创新大学英语读写译教程1 Unit 4Parents Children.pptVIP

Modern British Families Text Reading Modern British Families Father leaves for work in the morning after breakfast. The kids take the bus to school, and mother stays at home cooking and cleaning until father and the kids return home in the evening. This is the traditional picture of a happy family in Britain. But is it true today? The answer is “no”! The past 20 years have seen great changes in the lives and structures of families in Britain, and the traditional model is no longer true in many cases. The biggest change has been caused by divorces. As many as two out of three marriages now end in divorce, leading to a situation where many children live with one parent. There has also been a sharp rise in the number of mothers who work. The large rise in divorces has meant many women need to work to support their family. Even when there is no divorce, many families need both parents to work in order to survive. In addition, women are no longer happy to stay at home raising children, and many have jobs earning as much as or even more than men, the traditional breadwinners. There has also been a big increase in the number of single mothers. Many of their children grow up never knowing their fathers, and some people feel the lack of a male role model has a negative effect on their lives. However, these changes have not had a totally negative effect. For women, it is now much easier to have a job and good salary. As for children, some argue that modern children grow up to be more independent than in the past. From an early age they have to go to nurseries, and so they are used to dealing with strangers and mixing with other children. So while the traditional model of a family may no longer be true in modern Britain, the modern family continues to raise happy, successful children. 现代英国家庭 父亲用完早餐后去上班,孩子们乘公共汽车去上学,母亲则留在家里煮饭、打扫卫生直至父亲和孩子们晚上回家。这是一个英国幸福家庭的传统画面。但现在还是如此吗?回答是否定的。在过去的20年中,英国的家庭生活和家庭结构已发生了巨大的变化,这种传