There is a widening gulf between how the best- and least-educated Americans approach marriage and child-rearing. Among the elite (excluding film stars), the nuclear family is holding up quite well. Only 4% of the children of mothers with college degrees are born out of marriage. And the divorce rate among college-educated women has dropped. Of those who first tied the knot between 1975 and 1979, 29% were divorced within ten years. Among those who first married between 1990 and 1994, only 16.5% were.
At the bottom of the education scale, the picture is reversed. Among high-school dropouts, the divorce rate rose from 38% for those who first married in 1975-79 to 46% for those who first married in 1990-94. Among those with a high school diploma but no college, it rose from 35% to 38%. And these figures are only part of the story. Many mothers avoid divorce by never marrying in the first place. The out-of-wedlock birth rate among women who drop out of high school is 15%.
The “marriage gap” is one of the chief sources of the country's notorious and widening inequality. Middle-class kids growing up with two biological parents are “socialised for success”. They do better in school, get better jobs and go on to create families of their own. Children of single parents or broken families do worse in school, get worse jobs and go on to have children out of wedlock. This makes it more likely that those born near the top or the bottom will stay where they started.
A large majority—92%—of children whose families make more than $75,000 a year live with two parents (including step-parents). At the bottom of the income scale—families earning less than $15,000—only 20% of children live with two parents. One might imagine that this gap arises simply because two breadwinners earn more than one. A single mother would have to be unusually talented and diligent to make as much as $75,000 while also raising children on her own. And it is impossible in America for two full-time, year-round workers to earn less than $15,000 between them.
But there is more to it than this. Marriage itself is a wealth-generating institution. Those who marry “till death do us part” end up, on average, four times richer than those who never marry. This is partly because marriage provides economies of scale—two can live more cheaply than one—and because the kind of people who make more money—those who work hard, plan for the future and have good interpersonal skills—are more likely to marry and stay married. But it is also because marriage affects the way people behave.
American men, once married, tend to take their responsibilities seriously. Married men drink less, take fewer drugs and work harder, earning between 10% and 40% more than single men with similar schooling and job histories. And marriage encourages both spouses to save and invest more for the future. Each partner provides the other with a form of insurance against falling sick or losing a job. Marriage also encourages the division of labour. As Adam Smith observed two centuries ago, when you specialise, you get better at what you do, and you produce more.
注(1):本文选自Economist, 05/24/2007
注(2):本文习题命题模仿对象为2004年真题Text 4。
1. Which of the following did NOT happen during 1975-1994?
[A] Less people who received high education got divorced.
[B] More high school dropouts failed their first marriage.
[C] Many women did not marry because of their reluctance of children-rearing.
[D] The divorce rate of high school graduates increased.
2. We can learn from the text that middle-class children tend to have the following characteristics EXCEPT_______.
[A] good appearances
[B] high school grades
[C] well-paid jobs
[D] happy family
3. The behavior of married people is probably more_______.
[A] negative
[B] positive
[C] active
[D] people’s behavior won’t be influenced by marriage.
4. A single mother, according to the text, probably _______.
[A] has an easy and simple life
[B] finds herself busy with both work and child.
[C] is very smart and does well in her job.
[D] can save more money than when she’s in a marriage.
5. What we can learn about American people’s opinions towards marriage?
[A] Movie stars tend to remain in stable and happy marriage.
[B] More women want to have child out of wedlock.
[C] People’s views of marriages are greatly influenced by their parents.
[D] People marry because specialization helps produce more.
篇章剖析
本文主要讲述了不同教育程度的当代美国人对于婚姻和育子截然不同的态度。第一段说明在接受过较好教育的人离婚率在降低,第二段随即指出教育程度较低的人们离婚率正在攀升。第三段进一步阐述了这种不平等的现象。后三段则从收入、态度、婚姻机制等不同的层面分析了这种差距产生的原因。
词汇注释
gulf [gQlf]n. 深渊, 隔阂 diploma [di`plEumE] n. 文凭, 毕业证书
approach [E`prEutF] n.方法, 步骤, 途径 wedlock [`wedlCk] n. 结婚生活, 婚姻
rear [riFE] vt.培养, 饲养 diligent [`dilidVEnt] adj. 勤勉的, 用功的
reverse [ri`vE:s] vt.颠倒, 倒转 economy of scale 规模经济
dropout n. 退学学生, 辍学学生
难句突破
This is partly because marriage provides economies of scale—two can live more cheaply than one—and because the kind of people who make more money—those who work hard, plan for the future and have good interpersonal skills—are more likely to marry and stay married.
