Unit 13 Marriage
Key to the Exercis
Text comprehension
I. Decide which of the following best states the author’s purpo of writing。
B
II。 Judge， according to the text, whether the following statements are true or fal。
1. T （Refer to Paragraph 1。 The conventional people didn't have the fally optimistic expectation that marriage would be easy， which can be en from their enthusiastic respon to the ”Don’t" advice which Punch gave to tho about to marry。)
2。 F （Refer to Paragraph 2。 It is said that in the nineteenth century, the horrors of marriage were depicted especially cruelly， but still there were songs, though rare, occasionally sung about happily married people， which could bring respectful silence to th
e drunken husbands. )
3. F （Refer to Paragraph 4。 It is indicated here that the clergy would only say that marriage was made in Heaven, but it wouldn’t necessarily end in Heaven, too。)
4。 T (Refer to Paragraph 7。 Dr. Johnson’s quote shows that he believes that marriage is not something natural for man and woman， so however they try, it is still hardly enough to keep them together。)
5。 T (Refer to Paragraph 8, which tells us that almost everybody ems to have painted the troubles of marriage in the darkest colours. And it is also mentioned that in modern times nearly everybody， single or married， is imagined to be unhappy.）
6。 T (Refer to Paragraph 9， which argues that, though it is believed that the ostrich can never escape his pursuers by burying his head in the sand, actually many of them do survive by this practice. It suggests that ignoring the difficulties will be the advisable practice for all the married people.)
III. Answer the following questions。
1. Refer to Paragraph 1。 By denying the existence of the conventional people as depicted in Bertrand Rusll's quotation who like to pretend that difficulties in regard to marriage are a new thing， the author intends to show that everyone in this world agrees that marriage is difficult, from as early as the beginning of human society to the prent day.
2。 Refer to Paragraph 2。 According to the songs sung in music—halls， marriage was like a hell where the married couple were constantly troubled by the wife's twin sister and mother。
3。 Refer to Paragraphs 2?。 The humour in comic papers, songs in music—halls, and plays and novels are all examples to illustrate that horrible situation of marriage. Then quotations of reputed philosophers， writers, scientists and essayists are ud to prove that even the wi painted marriage in the darkest colours.
4. Refer to Paragraphs 5？. By ”unconventional people，" the author refers to philosophers, writers and scientists， who have knowledge, talents and wisdom. What they thought of marriage could be derived from the esnce of human experience。
5。 Refer to Paragraph 8。 Since social reformers are keen to maintain the positive development of society， of which marriage and family are the most important building stones, they try to convince people to pursue happiness in marriage by recommending changes in their lives; while thinkers and ekers of beauty are more realistic about the chances of achieving what one desires， and they explore the esnce of life through meditating over its miries and difficulties。
6。 Refer to Paragraph 9. The ostrich, when pursued, hides its head in the sand and believes itlf to be unen. The logic in the ostrich’s practice is that one can avoid danger or difficulty by refusing to face it。 The author hopes that someday a naturalist will find out the ostrich’s logic is valid, so that people can follow this practice by ignoring the difficulties in marriage， or pretending that they never exist. The metaphor is ud to
propo that， to a difficulty-conscious generation who are too much burdened with the thought of difficulty, it will be advisable to pretend in its non—existence. Otherwi， they will never enjoy the rosy side of marriage。 If marriage is really both Heaven and Hell, one will never be in Heaven becau of his fear of Hell.
IV. Explain in your own words the following ntences。
1. From the way they enthusiastically received the ”Don't” advice given in the magazine Punch， we can tell that they adopted a sceptical attitude to marriage.
2。 Although the humor might sound offensively rude， it was readily accepted by people in the Victorian era.
3. The marriage state, whether there is love involved or not, is a combination of the happiness and miry we may encounter in life.
Structural analysis of the text
The text falls into three parts: in Part 1 （Paragraph 1)， the author， after quoting Rusll on the subject, puts forward his own argument that difficulties in regard to marriage have been an old issue for centuries. In Part 2 (Paragraphs 2?）, the author analyzes the roots of such difficulties by listing quotations from famous literary works and famous people. In Part 3 （Paragraphs 8？）， the author assigns the caus of unhappy marriages to the excessive consciousness of difficulties in human beings， and encourages people to face the difficulties in marriage bravely。
