Twenty years ago a debate erupted about whether there were specific "Asian values" . But a more intriguing, if less noticed, arg

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问题    Twenty years ago a debate erupted about whether there were specific "Asian values" . But a more intriguing, if less noticed, argument was that traditional family values were stronger in Asia than in America and Europe, and this partly accounted for Asia’s economic success. In the words of Lee Kuan Yew, former prime minister of Singapore, the Asian family encouraged "scholarship and hard work and thrift" .
   His claim appears persuasive. In most of Asia, marriage is widespread and illegitimacy almost unknown. In contrast, half of marriages in some Western countries end in divorce, and half of all children are born outside wedlock. Yet marriage is changing fast in Asia. The changes are different from those that took place in the West in the second half of the 20th century. What’s happening in Asia is a flight from marriage.
   Marriage rates are falling partly because people are postponing getting married. Marriage ages have risen all over the world, but the increase is particularly marked in Asia. People there now marry even later than they do in the West. The mean age of marriage in the richest places of Asia has risen sharply in the past few decades.
   A lot of Asians are not marrying later. They are not marrying at all. Almost a third of Japanese women in their early 30s are unmarried; probably half of those will always be.
   Women are retreating from marriage as they go into the workplace. That’s partly because, for a woman, being both employed and married is tough in Asia. Women there are the primary caregivers for husbands, children and, often, for ageing parents; and even when in full-time employment, they are expected to continue to play this role. Not surprisingly, Asian women have an unusually pessimistic view of marriage.
   At the same time as employment makes marriage tougher for women, it offers them an alternative. More women are financially independent, so more of them can pursue a single life that may appeal more than the drudgery of a traditional marriage.
   The flight from marriage is also creating social problems. Compared with the West, Asian countries have invested less in pensions and other forms of social protection, on the assumption that the family will look after ageing or ill relatives. That can no longer be taken for granted. The decline of marriage is also contributing to the collapse in the birth rate. That is beginning to cause huge demographic problems, as populations age with startling speed. Also, marriage socializes men: it is associated with less criminal behavior. Less marriage might mean more crime.

The social problems brought by the flight from marriage in Asia include____.

选项 A、the increasing financial burden on Asian governments
B、the growing feeling of alienation among people
C、the unhealthy development of Asian population
D、the worse performance of men at work

答案C

解析 细节题。本题主要考查人们逃避婚姻所带来的社会问题,故定位至第七段。第七段第四至六句指出,逃避婚姻会导致人口出生率的大幅下滑,而人口老龄化也在飞快加速,这将带来巨大的人口结构问题,故C项正确。
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