The Problem of (Cohabit)

Cohabitation by (define) is “two unmarried people of the (oppose) sex living together”. It has been called by a (vary) of terms, such as “living together”, “shacking up”, or “living in sin”. The numbers of (cohabit) have risen steadily from an average rate of nearly 100,000 per year since 1960 to over 4 million couples.

Today in America, cohabitation has (place) marriages as the (prevail) form of male-to-female unions and has become a subtle form of (court). In many universities, it is being taught as an (accept) alternative (arrange) and as a good strategy as a test run or trial before marriage.

There is, (fortune – neg.), an ever-growing (collect) of research data that sheds a highly (favor – neg.) light on live-in (relate). Marriage is one shoe you cannot try before you buy it. Cohabitation is a heavy (contribute) to the (integrate – neg.) of most marriages even before they begin! Recent studies have shown that marriage (commit) that are preceded by living together have more than a 50 per cent higher (disrupt) – divorce or (separate) – rates than those without cohabitation. Cohabitation is the (vision – neg.), front end cancer of marriage!

In other words, the traditional (family) form of a mother and father raising children under the same roof is being (grade) replaced by alternative family and (parent) patterns. Over the past 15 years, the fastest growing family practices have been out-of-wedlock (bear), followed by stepfamilies, and then split households. Although marriage is (norm) important for civilized society, from all (indicate), the USA are (retrieve – neg.) becoming a mixed “live-in”, “divorce” and a “non marriage” culture, all at the same time.

Integrated Discourse Skills Development

I. a. Comment on the following proverbs. Do you agree with them? Find arguments to ground your opinion. Compare them with the Russian equivalents. Do the same ideas expressed in different languages reflect different approaches to societal issues in various cultures?

1. Marriages are made in heaven. (Смерть да жена Богом суждена.)

2. Marriage is a lottery. (Брак – это лотерея.)

3. A good husband makes a good wife. (Жена мужем красна. У доброго мужа и жена досужа.)

4. First thrive and then wive. (Сперва оперись, а потом женись.)

5. Marry in haste and repent in leisure. (Женился на скорую руку да на долгую муку.)

6. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. (Реже видишь, больше любишь.)

b. Pick one proverb and make up a short story based on its message. Make use of the focus vocabulary.

II. a. Put down a detailed list of similarities and differences between the recent developments in modern family life in Great Britain and the USA. Rely on the information of 1) Texts A and B, 2) supplementary texts and 3) individually done research.

b. Discuss and compare with your colleagues 1) your lists (objective approach); 2) possible opinions on the problem (subjective approach).

c. Choose a speaker to render a general conclusion on the subject.