首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
(1)This month Singapore passed a bill that would give legal teeth to the moral obligation to support one’s parents. Called the M
(1)This month Singapore passed a bill that would give legal teeth to the moral obligation to support one’s parents. Called the M
admin
2016-11-03
39
问题
(1)This month Singapore passed a bill that would give legal teeth to the moral obligation to support one’s parents. Called the Maintenance of Parents Bill, it received the backing of the Singapore Government.
(2)That does not mean it hasn’t generated discussion. Several members of the Parliament opposed the measure as un-Asian. Others who acknowledged the problem of the elderly poor believed it a disproportionate response. Still others believe it will subvert relations within the family; cynics dubbed it the "Sue Your Son" law.
(3)Those who say that the bill does not promote filial responsibility, of course, are right. It has nothing to do with filial responsibility. It kicks in where filial responsibility fails. The law cannot legislate filial responsibility any more than it can legislate love. All the law can do is to provide a safety net where this morality proves insufficient. Singapore needs this bill not to replace morality, but to provide incentives to shore it up.
(4)Like many other developed nations, Singapore faces the problems of an increasing proportion of people over 60 years of age. Demography is inexorable. In 1980, 7.2% of the population was in this bracket. By the turn of the century, that figure will grow to 11%. By 2030, the proportion is projected to be 26%. The problem is not old age per se. It is that the ratio of economically active people to economically inactive people will decline.
(5)But no amount of government exhortation or paternalism will completely eliminate the problem of old people who have insufficient means to make ends meet Some people will fall through the holes in any safety net
(6)Traditionally, a person’s insurance against poverty in his old age was his family. This is not a revolutionary concept. Nor is it uniquely Asian. Care and support for one’s parents is a universal value shared by all civilized societies.
(7)The problem in Singapore is that the moral obligation to look after one’s parents is unenforceable. A father can be compelled by law to maintain his children. A husband can be forced to support his wife. But, until now, a son or daughter had no legal obligation to support his or her parents.
(8)In 1989, an Advisory Council was set up to look into the problems of the aged. Its report stated with a tinge of complacency that 95% of those who did not have their own income were receiving cash contributions from relations. But what about the 5% who aren’t getting relatives’ support? They have several options:(a)get a job and work until they die;(b)apply for public assistance(you have to be destitute to apply); or(c)starve quietly. None of these options is socially acceptable. And what if this 5% figure grows, as it is likely to do, as society ages?
(9)The Maintenance of Parents Bill was put forth to encourage the traditional virtues that have so far kept Asian nations from some of the breakdowns encountered in other affluent societies. This legislation will allow a person to apply to the court for maintenance from any or all of his children. The court would have the discretion to refuse to make an order if it is unjust.
(10)Those who deride the proposal for opening up the courts to family lawsuits miss the point Only in extreme cases would any parent take his child to court If it does indeed become law, the bill’s effect would be far more subtle.
(11)First, it will reaffirm the notion that it is each individual’s—not society’s—responsibility to look after his parents. Singapore is still conservative enough that most people will not object to this idea. It reinforces the traditional values and it doesn’t hurt a society now and then to remind itself of its core values.
(12)Second, and more important, it will make those who are inclined to shirk their responsibilities think twice. Until now, if a person asked family elders, clergymen or the Ministry of Community Development to help get financial support from his children, the most they could do was to mediate. But mediators have no teeth, and a child could simply ignore their pleas.
(13)But to be sued by one’s parents would be a massive loss of face. It would be a public disgrace. Few people would be so thick-skinned as to say, "Sue and be damned". The hand of the conciliator would be immeasurably strengthened. It is far more likely that some sort of amicable settlement would be reached if the recalcitrant son or daughter knows that the alternative is a public trial.
(14)It would be nice to think that Singapore doesn’t need this kind of law. But that belief ignores the clear demographic trends and the effect of affluence itself on traditional bonds. Those of us who pushed for the bill will consider ourselves most successful if it acts as an incentive not to have it invoked in the first place.
By quoting the growing percentage points of the aged in the population, the author seems to imply that_____.
选项
A、the country will face mounting problems of the old in future
B、the social welfare system would be under great pressure
C、young people should be given more moral education
D、the old should be provided with means of livelihood
答案
A
解析
第4段通过具体数字告诉我们,在新加坡确实存在老龄人口比例增大的问题,老年人过多将会带来很多问题,社会福利只是其中一个。所以选A,并排除B。C和D在文中并未提及。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/wc7O777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
TheproblemofacidrainoriginatedwiththeIndustrialRevolution,andithasbeengrowingeversince.Themoreaccuratescie
Morepeopledieoftuberculosis(结核病)thanofanyotherdiseasecausedbyasingleagent.Thishasprobablybeenthecaseinquit
Morepeopledieoftuberculosis(结核病)thanofanyotherdiseasecausedbyasingleagent.Thishasprobablybeenthecaseinquit
SomepeoplehavedrawntheconclusionfromBowlby’sworkthatchildrenshouldbesubjectedtodaycarebeforetheageofthree
CivilwarsthatbrokeoutinEnglandbetweensupportersoftheHouseofLancasterandtheHouseofYorkinthe15thcenturyare
Thatexperienceinfluencessubsequentbehaviorisevidenceofanobviousbutneverthelessremarkableactivitycalled"rememberi
Thatexperienceinfluencessubsequentbehaviorisevidenceofanobviousbutneverthelessremarkableactivitycalled"rememberi
Language-basedlearningdisabilitiesareproblemswithage-appropriatereading,spelling,and/orwriting.Thisdisorderisnot
随机试题
弗洛伊德的精神分析理论中有关焦虑的说法不正确的是
甲未经乙同意,将该船卖给丙,该买卖合同效力如何?为什么?戊是否对该船享有质权?为什么?
下列情形中,国家依法不予赔偿的有:()
一般资料:男,60岁,丧偶,退休工人。案例介绍:求助者30岁时丧偶,自己一个人要养家还要照顾刚出生的儿子,从那时候开始养成了每天都要喝2两白酒的习惯,否则就会觉得不舒服。喝醉后就会听到别人在窗外议论自己,边说边哭。50多岁时患上了心脏病,长年服药
《治安管理处罚法》第五条规定办理治安案件应当坚持()的原则。
老子说:“有无相生,难易相成,长短相较,高下相倾,音声相随。”这段话说明()。
美国是当今全球化进程的主要(),全球化因此被深深打上美国的烙印。许多的人开始思考这样的问题,即全球化除了可以通过资本主义和美国方式推进外,是否还存在其他方式?
有学者研究发现肥胖通常与多种癌症风险的增加相关。研究表明,肥胖小鼠肠道中含有更多梭菌,他们在新陈代谢过程中释放出大量脱氧胆酸,当被吸收入血液并进入肝脏后,便会导致DNA损伤,促使细胞老化,从而增加癌症风险。实验中,肥胖小鼠和纤瘦小鼠一起进食高脂肪食物,30
某国参加北京奥运会的男女运动员比例原为19:12,由于先增加若干名女运动员,使男女运动员比例变为20:13,后又增加了若干名男运动员,于是男女运动员比例最终变为30:19.如果后增加的男运动员比先增加的女运动员多3人,则最后运动员的总人数为().
A、Right.B、Wrong.C、Doesn’tsay.B图书管理员是希望年轻人能借阅历史书籍,而不是在图书馆学习。
最新回复
(
0
)