英语阅读DivorceandKids离婚与孩子.docVIP

美联英语提供：英语阅读：Divorce and Kids 离婚与孩子 两分钟做个小测试，看看你的英语水平 /test/kuaisu.aspx?tid=16-73675-0 Divorce is transforming the lives of American children.In the past World War 2 generation, more than 80 percent of children grew up with both biological parents. Today only half will do so. Each year more than a million children experience family breakup: about as many are born out of wedlock. 离婚正在改变美国儿童的生活。二次世界大战后的一代人中，80%以上的儿童都在亲生父母身边长大。今天只有半数是如此。每年有一百多万儿童的家庭破裂，这与非婚生儿的数量大体相同。 At the same time, the problems associated with family disruption have grown. Overall child well-being has declined,despite historically high public spending. The teen suicide rate has almost tripled. Juvenile crime has increased and become more violent. School performance has been poor. 与此同时，家庭破裂带来的问题层出不穷。尽管政府的开支历来很大，儿童总的生活水平却有所下降。青少年的自杀率几乎增长了两倍。青少年犯罪率上升，而且暴力案件越来越多，而学业成绩甚差。 Given such a dramatic impact on children’s lives, one might expect today’s high divorce rate to be viewed more widely as a national crises. Yet, those who argue that it poses a serious threat are dismissed as being pessimistic or nostalgic, unwilling to accept the new facts of life. The dominant view in the popular culture is that the changes in family structure are, on balance, positive. And until recently there was little hard evidence to confirm or dispute this assumption. 儿童的生活既然受到如此显著的影响，有人可能把当今的高离婚率视作一场全国性的危机。然而，持有这种观点的人却被斥之为过分悲观或怀旧，被认为是不愿接受新的生活现实。大众文化普遍认为，家庭结构的变化总的说来是积极的。但直到最近还没有什么确凿的证据可以证实或反驳这种说法。 A 1940s book on divorce asserted:” Children are entitled to the affection and association of two parents, not one.” In the 1950s most Americans believed parents should stay in an unhappy marriage to avoid damaging the children. 40年代的一本论述离婚的书曾称：“孩子有权享有父母双方而不是其中一方的宠爱和关怀”。50年代，多数美国人认为，做父母的即使婚姻不美满，也要维持下去，以免伤害孩子。 But by mid-1970s what had once been regarded as hostile to children’s best interests was considered essential to adults’ happiness. “A two-parent home is not the only emotional structure within which a child can be happy and healthy,