Marriage, and its many ups and downs, still exercises a powerful hold over newspapers, magazines and the airwaves. Nearly 23m Americans watched Prince William being joined in holy marriage to Kate Middleton. Millions more have indulged in the break-up of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s marriage after revelations that he fathered a son with a maid.
Less delightful are revelations about the sorry state of marriage across the United States. Data from the Census Bureau show that married couples, for the first time, now make up less than half of all households.
The iconic American family, with mom, dad and kids under one roof, is fading. In every state the numbers of unmarried couples, childless households and single-person households are growing faster than those comprised of married people with children, finds the 2010 census. And the trend has a potent class dimension. Traditional marriage has evolved from a near-universal ritual to a luxury for the educated and afflu
A. the public like to spy on celebrities’ marriage
B. many celebrities’ marriages are going wrong
C. Americans’ marriage is going downhill
D. people feel sorry for Americans’ marriage
While still in its early stages,
welfare reform has already been judged a great success in many states, at least
in getting people off welfare. It’s estimated that more than 2 million people
have left the rolls since 1994. In the past four years, welfare rolls in Athens County have been cut in half. But 70 percent of the people who left in the past two years took jobs that paid less than $6 an hour. The result: The Athens County poverty rate still remains at more than 30 percent--twice the national average. For advocates (代言人) for the poor, that’s an indication much more needs to be done. "More people are getting jobs, but it’s not making their lives any better," says Kathy Lairn, a policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington. A center analysis of US Census data nationwide found that between 1995 and 1996, a g A. believes the reform has reduced the government’s burden B. insists that welfare reform is doing little good for the poor C. is overenthusiastic about the success of welfare reform D. considers welfare reform to be fundamentally successful 我来回答: 提交
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