In
the American family the husband and wife usually share important decision
making. When the children are {{U}}(51) {{/U}} enough, they take part as
well. Foreigners are often surprised by the permissiveness(宽容) of American
parents. The old rule that "children should be seen and not heard" is rarely
{{U}}(52) {{/U}}, and children are often allowed to do {{U}}(53)
{{/U}} they wish without strict control of their parents. The father seldom
expects his children to listen to him {{U}}(54) {{/U}} question, and
children are encouraged to be {{U}}(55) {{/U}} at an early age. Some
people believe that American parents carry this freedom {{U}}(56) {{/U}}
far. Others think that a strong father image would not {{U}}(57) {{/U}}
the American values of equality and independence. Because Americans emphasize
the importance of independence, young people are expected to {{U}}(58)
{{/U}} their parental families by the time they have {{U}}(59)
{{/U}} their late teens or early twenties. Indeed, not to do so is often
regarded as a {{U}}(60) {{/U}} , a kind of weak dependence.
This pattern of independence often results in serious {{U}}(61)
{{/U}} for the aging parents of a small family. The average American is
expected to live {{U}}(62) {{/U}} the age of 70. The job-retirement age
is {{U}}(63) {{/U}} 65. The children have left home, married, and
{{U}}(64) {{/U}} their own households. At least 20 percent of all people
over 65 do not have enough retirement incomes. {{U}}(65) {{/U}} the
major problem of many elderly couples is not economic. They feel useless and
lonely with neither an occupation nor a close family
group.
【答案解析】[解析] 短语辨析题。break up：拆散，分裂。break into：闯入。break through：突破。break away from：摆脱。如：，The prisoner broke away from the two policemen who were holding him. 囚犯从两个警察手中挣脱逃跑。
【答案解析】[解析] 词义辨析题。本句翻译：“不这样做经常被认为是失败，是一种懦弱的依赖。”reward：回报。criticism：批评。failure：失败。如：She had many failures before finding the right method. 她经历了多次失败，才找到了正确的方法。success：成功。根据上下文，这里应该用failure。