Is there something seriously wrong with marriage today? During the past 50 years, the rate of divorce in the United States has exploded: almost 50% of marriages end in divorce now, and the evidence suggests it is going to get worse. If this trend continues, it will lead to the breakup of the family, according to a spokesperson for the National Family Association. Some futurists predict that in 100 years, the average American will marry at least four times and extramarital affairs will be even more common than they are now. But what are the reasons for this, and is the picture really so gloomy? The answer to the first question is really quite simple: marriage is no longer the necessity it once was. The institution of marriage has been based for years partly on economic need. Women used to be economically dependent on their husbands as they usually didn't have jobs outside the home. But with the rising number of women in well-paying jobs, this is no longer the case, so they don't feel that they need to stay in a failing marriage. In answer to the second question, the outlook may not be as pessimistic as it seems. While the rate of divorce has risen, the rate of couples marrying has never actually fallen very much, so marriage is still quite popular. In addition to this, many couples now cohabit and don't bother to marry. These couples are effectively married, but they do not appear in either the marriage or divorce statistics. In fact, more than 50% of first marriages survive. The statistics are deceptive because there is a higher number of divorces in second and third marriages than in first marriages. So is marriage really an outdated institution? The fact that most people still get married indicates that it isn't. And it is also true that married couples have a healthier life than single people: they suffer less from stress and its consequences, such as heart problems, and married men generally consider themselves more contented than their single counterparts. Perhaps the key is to find out what makes a successful marriage and apply it to all of our relationships!
单选题
Which is true about the problem of marriage in the United States today?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】从第1段里可以了解到选项A与C都是预计将来会发生的，而不是如今的情况。B选项与第1段第2句“almost，50% of the marriages end in divorce”不符。第1段第2句里的“the rate of divorce in the United States has exploded”、“the evidence suggests it is going to get，worse”正好说明了D选项的情况。
单选题
What does "this is no longer the case" in paragraph two mean?
单选题
Why may the outlook of marriage not be as gloomy as it appears?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】从第3段里可以了解到离婚率并没有下降而是上升了，因此B选项不对。而C选项与第3段里“In fact，more than 50% of first marriages survive”所说不符，该选项没有提到是第一次婚姻。同样，D选项在文中也没有说到，文中第3段的最后一句只是说统计数据具有欺骗性，而没有说数据失实。
单选题
How do people usually feel in their marriage life?