1. Home life feels the stress of social change.
2. Broken homes are not a factor in the nation's rising juvenile delinquency.
3. The high; rate of remarriage after divorce might be a sign of the continuing strength of marriage and family.
4. Today's brides and grooms enter marriage in more skeptical frames of mind than their predecessors did, and are more willing to call it quits.
5. Young wives who are contributing to the family income are asserting a new independence in marriage, which causes friction in many instances.
6. A broken home may be a cause of the rising juvenile delinquency.
7. Marriages at later ages may be more successful because of the maturity factor.
8. Young wives assert a new independence in marriage and this causes friction.
9. Courses on marriage and family matters in high school might be helpful in preserving the family.
10. Divorce and remarriage have become part of the fabric of American society and are spreading fast.
11. This epidemic of divorce is bringing enormous economic and social change to the United States. Lawyers by the thousands across the US are finding the divorce court an ever more profitable place of business.
III. Read the text, paraphrase words and word combinations in bold and italic types and answer the questions.
Separation and Divorce
There may be a time in an unhappy marriage when the partners agree that their relationship should end. This is almost how acrimonious and unhappy life together has become.
The first step usually is separation. One spouse moves from the family dwelling and take up a separate residence. The couple will meet (usually represented by lawyers) to conclude a separation agreement. This agreed-upon separation id called de facto separation. If the couple cannot agree on the terms the division of property, custody and support of children, for example the judge may hear the arguments of both parties and render a judgment. This is called a de jure separation.
Any separation leaves the marriage technically in effect. Neither party is free to marry again. If the terms of the agreement or judgment are broken, either party may take the case to court. However, the separation may later become grounds for divorce in some states.
Ending a marriage is considerably more difficult than beginning one in legal as well as emotional terms. Divorce laws differ greatly from state to state. traditionally, the partner requesting the divorce was required to allege specific grounds acts or failures to act on the part of the other partner that would justify dissolution of the marriage. In some states, until recent years, the only acceptable ground for divorce was adultery.
Gradually, states began to allow other grounds for divorce. The most common included abandonment (one partner leaving without the consent of the other and with intent not to return), cruelty (physical and mental), drug addiction, habitual intoxication, imprisonment, failure to provide support, legal insanity, and fraud (misrepresenting or concealing facts about prior marriages, children, serious illnesses, serious crimes, etc.). in applying for divorce on any of these grounds, it is the duty of the aggrieved party to prove his or her allegations. The other partner may seek to disprove them.
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Serious problems in families occur not only between spouses but also between parents and children. Although a child may not consciously seek to disrupt and trouble other family members, he may be extremely shrewd in the way he does so.
When trouble first arises, the question is often, Whose fault is it? assigning responsibility for a problem to one family member can be convenient for other members, but it may often seriously misrepresent a situation.
One group of psychologists suggests that it is useful to consider the family unit rather than the individual. When a family is not working well, its members are unhappy. Placing the blame on one individual, whether a child or an adult, may make solution of the problem more, rather than less, difficult. Family therapy, in which all members of a family are seen either individually or together, has gained considerable support and may be more helpful in many cases tan individual therapy.
1. What is the difference between de facto and de jure separation? And whats the difference between separation and divorce? 2. What are the main acceptable grounds for divorce in the US and Russia? 3. How can children change the atmosphere in the family? 4. Why is it necessary to consider the family unit rather than individual when dealing with family problems?
IV. Say in what way these factors may complicate the relationship between men and women, put a strain on their marriage, cause a divorce:
the changes in law that have made divorce easier and more acceptable;
the changes in the traditional roles of women and men in the home;
the changes in moral values;
a low income;
the consumer mentality rather than the producer mentality of the husband;
womens liberation movement;
the wifes desire to pursue her career;
lack of kindness and respect for others; no mutual respect;
an early marriage;
romantic love before marriage;
no intimate relationships before marriage;
a chronic dissatisfaction that is not attended to;
changes in each of the spouses;
the difference in their education and background;
their parents disapproval of their marriage.
V. Sometimes people write for advice to womens magazines. Marriage counsels and other readers reply to them. Its a risky business to give advice on such delicate aspects of human relationships as a marriage, or love affair. You dont know much about their authors. Still try your hand at answering such letters.
Vocabulary tasks
