A report from the Pew Research Center released last week shows that marriage has undergone significant changes over the last several decades as women's earning power and education developed more quickly than that of their husbands.
While men and worrier still may be getting used to the shift, the overall effect seems to be positive. Men are taking on more housework and women are earning more outside the home, and—surprise! — divorce rates are dropping.
"Women no longer need to marry up educationally or economically, so they are more likely to pick men who support a more egalitarian relationship," says Stephanie Coontz, author of Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage.
The divorce rate peaked in the late 1970s, at 23 divorces per 1 000 couples, according to the Times. But it has since dropped: There are fewer than 17 divorces per 1 000 marriages today. And. according to a recent report, typically, women with economic independence and education are more likely to stay married. And, get this: In states where fewer wives have paid jobs, divorce rates are higher.
While the earnings gap has yet to close completely, women aged 30 to 44 now make up the majority of US college graduates, and their earnings grew 44 percent from 1970 to 2007, according to the Pew study. That's compared to a six percent growth in earnings for men over the same time period.
However, don't get too excited, ladies—research shows that you still bear most of the household responsibilities in spite of your earning power. The University of Wisconsin's National Survey on Households and Families mows that among working couples, women still do two-thirds of the housework. The good news, though, is that men are now spending more time with their kids. The same survey reveals that the amount of time dads spend with their children has increased by three times.
单选题 The big changes in marriage are mainly caused by the fact that______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】首段指出根据上周发布的一份报道可知，在过去的几十年里婚姻关系经历了重大的变化，这主要是因为女性赚钱的能力和教育程度提高的速度比男性快。文中的earning powerand education developed more quickly与选项中的better paid and educated意思一致。
单选题 The word "egalitarian"(Para. 3)most probably means______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】第三段指出，受教育程度和经济条件不再是女性择偶时需要考虑的因素，这说明女性所寻求的不再是男主外女主内的传统的不平等关系，而应该是一种新型的平等关系，由此推断egalitarian应该含有“平等的”的意思。
单选题 It is implied that compared with women with paid jobs, women without jobs______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】第四段句指出，在女性很少外出工作的州，离婚率比较高。由此推断没有工作的女性很难维持婚姻。A)中的are less likely tostay married与原文中的divorce rates are higher同义。
单选题 Why shouldn't women feel excited now?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】本文最后一段提到在婚姻中女性的现状不容乐观。该段首句指出虽然女性有着赚钱养家的能力，但是女性仍然承担着大部分的家务劳动。
单选题 Which of the following can best describe the tone of the passage?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】本题是推断题，属于对作者写作态度和口吻的推测，因此解答此题需要从全篇入手。作者通篇都以具体的数字为依据来说明问题，最后一段更是从积极和消极两个方面描述了两性在婚姻中的现实问题，所以结合上述两点可以判断出作者的语气是实事求是。