II. 选择搭配题

Directions: You are going to read a list of headings and a text about divorce and alternative lifestyles. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A--F for each numbered paragraph (41-45). The first and last paragraphs of the text are not numbered. There is one extra heading which you do not need to use. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)

[A] The problems divorce has brought about
[B] Does high divorce rate mean refusal to marry?
[C] Children’s rights are well protected
[D] The root of high divorce rate in America
[E] Sex equality is apparent in American divorces
[F] Certain marriages are more likely to break

    During the traditional wedding ceremony, the bridal 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 occurred in the 1970s, about 50% will end in divorce. The U.S.A. has one of the highest divorce rates in the world, perhaps even the highest.来源：www.examda.com

    What goes wrong? The fact that divorce is so common in the United States does not mean that Americans consider marriage a casual, unimportant relationship. Just the opposite is true. Americans expect a great deal from marriage. They seek physical, emotional, and intellectual compatibility. They want to be deeply loved and understood. 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.

    Which marriages are most likely to end in divorce? Marriages between people with low incomes or limited education and marriages between teenagers are at greatest risk. The number of divorces between couples with children under the age of 18 is declining, and almost 45% of divorcing couples are childless.

    When a couple gets divorced, the court may require the man to pay his former wife a monthly sum of money called alimony. The amount of alimony depends on the husband’s income, the wife’s needs, and the length of the marriage. If the woman is working and earns a good salary, she may receive no alimony at all. Occasionally, the court decides that a woman should pay her husband alimony. About 10% of American women outearn their husbands. If the woman has totally supported her husband during the marriage, the court may decide that she must continue to support him after the divorce. This is a rather new concept in the United States.来源：www.examda.com

    If a divorcing couple has children, the court must determine which parent the children will live with and who will provide for their support. In most cases, the children live with the mother, and the father pays child support and has visitation rights. However, it is not uncommon for a father to get full custody or joint custody of his children when this arrangement seems to be in the children’s best interest.

    The high risk of divorce doesn’t seem to make Americans afraid to try marriage—again and again. By middle age, about 95% of Americans have been married at least once. About 80% of those who get divorced eventually remarry. Only in Japan is the married proportion of the population as high as it is in the U.S. A.  In fact, remarriage and the creation of new families is so common in the United States that one American joke tells of a wife calling to her second husband, “Quick, John! Come here and help me! Your children and my children are beating up our children!”

    Despite the dominance of the married lifestyle, the number of people choosing alternative lifestyles is increasing, and their behavior is increasingly accepted by the general population. The number of unmarried couples living together rose from about 500,000 in 1970 to about 2.6 million in 1988. Many older people are horrified by the growing trend of unmarried couples living together. However, it is not just an American trend. It’s even more common in Europe than in the U.S.A.

(课外练习 下次课给答案)

Directions: You are going to read a list of headings and a text about You’re Stuck. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-F for each numbered paragraph (41-45). The first and last paragraphs of the text are not numbered. There is one extra heading which you do not need to use. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)

[A] Load up on new tools
[B] Be creative
[C] Avoid taking cover
[D] Look beyond your job description
[E] Manage your own PR
[F] Build a circle of allies

    As companies continue to cut costs, the days of frequent promotions are a distant memory. So are the days of endless opportunities to show off your skills. Layoff survivors, faced with fewer options are finding themselves in career purgatory—there’s no way up and no way out.

    After talking to career coaches, manager, recruiters, and psychologists, Fortune put together the following tips to help workers break free from the inertia.

    Don’t hide out behind your computer. “You should really work to increase or maintain the visibility that you have,” says David Opton, founder and CEO of career management firm ExecuNet. Speak up in meetings, join task forces, and volunteer for difficult projects that co-workers aren’t willing to tackle.

    Fortify your current relationships and work on making new ones, both within and outside the office. “Allies will be helpful in terms of letting your know information, like if there’s a job possibility that comes up,” says Dee Soder, founder of the CEO Perspective Group. Who you know can make a big difference, especially in difficult times.

    This is the perfect time to acquire new expertise. (If the boss can’t pay, do it on your own.) Brush up on computer skills, audit a class, or get a certificate or degree in your field – and when jobs do open up, you’ll be ready.

    People don’t get promotions just because they do their jobs well; they get promotions because they take initiative. Lauren Dolliva, a partner at recruiting firm Heidrick & Struggles International, has a client looking to hire a COO. When someone brought up the VP of operations, who was the obvious candidate for the job, the CEO rejected him outright. “He said no because the VP only does what’s expected,” says Doliva. “The CEO didn’t see him as someone who would take the risks and the time to do the job better.”

    Doing well is part productivity and part publicity,” says Marilyn Moats Kennedy, a managing partner at Career Strategies. Let people know when you put in the extra effort to get a project done early. Without being cheesy, make sure that you’re giving off the right vibes by keeping a positive attitude, avoiding emotional outburst, and appearing calm and organized. And don’t forget to look the part. Many didn’t get promotions because of their professional presence—grooming, clothes, and body language.