主体句式 This is partly because … and because …
结构分析 这个句子主要由两个部分组成,在“and because”之前是一部分,说明了第一个原因,其中两个破折号之间的部分是用来解释什么是“economies of scale”。“and because”之后说明了第二个原因,其主句为“the kind of people are more likely to marry and stay married”,其中两个破折号之间的内容是用来进一步说明前面提到的那一类人。
句子译文 一方面这是因为婚姻可以产生规模经济效应—两个人生活比一个人生活更加节约—另一方面那些能赚更多钱的人—那些辛勤工作、计划未来而且拥有很好交际能力的人—更可能结婚并一直保持婚姻。
题目分析
1.C. 细节题。文章中第二段中提到“许多母亲们根本就不结婚以避免离婚”,因此妇女们不结婚的理由不是抚育孩子的问题。
2.A. 细节题。文章中第三段中提到中产阶级的孩子在学校表现更好,能找到更好的工作,并像父母那样组成自己的家庭。文中并没有提到他们的外表和形象。
3.B. 推理题。文章第五段中提到结婚会影响人们的行为,第六段进一步举例说明婚后男人们更负责、工作更勤奋等,说明结婚会使人们的行为变得更加正面。
4.B. 细节题。文章第四段中提到如果单身母亲要赚到很多钱的话,不仅要勤奋工作、还要带孩子,自然是非常忙碌辛苦。
5.C. 细节题。文章第三段说明孩子们很可能重复父母的生活轨迹,显然人们的婚姻观在很大程度上受到了父母的影响。
参考译文
在美国,现在那些受过最好教育和最差教育的人们对于婚姻和抚育后代的看法差异越来越大。在社会精英中(除了影星以外),许多核心家庭都过得非常安稳幸福。在大学毕业的妇女中,只有4%是未婚生子。接受过大学教育的妇女离婚率正在降低。在1975至1979年间结婚的人们中,29%的夫妇在十年内离婚。而1990年至1994年间结婚的人们中,只有16.5%在十年内离婚。
在教育程度最低的人群中,情况却是相反的。1975-79年间第一次结婚的高中辍学者的离婚率为38%,这个数字在那些于1990-94年间结婚的高中辍学者们中则上升到了46%。对于高中毕业但没有上大学的人们来说,这一数字从35%上升到了38%。这些数据仅仅是事情的一部分。许多母亲们根本就不结婚以避免离婚。高中辍学妇女婚外育子的比率达到了15%。
这个国家的不平等状况一直是臭名昭著的,而且还在恶化,其中“婚姻差距”是产生不平等的主要原因之一。对于中产阶级的孩子们来说,他们的自然父母都是“为了成功而在社会中奋斗”。这些孩子们在学校的成绩相对都比较好,也能找到不错的工作,接着也组成他们自己的家庭。单亲和父母离异的孩子们在学校的表现则不尽人意,工作也不那么好,而且他们自己的孩子也可能婚姻不幸。这看起来好像是,如果一个人出生在某个阶层,那么他这辈子都会呆在这个阶层。
大部分家庭收入超过7万5千美元的孩子(92%)与父母生活在一起(包括继父母)。而在收入最少的家庭中—收入少于1万5千美元—只有20%的孩子和父母生活在一起。我们可以认为这种差距的原因很简单,就是两个人赚工资总是比一个人赚得多。一个单身母亲只有特别有才能而且特别勤奋才能够赚到7万5千美元,同时她还得带孩子。而在美国,两个整年全职工作的人不可能只赚1万5千美元。
不仅如此,婚姻本身就是一种产生财富的机制。那些结婚后“直到死亡才能分开她们”的人们平均比从来没有结过婚的人富裕四倍。一方面这是因为婚姻可以产生规模经济效应—两个人生活比一个人生活更加节约—另一方面那些能赚更多钱的人—那些辛勤工作、计划未来而且拥有很好交际能力的人—更可能结婚并一直保持婚姻。同时这也是因为婚姻能够影响人们的行为。
美国的男人们一旦结婚以后,就会变得更加负责任。已婚男人通常更少喝酒,更少吸毒,工作更加勤奋,因此比有着相似教育和工作背景的单身男子赚的钱多10%至40%。婚姻能够鼓励夫妇双方都为未来进行节约和投资。每个人都能够为对方提供生病和失业保障。婚姻也能鼓励劳动分工。正如亚当·斯密在两个世纪前所观察到的那样,专业化分工使得人们工作更出色,产出更多。
责任编辑:虫虫