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[00:34.95]Donna Barron describes how American family life has changed in recent years.She identifies three forces at work.
[00:45.24]What are they?Read on to find out.Then ask yourself whether similar forces are at work within China.
[00:55.12]Will family life here end up going in the same direction?
[01:00.68]AMERICAN FAMILY LIFE:THE CHANGING PICTURE By Donna Barron
[01:08.70]It's another evening in an American household.
[01:13.09]2 The door swings open at 5:30 sharp."Hi,honey!I'm home!" In walks dear old Dad,
[01:22.34]hungry and tired after a long day at the office.He is greeted by Mom in her apron,
[01:30.98]three happy children,and the aroma of a delicious pot roast.
[01:36.71]3 After a leisurely meal together,Mom does the dishes.That,after all,is part of her job.
[01:44.99]The whole family then moves to the living room.There everyone spends the evening playing Scrabble or watching TV.
[01:54.42]4 Then everyone is off to bed.And the next morning Dad and the kids
[02:00.92]wake up to the sounds and smells of Mom preparing pancakes and sausages for breakfast.
[02:08.34]5 (1)What?You say that doesn't sound like life in your house?Well,you're not alone.
[02:16.15]In fact,you're probably in the majority.
[02:20.77]6 At one time in America,the above household might have been typical.You can still visit such a home--on television.
[02:30.73]Just watch reruns of old situation comedies.(2)Leave it to Beaver,for example,
[02:38.80]shows Mom doing housework in pearls and high heels.Dad keeps his suit and tie on all weekend.But the families
[02:49.85]that operate like Beaver Cleaver's are fewer and fewer.They're disappearing because three parts of our lives have changed:
[03:00.14]the way we work,the way we eat,and the way we entertain ourselves.
[03:07.06]Becoming aware of the effects of those changes may help us improve family life.
[03:14.25]7 Let's look first at the changes in the way we work.
[03:18.71]Today the words"Hi,honey!I'm home!"might not be spoken by dear old Dad.
[03:26.65]Dear old Mom is just as likely to be saying them.A generation ago,
[03:34.10]most households could get along on one paycheck--Dad's.Mom stayed home,at least until the children started school.
[03:44.68]But today,over half the mothers with young children go to work.
[03:50.84]An even greater percentage of mothers of older children are in the workforce.
[03:57.04]And the number of single-parent homes has mushroomed in the last thirty years.
[04:03.67]8 These changes in work have affected children as well as parents.When only Dad went out to work,
[04:12.16]children came home from school to Mom.(In TV situation comedies,they came home to Mom and home-baked cookies.)
[04:22.64]Today,we'll find them at an after-school program or a neighbor's house.Or they may come home to no one at all.
[04:31.57]In every community,children are caring for themselves until their parents return from work.
[04:39.17]Are these children missing out on an important part of childhood?
[04:45.07]Or are they developing a healthy sense of self-reliance?These are questions that Mrs.Cleaver never had to deal with.
[04:55.34]9 In addition,Dad and now Mom are often gone from home longer than ever.Not too long ago,
[05:04.22]most men worked close to home.The office or factory was just downtown.
[05:11.72]Dad often walked to work or hitched a ride with a friendly neighbor.But no more.
[05:19.43]10 Today's working men and women are commuters.They travel distances to work that would have made their parents gasp.
[05:28.67]Commutes of forty-five minutes or an hour are common.Workers travel on buses,subways,and crowded highways.
[05:39.07]Many leave their suburban homes at dawn and don't return until dark.No running home for lunch for today's commuter.
[05:49.39]11 And speaking of lunch,there's been a second big change in American family life.
[05:56.00]If both parents are away from home for long hours,who'swhipping up those delicious meals in the kitchen?
[06:04.23]The answer,more and more,is nobody.
[06:08.98]12 These days,few people have time to shop for and prepare"homestyle"meals.
[06:16.45]The Cleavers were used to dinners of pot roast or chicken.Potatoes,salad,and vegetables went with the main course,
[06:25.85]With pie or cake for dessert.But this kind of meal takes several hours to fix.
[06:33.85]People can't spend hours in the kitchen if they get home at 5:30.
[06:39.67]13 So what do working families eat?They choose meals that are easy to prepare or are already prepared.Fast food,
[06:51.09]takeout,and heat-and-serve dishes make up much of the modern American diet.
[06:58.40]Dad may arrive home with a bag of Big Macs and shakes.Mom may phone out for Chinese food
[07:06.95]or ask the local pizza parlor to deliver.And more and more people rely on microwaves to thaw frozen food in minutes.
[07:18.23]14 One consequence of these quickly prepared meals is that families spend less time dining together.And classic fast foods,
[07:28.21]like hamburgers and fries,are meant to be eaten on the run,not slowly enjoyed at the dinner table.
[07:36.93]The modern family no longer shares the evening meal.
[07:42.52]As a result,it no longer shares the day's news...or the feeling of togetherness.
[07:49.86]15 Finally,what about after dinner?Is the family evening at least something the Cleavers could relate to?
[07:59.19]16 Not a chance.
[08:02.04]17 We don't have to look outside the home to see the changes.
[08:07.03]The modern American family entertains itself in ways the Cleavers would never have dreamed of.
[08:14.79]18 Thirty years ago,families gathered around a radio each evening.Later,television took over.Most families had just one set,
[08:26.75]which they watched together.Today,television and computers bring a dizzying array of entertainment into the home.
[08:37.04]Cable television provides everything from aerobics classes to Shakespeare.VCRs expand the choices even more.
[08:48.61](3)If there's nothing good on network TV or cable,the video store offers the best and worst of Hollywood:
[08:57.39]recent movies,cartoons,"adult"films,exercise programs,travel,sports,how-to tapes. Computer games,
[09:10.37]which make viewers part of the action,also provide excitement.Players can compete in the Olympics,
[09:19.05]search out aliens,or wipe out entire civilizations on their little screens.
[09:26.15]19 With all these choices,it makes sense to own more than one television set.The two-or-more-TV family used to be rare.
[09:36.68](4)Nowadays,Dad might want to rent an action movie when Mom's cable shopping service is on.
[09:44.52]Or Junior is playing a let's-below-up-Saturn video game while Sis wants to see The Simpsons.
[09:53.16]Why not invest in several sets?Then each family member can enjoy himself or herself in peace.
[10:02.31]20 What's wrong with this picture of today's family?
[10:06.93]21 Only this.Today's Cleavers spend their evenings in front of their separate TV screens.Then they go to bed.
[10:16.86]The next morning,they rush off to their separate jobs(work and school).They come home at separate times.
[10:26.00]They eat separately.Finally,they return to their separate TV screens for another evening's entertainment.
[10:35.95]During all these times,when do they talk to each other or even see each other?When are they a family?
[10:43.40]22 Certain realities of modern life cannot change.One is the need, in most families,
[10:50.84]for both parents to bring home a paycheck.Another is the distance many of us must travel to work or to school.
[11:00.66]But must everything change?And must we lose the family structure in the process?
[11:09.20]23 No one is suggesting that we go back to the 1950s.The Cleaver household was a fantasy even then,not reality.
[11:19.68]But we might borrow one important lesson from the Cleavers.
[11:24.98]It is that family life is just as important as work or play.
[11:31.38]If we agree,we'll find ways of spending more time together.
[11:37.26]We'll find things to share.And then there will be something right with the picture.
[11:41.02]房租 娱乐 电缆 有意义
