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So is marriage really an outdated institution?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】[解析] 第一段第二句讲到“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”，可知美国的离婚率激增，现在差不多50%的婚姻以离婚收场，而且会变得越来越糟糕，即越来越多的人将会离婚，D项的表达与此一致，故选D。根据“it will lead to the breakup of the family”和“the average American will marry at least fore times”可知这些表达的都是将来会发生的状况，所以A、C不正确。
单选题
What does "this is no longer the case" in paragraph two mean?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 第二段最后一句讲到“随着高薪女性的增多，情况也已经改变(this is no longer the case)”，其中的this指的是前一句话的内容“过去妇女们在外面没有工作，她们常常在经济上依赖她们的丈夫”，由此可见this is no longer the case指的就是妇女们如今在外工作，在经济上不再依赖她们的丈夫，所以选C。
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】[解析] 第三段第二句提到“While the rate of divorce has risen, the rate of couples marrying has never actually fallen very much, so marriage is still quite popular.”，由此可知虽然离婚率上升了，但是结婚率从没真正下降很多，婚姻生活依然很受欢迎，所以婚姻没有看起来那么的糟糕的原因是依然有很多人结婚，故选A。
单选题
How do people usually feel in their marriage life?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 第四段第三句的中提到“married couples have a healthier life than single people…married men generally consider themselves more contented than their single counterparts.”，可见结了婚的人比单身的人更健康，更满足。所以本题的答案是C。
单选题
Which of the following about marriage is NOT mentioned in the passage?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 第一段最后一句提到了“extramarital affairs(婚外情)will be even more common than they are now”，对应A项；第二段中提到“The institution of marriage has been based for years partly on economic need”，对应C项；最后一段提到了“The fact that most people still get married…”，对应D项；而B选项文中并未提到。所以选B。