During the traditional wedding ceremony, the【C1】______couple promise each other lifelong devotion. Yet, about one out of four American marriages ends in divorce. Since 1940, the divorce rate has more than doubled, and experts predict that, of all marriages that【C2】______in the 2000s, about 50% will end in divorce. The U.S. has one of the highest divorce rates in the world, perhaps 【C3】______the highest What goes wrong? The fact that divorce is so【C4】______in the United States does not mean that Americans consider marriage a casual, unimportant【C5】______. Just the opposite is【C6】______. Americans expect a great【C7】______from marriage. They seek physical, emotional, and intellectual compatibility. They want to be deeply loved and【C8】______. It is because Americans expect so much from marriage that so many get divorced. They prefer no marriage at all to a marriage without love and understanding. With typical American optimism, they end one marriage 【C9】______that the next will be happier.【C10】______no-fault divorce laws in many states, it is easier than before to get a divorce. Some American women, 【C11】______ in unhappy marriages because they don"t have the education or job【C12】______ to support themselves and their children. But most American women believe that, if 【C13】______, they can make it alone without a husband. When a couple gets divorced, the court may【C14】______the man to pay his former wife a monthly sum of money called alimony. The amount of alimony【C15】______on the husband"s income, the wife"s needs and the【C16】______of the marriage. 【C17】______, the court decides that a woman should pay her husband alimony. About 10% of American women【C18】______ their husbands. The court may decide that she must continue to 【C19】______him after the divorce. This is a rather new【C20】______in the United States.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：空格前讲“他们结束一段婚姻”，空格后是that引导的名词性从句，意为“下一场婚姻会更幸福”；根据该句的伴随状语With typical American optimism“带着美国式的乐观”，推测这里应该是要表达美国人总是怀有美好的希望，即相信未来会更好，A项in the hope代入此空，句意通顺，且与上下文语义衔接合理，故A为本题答案。

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：此空所在句比较完整，大意为“但大多数女性坚信，如果______的话，她们能够在没有丈夫的情况下自力更生”。C项necessary“必要的”与if构成固定表达，if necessary表示“如果必要的话”。符合此处语境，故C项为本题答案。中并没有说妇女不被允许自力更生，因此也不存在“如果允许的话”一说，故排除B项。if possible为固定表达，意为“如果可能的话”，但暗含“所希望之事很有可能不能实现”的意思；上一句提到有些女性由于缺乏自力更生的能力而继续困在不幸的婚姻中，然后用表转折的But带出本句，则这里要表达之意应与上句不同，即“女性应该能自力更生”，if possible的潜在含义与此不符，排除D。

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：空格所在句比较完整，意为“法院也会让女方付给丈夫赡养费”；根据后面的About 10% of American women“美国约百分之十的女性”和This is a rather new“这是一种相当新的”，可以推断此处所讲的情况应该不常发生，A项Occasionally“偶尔”符合语义要求，为本题答案。