单选题
"Family" is of course an elastic word. And in different
countries it has different meanings. But when British people say that their
society is based on family life, they are thinking of "family" in its narrow,
peculiarly European sense of mother, father and children living together in
their own house as an economic and social unit. Thus, every British marriage
indicates the beginning of a new and independent family—hence the tremendous
importance of marriage in British life. For both man and woman, marriage means
leaving one's parents and starting one's own life. The man's first duty will
then be to his wife, and the wife's to her husband. He will be entirely
responsible for her financial support, and she for the running of the new home.
Their children will be their common responsibility and their alone. Neither the
wife's parents nor the husband's, nor their brothers or sisters, aunts or
uncles, have any right to interfere with them—they are their own
masters. Readers of novels like Jane Austen's Pride and
Prejudice will know that in former times, marriage among wealthy families were
arranged by the girl's parents, that is, it was the parents' duty to find a
suitable husband for their daughter, preferably a rich one, and by skillful
encouragement to lead him eventually to ask their permission to marry her. Until
that time, the girl was protected and maintained in the parents' home, and the
financial relief of getting rid of her could be seen in their giving the newly
married pair a sum of money called a dowry(嫁妆). It is very different today. Most
girls of today get a job when they leave school and become financially
independent before their marriage. This has had two results. A girl chooses her
own husband, and she gets no dowry. Every coin has two sides; independence for
girls is no exception. But it may be a good thing for all of the girls, as their
social status are much higher and they are no longer the subordinate (部下，下级) of
their parents and husbands.
单选题
What does the author mean by "Family is of course an elastic word"?
A. Different families have different ways of life.
B. Different definitions could be given to the word.