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）：本文選自Economist, 05/24/2007

   注（2）：本文習題命題模仿對象為2004年真題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

   本文主要講述了不同教育程度的當代美國人對于婚姻和育子截然不同的態(tài)度。第一段說明在接受過較好教育的人離婚率在降低，第二段隨即指出教育程度較低的人們離婚率正在攀升。第三段進一步闡述了這種不平等的現(xiàn)象。后三段則從收入、態(tài)度、婚姻機制等不同的層面分析了這種差距產(chǎn)生的原因。

   詞匯注釋

   gulf [gQlf]n. 深淵, 隔閡               diploma [di`plEumE] n. 文憑, 畢業(yè)證書

   approach [E`prEutF] n.方法, 步驟, 途徑  wedlock [`wedlCk] n. 結婚生活, 婚姻

   rear [riFE] vt.培養(yǎng), 飼養(yǎng)               diligent [`dilidVEnt] adj. 勤勉的, 用功的

   reverse [ri`vE:s] vt.顛倒, 倒轉           economy of scale 規(guī)模經(jīng)濟

   dropout n. 退學學生, 輟學學生

   難句突破

   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.

   主體句式  This is partly because … and because …

   結構分析  這個句子主要由兩個部分組成，在“and because”之前是一部分，說明了第一個原因，其中兩個破折號之間的部分是用來解釋什么是“economies of scale”�！癮nd because”之后說明了第二個原因，其主句為“the kind of people are more likely to marry and stay married”，其中兩個破折號之間的內容是用來進一步說明前面提到的那一類人。

   句子譯文  一方面這是因為婚姻可以產(chǎn)生規(guī)模經(jīng)濟效應—兩個人生活比一個人生活更加節(jié)約—另一方面那些能賺更多錢的人—那些辛勤工作、計劃未來而且擁有很好交際能力的人—更可能結婚并一直保持婚姻。

   題目分析

   1．C. 細節(jié)題。文章中第二段中提到“許多母親們根本就不結婚以避免離婚”，因此婦女們不結婚的理由不是撫育孩子的問題。

   2．A. 細節(jié)題。文章中第三段中提到中產(chǎn)階級的孩子在學校表現(xiàn)更好，能找到更好的工作，并像父母那樣組成自己的家庭。文中并沒有提到他們的外表和形象。

   3．B. 推理題。文章第五段中提到結婚會影響人們的行為，第六段進一步舉例說明婚后男人們更負責、工作更勤奮等，說明結婚會使人們的行為變得更加正面。

   4．B. 細節(jié)題。文章第四段中提到如果單身母親要賺到很多錢的話，不僅要勤奮工作、還要帶孩子，自然是非常忙碌辛苦。

   5．C. 細節(jié)題。文章第三段說明孩子們很可能重復父母的生活軌跡，顯然人們的婚姻觀在很大程度上受到了父母的影響。

   參考譯文

   在美國，現(xiàn)在那些受過比較好教育和比較差教育的人們對于婚姻和撫育后代的看法差異越來越大。在社會精英中（除了影星以外），許多核心家庭都過得非常安穩(wěn)幸福。在大學畢業(yè)的婦女中，只有4%是未婚生子。接受過大學教育的婦女離婚率正在降低。在1975至1979年間結婚的人們中，29%的夫婦在十年內離婚。而1990年至1994年間結婚的人們中，只有16.5%在十年內離婚。

   在教育程度比較低的人群中，情況卻是相反的。1975-79年間第一次結婚的高中輟學者的離婚率為38%，這個數(shù)字在那些于1990-94年間結婚的高中輟學者們中則上升到了46%。對于高中畢業(yè)但沒有上大學的人們來說，這一數(shù)字從35%上升到了38%。這些數(shù)據(jù)僅僅是事情的一部分。許多母親們根本就不結婚以避免離婚。高中輟學婦女婚外育子的比率達到了15%。

   這個國家的不平等狀況一直是臭名昭著的，而且還在惡化，其中“婚姻差距”是產(chǎn)生不平等的主要原因之一。對于中產(chǎn)階級的孩子們來說，他們的自然父母都是“為了成功而在社會中奮斗”。這些孩子們在學校的成績相對都比較好，也能找到不錯的工作，接著也組成他們自己的家庭。單親和父母離異的孩子們在學校的表現(xiàn)則不盡人意，工作也不那么好，而且他們自己的孩子也可能婚姻不幸。這看起來好像是，如果一個人出生在某個階層，那么他這輩子都會呆在這個階層。

   大部分家庭收入超過7萬5千美元的孩子（92%）與父母生活在一起（包括繼父母）。而在收入比較少的家庭中—收入少于1萬5千美元—只有20%的孩子和父母生活在一起。我們可以認為這種差距的原因很簡單，就是兩個人賺工資總是比一個人賺得多。一個單身母親只有特別有才能而且特別勤奮才能夠賺到7萬5千美元，同時她還得帶孩子。而在美國，兩個整年全職工作的人不可能只賺1萬5千美元。

   不僅如此，婚姻本身就是一種產(chǎn)生財富的機制。那些結婚后“直到死亡才能分開她們”的人們平均比從來沒有結過婚的人富裕四倍。一方面這是因為婚姻可以產(chǎn)生規(guī)模經(jīng)濟效應—兩個人生活比一個人生活更加節(jié)約—另一方面那些能賺更多錢的人—那些辛勤工作、計劃未來而且擁有很好交際能力的人—更可能結婚并一直保持婚姻。同時這也是因為婚姻能夠影響人們的行為。

   美國的男人們一旦結婚以后，就會變得更加負責任。已婚男人通常更少喝酒，更少吸毒，工作更加勤奮，因此比有著相似教育和工作背景的單身男子賺的錢多10%至40%�；橐瞿軌蚬膭罘驄D雙方都為未來進行節(jié)約和投資。每個人都能夠為對方提供生病和失業(yè)保障�；橐鲆材芄膭顒趧臃止�。正如亞當·斯密在兩個世紀前所觀察到的那樣，專業(yè)化分工使得人們工作更出色，產(chǎn)出更多。