The Family

Most American families consist of a mother, a father, and three or four children living at home. There may be relatives and (1) … in the same community, but American families usually maintain close (2) … . This (3) … is known as the (4) … . Although the nuclear (5) … is economically independent of the rest of the family, members of the whole family group often maintain (6) … .

Marriage in the United States is viewed as a matter of individual responsibility and decision. Most American men (7) … by the time they are 25, and the husband is usually two or three years older than his wife.

Marriage is preceded by (8) … , that is, young men and women going out together. Although serious dating with a commitment to marriage is the familiar type of (9) … in many cultures, there is a (10) … attached to the (11) … American dating system, which usually begins in the early teens. For instance, it is perfectly respectable for friends to arrange a (12) … , that is, a date between two young people who have not met before. By the late teens a pattern of (13) … dating develops, which is often followed by marriage or by a (14) … , which is, in effect, a public statement of the intention to marry.

After their marriage the young couple is free to decide where to live and when to start a family. (15) … information is easily available, and the practice of limiting the size of families has general approval. The birth rate has been (16) … steadily in recent years.

If the couple finds that their marriage was a (17) … , they are free to (18) … or (19) … . The divorce rate has almost doubled in the past fifty years, and current statistics indicate that one of every three marriages will end in divorce. Many people (20) … these figures and blame them on the (21) … . A number of sociologists, on the other hand, say that this increase in divorces does not indicate less happy, balanced families. Instead, they point to changes in the laws that have made a (22) … easier to get and to changes in attitudes that have made divorce more (23) … than it had been years ago. It’s also a (24) … that since the prevailing majority of divorcees (25) … , divorce marks a temporary, rather than a permanent (26) … .

Ex. 5. Fill in the correct prepositions where necessary.

Expanding societal impersonality of the epoch of over-globalization rests (1) … the heart of the phenomenon of “the new singletons”, says the research done by an independent sociologist group. (2) … the space (3) … a generation there has been a dramatic increase (4) … the number of single people. Such a trend is partly caused by high rates of relationship disruption, which most frequently occurs when a person has failed to measure (5) … (6) … a partner’s expectations or either of the partners has opted (7) … (8) … a mutual arrangement.

The website set (9) … by the market research group Mintel offers a prediction that by the year 2010, the number of single-person households will amount (10) … eight million. Part of the reason (11) … this is the globally increased life span. However, the biggest rise (12) … the number of single people has been in the group (13) … pensionable age (37 per cent of those (14) … living alone were (15) … the age of 55, compared (16) … just 15 per cent in the 55- to 64-year-old age group). The fastest increase (17) … single-person householders has been observed (18) … young men who are intent (19) … a financially and personally independent life mode. Furthermore, a societal shift (20) … values has been having a distinct impact (21) … the growing numbers of single households. A new generation of singletons have freed themselves (22) … the stranglehold (23) … societal stereotypes and have made way (24) … an alternative approach, viewing being single as a positive lifestyle choice. Mercifully, the majority are too much stuck (25) … the knots they tie to speak about a society of total abandonment of marital bonds.

Ex. 6. Use the words given in brackets to form a word that fits in the space according to the meaning.