At the beginning of the twentieth century, many people thought that the American family was falling apart. A century later, we know that this was not the ca. However, although the family is still alive in the United States, its size and shape were very different 100 years ago.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, there were mainly two types of families in the United States: the extended and the nuclear. The extended family usually includes grandparents, parents, and children living under the same roof. The nuclear family consists of only parents and children.
Today there are many different kinds of families. Some people live in “traditional” families, that is, a stay-home mother, a working father, and their own biological children. Others live in two-paycheck families, single-parent families, adoptive or foster families and so on.
What caud the structure of the family to change? In the 1930s and 1940s, many families faced rious financial problems during the Great Depression and women were choosing to go to college and take jobs outside the home. As a result, the birthrate began to fall and the divorce rate began to ri. During World War II (1939-1945),5 million women were left alo
ne to take care of their homes and their children.Becau many men were at war, thousands of their wives had to go to work outside their home.
During the next ten years, the situation changed. There were fewer divorces, and people married at a younger age and had more children than the previous generation. It was unusual for a mother to work outside the home during the years when her children were growing up. The traditional family emed to be returning.
In the years between 1960s and 1990s, there were many important changes in the structure of the family. The divorce rate doubled and the birthrate fell by half. The number of single-parent families doubled, and the number of couples living together without being married doubled again. If we can judge from history, however, this will probably change again in the twenty-first century.
1.According to the author, the American family ______
立冬水果[A]is falling apart
[B]is disappearing gradually
夏天泡脚[C]is changing greatly牛街
[D]is dying bit by bit
2.Tom’s father works for IBM and his mother works for another big company.Tom has _____.
[A]a blended family
[B]a two-paycheck family
[C]an adoptive family
[D]a traditional family
3.Today the main type of American family is ______.
[A]the traditional family
[B]the nuclear family
[C]the single-parent family
[D]the extended family
4.The title of the article is most likely to be_____.
感恩图片
[A]Two Types of American Family
[B]The American Family is Falling Apart
[C]The Structure of the American Family
[D]The Changing Family
All the World Asks
On my first day in a college Classroom, I felt like an overgrown child returning to civilization after having been lost in the forest for thirty years. There I sat, old enough to be a father to most of the students in the room, yet incure enough to be their baby brot
her. We were crowded elbow(肘)to elbow, listening to a professor who looked even younger than the students. I felt awkward and out of place as the professor carefully explained what she expected us to learn. As I listened, I couldn‘t help but think of my own oldest daughter who was now beginning her freshman year in college, just like me. I recalled (回忆) how hard I had tried to instill (逐步培养) lf-confidence in her and my other children. So why did I suddenly feel like a scared child mylf? When I walked out of that classroom, I had rious doubts about my ability to make it through college. Not until late that night did my thinking change. It was a long-distance telephone call from my daughter, my fellow college freshman, that did the trick. She spoke on the phone about the doubts, worries, and anxieties she was experiencing. She was certain that she ‘d never succeed at college. How familiar her worries sounded! In my most lf-assured parental voice, I said. ―Doing your best is all the world asks.‖ The next day in class, tho words still echoed in my head. When the professor pod(提出) a question for the class, nobody, including me, dared answer. When I looked around at the fear and uncertainty on the young faces in that room, I knew exactly what I had to do: my best, That‘s all the world asks. So I raid my hand, and the professor called on me. I spoke.手机电池怎么保养
1.The main purpo of the writer in writing the story is to _______________.
[A]tell us how he overcame his lf-doubt and anxiety as a college freshman
[B]recall the poor conditions of the college when he was a student
[C]describe his feeling of being frightened in class when asked a question
[D]talk about the time when a class had students of very different ages
2.What have you learned about the writer as a student?
[A]He was a college freshman who came from the remote country.
[B]He went to the same college where his daughter goes.
[C]He was an average student who continued to study after bringing up his family.
实验室制取氯气[D]He was a student and at the same time a parent taking care of his children.
3.When the writer says ―that did the trick‖, he means_________________.
[A]the telephone call worked to help him change his thinking
[B]his daughter played a trick on him by pretending to leave college
[C] the telephone call reminded him of his previous school experience
[D]his daughter‘s difficulties made him realize his parental responsibilities
4.The underlined word ―echoed‖ means____________.
[A]understood
[B]repeated
[C]imagined
[D]warned
BALTMORE—When 15-year-old Michael Thomas left home for school last May, he couldn‘t have been prouder. On his feet, thanks to his mother‘s hard work , wore a pair of
new Air Jordans— $100 worth of leather , rubber and status that to today‘s youth are the Mercedes-Benz of athletic(运动员的) footwear.
The next day it was James David Martin, 17 , who was walking down the street in Thomas‘s new sneakers, while Thomas‘s lay dead in a field not far form his school . Martin was arrested(逮捕) for murder.
For the Baltimore school system , Thomas` death was the last straw . He was the third youngster to have been killed over his clothes in five years. Dozens of others had been robbed of name brand sneakers, designer jogging suits , leather jackets and jewelry .
This fall , the school board announced a dress code preventing leather skirts and jackets , jogging suits , gold chains and other expensive items.
Clothes , said board president Joph Smith , had just gotten out of hand
Across the nation, parents, school officials , psychologists and even some children agree .
They say that today‘s youngsters , throughout the nation , have become clothes fixated(专注的) . They worry about them , compete over them , neglect(忽视) school for them and sometimes even rob and kill for them .
盗墓笔记3
In many cas, students are so concerned about what they and their classmates are wearing , they forget what they come to school for , educators said .