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  3. In times of economic crisis, Americans turn to their families for support. If the Great Depression is any guide, we may see a dr

In times of economic crisis, Americans turn to their families for support. If the Great Depression is any guide, we may see a dr

admin2023-03-20  3
问题     In times of economic crisis, Americans turn to their families for support. If the Great Depression is any guide, we may see a drop in our sky-high divorce rate. But this won’t necessarily represent an increase in happy marriages. In the long run, the Depression weakened American families, and the current crisis will probably do the same.
    We tend to think of the Depression as a time when families pulled together to survive huge job losses. By 1932, when nearly one-quarter of the workforce was unemployed, the divorce rate had declined by around 25% from 1929. But this doesn’t mean people were suddenly happier with their marriages. Rather, with incomes decreasing and insecure jobs, unhappy couples often couldn’t afford to divorce. They feared neither spouse could manage alone.
    Today, given the job losses of the past year, fewer unhappy couples will risk starting separate households. Furthermore, the housing market meltdown will make it more difficult for them to finance their separations by selling their homes.
    After financial disasters family members also tend to do whatever they can to help each other and their communities. A 1940 book, The Unemployed Man and His Family, described a family in which the husband initially reacted to losing his job "with tireless search for work." He was always active, looking for odd jobs to do.
    The problem is that such an impulse is hard to sustain. Across the country, many similar families were unable to maintain the initial boost in morale (士气). For some, the hardships of life without steady work eventually overwhelmed their attempts to keep their families together. The divorce rate rose again during the rest of the decade as the recovery took hold.
    Millions of American families may now be in the initial stage of their responses to the current crisis, working together and supporting one another through the early months of unemployment.
    Today’s economic crisis could well generate a similar number of couples whose relationships have been irreparably (无法弥补的) ruined. So it’s only when the economy is healthy again that we’ll begin to see just how many broken families have been created.
In the initial stage, the current economic crisis is likely to
选项 A、cause a lot of conflicts in the family
B、bring about a drop in the divorce rate
C、tear many troubled families apart
D、contribute to enduring family ties
答案B
解析 本题询问当前的经济危机在初始阶段造成的影响。第1段第2句提到可将大萧条时期的情况当作当前的经济危机的指导(guide)。并指出大萧条时期的离婚率下降了，接着第3句用But转折，说这并不一定代表幸福的婚姻在增加。最后一句指出从长期来看，大萧条削弱了美国的家庭，当前的危机也会如此。由此可知，在经济危机初期，离婚率在下降，故B“导致离婚率下降”为答案。注意本题限定了范围是在经济危机的初始阶段(initial stage)。由第2段可知，在刚开始时，夫妻会同心协力、共渡难关，故可排除A“造成很多家庭矛盾”和C“让许多陷入困境的家庭分裂”；第1段末指出虽然离婚率下降，但经济危机实际上是削弱(weaken)家庭，故D“促进持久的家庭关系”与原文相悖。
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大学英语四级

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