12．One of the most striking findings of a recent questionnaire in the UK is that of the people interviewed，one in two believes that it is becoming more difficult to meet someone to start a family with．
Why are many people finding it increasingly difficult to start and keep close relationships（關(guān)系）？Does modern life really make it harder to fall in love？Or are we making it harder for ourselves？
It is certainly the case today that nowadays couples benefit in different ways from relationships．Women no longer rely upon partners for economic security（安全性）or status．A man doesn't expect his wife to be in sole（唯一的）charge of running his household and raising his children．
But perhaps the knowledge that we can live perfectly well without a partnership means that it takes much more to persuade people to give up their independence．
In theory，finding a partner should be much simpler these days．Only a few generations ago，your choiceof soul mate was limited by geography，social customs and family tradition．Although it was never clear，many marriages were essentially arranged．Now those barriers have been broken down．You can approach a builder or a doctor in any bar in any city on any given evening．When the world is your oyster（牡蠣），you surely have a better chance of finding a pearl．
But it seems that the traditions have been replaced by an even tighter restriction：the limitation of choice．The expectations of partners are made greater to an unmanageable degree：good looks，impressive salary，kind to grandmother，and so on．There is no room for error in the first impression．
We think that a relationship can be perfect．If it isn't，it is intended to be thrown away．We work to protect ourselves against future heartache and don't put in the hard emotional labor needed to build a strong relationship．Twelve-hour work at the office makes relaxed after-hours dating（約會(huì)） difficult．The cost of housing and child-raising creates pressure to have a stable（穩(wěn)定的）income and career before a life partnership．
57．Nowadays，in a family，B．
A．men begin to depend on womenB．couples share the burdens
C．men are responsible for houseworkD．couples can't get along together
58．People don't want to give up their independence becauseD．
A．they can't bear arranged marriagesB．they want to have more choices
C．they don't want to follow traditionsD．they think they can live happily alone
59．People are not eager to date becauseB．
A．it requires luck to build a strong relationship
B．it takes them too much energy to work
C．it needs faith（信心）to have a life partnership
D．it causes mental problems to find a life partner
60．Which of the following can best describe the main idea of the passage？A
A．The expectations of partners and financial （經(jīng)濟(jì)的）pressure may prevent a relationship．
B．People should spend more money on marriage today．
C．Independence is much more important than love．
D．Even a perfect marriage can be given up for the sake of independence．
分析 根據(jù)美國(guó)最新的一項(xiàng)問(wèn)卷調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，50%的人覺得找到相伴一生的另一半很困難．本文簡(jiǎn)單地分析了其中的可能原因．
解答 答案：57-60 BDBA
57．B 推理判斷題．根據(jù)第三段Women no longer rely upon partners for economic security or status．A man doesn't expect his wife to be in sole （唯一的） charge of running his household and raising his children．可知現(xiàn)在的女子在經(jīng)濟(jì)上獨(dú)立，男子也不能指望女子負(fù)責(zé)所有的家務(wù)和養(yǎng)孩子．說(shuō)明現(xiàn)在是夫妻雙方共同承擔(dān)負(fù)擔(dān)．故選B．
58．D 細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第四段But perhaps the knowledge that we can live perfectly well without a partnership means that it takes much more to persuade people to abandon their independence．可知，人們認(rèn)為獨(dú)自生活也很好的觀念使得人們不愿意放棄他們的獨(dú)立生活．故選D．
59．B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文章最后一段Twelve-hour work at the office makes relaxed after-hours dating（約會(huì)） difficult．可知12小時(shí)的工作使得人們約會(huì)變得很困難，繁忙的工作花費(fèi)了人們太多的精力．故選B．
60．A 主旨大意題．文章主要分析現(xiàn)在的人們?yōu)槭裁春茈y找到生活伴侶，其原因可能主要為對(duì)對(duì)方的期望過(guò)高以及經(jīng)濟(jì)壓力較大．故選A．
點(diǎn)評(píng) 閱讀理解是考查語(yǔ)篇理解能力．常考的題型有：推理判斷題；主旨大意題；細(xì)節(jié)理解題；猜測(cè)詞意題．近幾年又出現(xiàn)了兩種新的考查方式：寫作態(tài)度判斷題和文章結(jié)構(gòu)題．解題時(shí)，在讀懂文章的基礎(chǔ)上，還有特別注意掌握題型的特征，尤其是細(xì)節(jié)題和推斷題不可混淆：細(xì)節(jié)題是文章信息的再現(xiàn)；推斷題是文章信息的提�。绢}是廣告類文章，考查主要是以細(xì)節(jié)題為主，細(xì)節(jié)題要注意常用的出題陷阱有：夸大，縮小，張冠李戴，偷梁換柱，無(wú)中生有等，做題時(shí)要看清看準(zhǔn)．
