Marriage Customs

Despite the recent growth in the number of divorces, we in the West still tend to regard courtship (求愛) and marriage as a romantic business. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy asks girl to marry him, girl accepts, wedding, flowers, big celebration.

But in other parts of the world things work differently. In India, for instance, arranged marriage is still very common. An intermediary (中間人), usually a married lady, learns that a young man wishes to get married and she begins to find him a suitable wife. The young couple meets for the first time on the day of the wedding.

In Japan, too, arranged marriages still take place. But things are organized in different way there. A girl wishes to find a husband, and the girl’s mother, or an aunt perhaps, approaches the mother of a suitable young man and the young couple are introduced. They get a chance to have a look at one another and if one of them says “Oh, no, I could never marry him or her”, they call the whole thing off. But if they like one another, then the wedding goes ahead.

In parts of Africa, a man is allowed to have several wives. Now that sounds fine from the man’s point of view, but in fact the man is taking on a great responsibility. When he takes a new wife and buys her a nice present, he has to buy all his other wives presents of equal value and, although we are obviously speaking of a male – dominated society, the wives often become very close and also, if there is disagreement in the family, the husband has three or four wives to argue with instead of just one.

It is true that American women brought up in the United States, who married Africans and went to live in Africa, have sometimes found it very difficult to take the role of the wife of an African living in African. Now most people, being used to the Western style of courtship and marriage, will think that this is the best system and the one with the greatest chance of producing a happy marriage. However, my observations have led me to believe that various forms of arranged marriages have just as much chance of bringing happiness to the husband and wife as our Western system of choosing marriage partners.

1．According to the passage, in the West,　　　　　 .

　 A．more and more people get divorced

　 B．fewer and fewer people get divorced

　 C．nobody gets divorced at all

　 D．50 percent of the married people get divorced

2．The word “arranged ” in Paragraph 2 probably means　　　　　 .

　 A．a(chǎn)rranged themselves. 　　　 B．a(chǎn)rranged well

　 C．a(chǎn)rranged by the intermediary 　 D．a(chǎn)rranged by God

3．According to Paragraph 4, the author thinks a man　　　　　 .

　 A．should not have more than one wife.

　 B．should have more than one wife.

　 C．with more than one wife will take one more responsibilities.

　 D．with more than one wife will be happier.

 

 

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Since the Second World War，there has been an obvious trend，especially among the growing group of college students，toward early marriage. Many youths begin dating in the first stage of adolescence, "go steady" through high school, and marry before their formal education has been completed. In some quarters, there is much shaking of graying heads over the unacceptable ways of youth. However, emotional (情感的）maturity does not grow with age； it does not arrive automatically at twenty -one or twenty-five. Some achieve it surprisingly early, while others never do, even in three-score years and ten.

Many students are marrying as an escape, not only from an unsatisfying home life, but also from their own personal problems of loneliness. However, any marriage 'entered into as an escape cannot prove entirely successful. The sad fact is that marriage seldom solves one' s problems ； more often，it merely worsens them. What ’ s more，it is doubtful whether the home is able to carry all that the young are seeking； they might abandon one idol(幻像）only to have another. Young people correctly understand that their parents are wrong in believing that success is the most important in life，but they themselves are wrong in believing that they have found the true center of life' s meaning. Their expectations of marriage are basically unrealistic and therefore can not be met. They want too much, and tragic disillusionment(幻想破滅）is often likely to follow.

Shall we, then, join the chorus of those against early marriages? One cannot generalize： all early marriages are bad and all later ones are good. Satisfactory marriages are determined not by how old one is, but by the emotional maturity of the partners. Therefore, each case must be judged on its own benefits. If the early marriage is not an escape, if it is entered into with relatively few false expectations，and if it is economically workable，why not? Good marriages can

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B.  the disapproval of elderly people

C.  the improper behaviors of the young

D.  the emotional expectations of young lovers

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B.  elderly people are wrong about early marriages

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

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Betty shrugs. Talk? We're friends.

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E
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根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從下框A~F選項(xiàng)中選出能概括每段主題的最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該選項(xiàng)涂黑。選項(xiàng)中有一項(xiàng)為多余項(xiàng)。

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1、______

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2、______

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The history of marriage may be as old as that of the man and family. In ancient times the man’s family often provided presents for all the relatives of the girl. If the gifts were favorably received, the man would be given the woman he wanted.

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Marriage has developed through three stages. At first it was simply mating. The second stage gradually developed the legal process and moral obligations, and the rights of each mate began to be defined. The third stage stresses ethical(道德的) rights.

 

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科目：高中英語 來源：20102011學(xué)年度重慶八中高三第六次月考英語卷 題型：閱讀理解

Some futurologists have assumed that the vast increase of women in the workforce may portend（預(yù)示）an increase in divorce. The opposite of this concern is that the outlook of becoming a multi-paycheck household could encourage marriage. The earning ability of a woman can make her more attractive as a marriage partner.

The increase in divorce rates follows to the increase in women working outside the home. Yet, it may be wrong to jump to any simple cause-and-effect conclusions. The effect of a wife’s work on divorce is no less cloudy than its effect on marriage decisions. The realization that she can be a good provider may increase the chances that a working wife will choose divorce over an unsatisfactory marriage. But the reverse is equally reasonable. Tensions grounded in financial problems often play a key role in ending a marriage. By raising a family’s standard of living, a working wife may strengthen her family’s financial and emotional stability.

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A. The stability of marriage and the divorce rate may reflect the economic social position of women.

B. Even when economically independent, most women have to struggle for real equality in marriage.

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