The Family

　　The structure of a family takes different forms around the world and even in the same society. The family's form changes as it adapts to changing social and economic influences. Until recently, the most common form in North America was the nuclear family，consisting of a married couple with their minor children. The nuclear family is an independent unit. It must be prepared to fend for itself. Individual family members strongly depend on one another. There is little help from outside the family in emergencies. Elderly relatives of a nuclear family are cared for only if it is possible for the family to do so. In North America，the elderly often do not live with the family ; they live in retirement communities and nursing homes.

　　There are many parallels between the nuclear family in industrial societies，such as North America，and of families in societies such as that of the Inuits，who live in harsh environments. The nuclear family structure is well adapted to a life of mobility. In harsh conditions，mobility allows the family to hunt for food. For North Americans，the hunt for jobs and improved social status also requires mobility.

　　The nuclear family was not always the North American standard. In a more agrarian time，the small nuclear family was usually part of a larger extended family. This might have included grandparents，mother and father，brothers and sisters，uncles，aunts，and cousins. In North America today，there is a dramatic rise in the number of single-parent households. Twice as many households in the United States are headed by divorced，separated，or never-married individuals as are comprised of nuclear families. The structure of the family，not just in North America, but throughout the world，continues to change as it adapts to changing conditions.

　　詞匯:

　　nuclear  adj. 原子核的，中心的

　　harsh n. 嚴(yán)酷的

　　emergency  n. 緊急狀況

　　agranan   adj. 土地的，耕地的

　　注釋:

　　1. lt must be prepared to fend for itself. 它必須能夠照料自己。

　　2. In North America，the elderly often do not live with the family; they live in retirement communities and nursing homes. 在北美洲，老人很少和家人一起生活;他們一般住在退休社區(qū)和養(yǎng)老機(jī)構(gòu)。

　　3. In harsh conditions，mobility allows the family to hunt for food. :在惡劣的條件下，流動(dòng)性能讓一個(gè)家庭吃飽飯。

　　練習(xí):

　　1. Another good title for this passage would be_____.

　　A) What Makes a Family?

　　B) The Life of the Inuits.

　　C) Living with Hardship.

　　D) The Failure of theNuclear Family.

　　2. A nuclear family is defined as_____.

　　A) a married couple with their minor children

　　B) a single father with，minor children

　　C) parents，grandparents，and children

　　D) parents，children，and aunts and uncles

　　3. The information in this passage would most likely be found in_____.

　　A) an anthropology textbook

　　B) a biology textbook

　　C) a mathematics textbook

　　D) a geography textbook

　　4. The information in the first paragraph is presented mainly through _____.

　　A) listing statistics

　　B) telling a story

　　C) pointing out similarities

　　D) pointing out differences

　　5. The word mobility means_____.

　　A) money

　　B) readiness to move

　　C) organization

　　D) skill

　　答案與題解:

　　1. A 本題問的是:這篇文章的題目還可以是什么? A 的意思是是什么構(gòu)成了一個(gè)家。B 的意 思是因紐特人的生活。C 的意思是生活得很艱難。D 的意思是核心家庭的失敗之處。根據(jù)文意，本文主要介紹了與家庭相關(guān)的信息。B 不是主要內(nèi)容。C 未提到。D 未提到。因此A 是正確的答案。

　　2. A 本題問的是:核心家庭的定義是什么?根據(jù)第一段的第三句話:Until recently，the most common form in North America was the nuclear family，consisting of a married couple with their minor children. 可知 A 是正確的答案。

　　3. A 本題問的是:這篇文章最有可能出自哪里? A 的意思是人類學(xué)課本。B 的意思是生物課本。C的意思是數(shù)學(xué)課本。D 的意思是地理課本。本文主要介紹了家庭，因此最有可能是人類學(xué)課本。所以 A 是正確的答案。

　　4. C 本題問的是:第一段的信息主要以何種方式陳述的?根據(jù)第一段的陳述方式，并沒有列 出數(shù)據(jù)或者講故事，而是通過描述共性而闡述出核心家庭的概念。因此 C 是正確的答案。

　　5. B 本題問的是:mobility 的詞意。Mobility 是 mobile 的名詞形式。根據(jù)文中第二段，核心家庭能夠生存下去最重要的是能夠有流動(dòng)性，而錢、組織或是技能都不是能夠使一個(gè)家庭吃飽飯的必要條件。因此 B 是正確的答案。

【我要糾錯(cuò)】 責(zé)任編輯：lily