. With typical American optimism, they end one marriage in hope that the next will be happier. With no-fault divorce laws in many states, it is easier than ever to get a divorce. Some American women stay in unhappy marriages because they don’t have the education or job experience to support themselves and their children. But most American women believe that, if necessary, they can make it alone without a husband. All things considered, Americans have little reason to continue an unhappy marriage.

Which marriages are most likely to end in divorce? Marriages between people with low incomes or limited education and marriages between teenagers are at greatest risk. The number of divorces between couples with children under the age of 18 is declining, and almost 45% of divorcing couples are childless.

When a couple gets divorced, the court may require the man to pay his former wife a monthly sum of money called alimony. The amount of alimony depends on the husband’s income, the wife’s needs, and the length of the marriage. If the woman is working and earns a good salary, she may receive no alimony at all. Occasionally, the court decides that a woman should pay her husband alimony. About 10% of American women outearn their husbands. If the woman has totally supported her husband during the marriage, the court may decide that she must continue to support him after the divorce. This is a rather new concept in the United States.

If a divorcing couple has children, the court must determine which parent the children will live with and who will provide for their support. In most cases, the children live with the mother, and the father pays child support and has visitation rights. However, it is not uncommon for a father to get full custody or joint custody of his children when this arrangement seems to be in the children’s best interest.

The high risk of divorce doesn’t seem to make Americans afraid to try marriage—again and again. By middle age, about 95% of Americans have been married at least once. About 80% of those who get divorced eventually remarry. Only in Japan is the married proportion of the population as high as it is in the U.S.A. In fact, remarriage and the creation of new families is so common in the United States that one American joke tells of a wife calling to her second husband, “Quick, John! Come here and help me! Your children and my children are beating up our children!”

Despite the dominance of the married lifestyle, the number of people choosing alternative lifestyles is increasing, and their behavior is increasingly accepted by the general population. The number of unmarried couples living together rose from about 500,000 in 1970 to about 2.6 million in 1988. Many older people are horrified by the growing trend of unmarried couples living together. However, it is not just an American trend. It’s even more common in Europe than in the U.S.A.

Another alternative to the traditional marriage is the homosexual relationship. Scientists estimate that about 4% of American men and 1.5% of American women are homosexuals. Many homosexuals live with someone of their own sex, and sometimes these relationships last for many years, with the same loyalty and emotional attachment as in a happy marriage.