"Family" is of course an elastic word. And in different countries it has different meanings. Butwhen British people say that their society is based on family life, they are thinking of "family"in itsnarrow, peculiarly European sense of mother, father and children living together in their own houseas an economic and social unit. Thus, every British marriage indicates the beginning of a new and in-dependent family--hence the tremendous importance of marriage in British life. For both man andwoman, marriage means leaving one’s parents and starting one’s own life. The man’s first duty willthen be to his wife, and the wife’s to her husband. He will be entirely responsible for her financialsupport, and she for the running of the new home. Their children will be their common responsibilityand their alone. Neither the wife’s parents nor the husband’s, nor their brothers or sisters, aunts oruncles, have any right to interfere with them-they are their own masters.
Readers of novels likeJane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice will know that in former times, marriage among wealthy families were arranged by the girl’s parents, that is, it was the "parents' duty tofind a suitable husband for their daughter, preferably a rich one, and by skillful encouragement tolead him eventually to ask their permission to marry her. Until that time, the girl was protected andmaintained in the parents' home, and the financial relief of getting rid of her could be seen in theirgiving the newly married pair a sum of money called a dowry (嫁妆). It is very different today.Most girls of today get a job when they leave school and become financially independent before theirmarriage. This has had two results. A girl chooses her own husband, and she gets no dowry. Everycoin has two sides; independence for girls is no exception. But it may be a good thing for all of thegirls, as their social status are much higher and they are no longer the subordinate(部下，下级) oftheir parents and husbands.
46. What does the author mean by "Family is of course an elastic word"?
[A]Different families have different ways of life.
[B]Different definitions could be given to the word.
[C]Different nations have different families.
[D]Different times produce different families.
47. For an English family, the husband’s duty is________
[A]supporting the family while the wife is working out
[B]defending the family while the wife is running the home
[C]providing financial support while the wife is running the home
[D]independent while his wife is also independent
48. Everything is decided in a family________
[A]by the couple
[B]with the help of their parents
[C]by brothers and sisters
[D]with the help of aunts and uncles
49. What is TRUE conceming the book Pride and Prejudice?
[A]It is the best book on marriage.
[B]It is a handbook on marriage.
[C]It gives some idea of English social life in the past.
[D]It provides a lot of information of former-time wealthy families.
50. With regard to marriage in Britain, present-day girls differ from former-time girls in________
[A]the right family
[B]more parental support
[C]choosing husbands
[D]social position
参考答案：
“家庭”是一个释义很灵活的词语，在不同的国家它有着不同的含义。但是当英国人说他们的社会是建立在家庭生活上时，他们指的是狭义上的家庭，特别是对于欧洲人来说，家庭指的就是爸爸、妈妈和孩子住在自己的房子里，家庭就是经济单位、社会单位。因此，对于每个英国人来说，结婚就意味着独立而崭新的家庭生活开始了，所以婚姻对于英国人来说有着非比寻常的重要意义。无论是对于男人还是女人，结婚都意味着离开自己的父母开始单独生活。丈夫的首要责任是照顾妻子，而妻子的首要责任是照顾丈夫。丈夫要全权负责妻子经济上的开销，妻子要操持整个新家。孩子是他们共同的责任，也只能是他们的责任。男女双方的父母、兄弟、姐妹、姑姑和叔叔都不能干扰夫妻两人的生活——他们是自己的主人。
读过简·奥斯汀的小说《傲慢与偏见》的人都知道，从前富裕人家的女孩的婚姻都是由她们的父母安排的。也就是说，为女儿找个合适的、最好是有钱的夫君是父母的责任。他们会游说那个年轻人主动向他们女儿求婚。那个时代，女孩还被保护在父母的家中。把女儿嫁出去时，他们要给新婚夫妇经济补贴，即嫁妆。今时不同往日了。现如今，大多数的女孩子毕业之后都有工作，且结婚之前经济独立。这样会导致两种结果：女孩可以自己选择丈夫，但是她也没有了嫁妆。凡事都有两面性，女孩儿独立这件事也不例外。但这对于女孩子来说也许是件好事情，因为她们的社会地位提高了，她们不再是父母和丈夫的附属品。
答案及解析
46.B【解析】句意理解题。elastic意为“有弹性的，可伸缩的”。由后句可知，此句是说家庭的释义很灵活，在不同的国家它有不同的含义。
47.C【解析】细节题。答案见第一段“He will be en.Tirely responsible for her financial support，andshe for the running of the new home.”。
48.A【解析】细节题。根据第一段最后一句，“男女双方的父母、兄弟、姐妹、姑姑和叔叔都不能干扰夫妻两人的生活——他们是自己的主人”可知家里一切事务都由夫妻二人自己决定。49.C【解析】推论题。第二段提到小说《傲慢与偏见》中有对旧时代婚姻状况的描写，这是当时英国社会生活的一个方面。
50.D【解析】细节题。由最后一段可知，和以前相比，现在的女孩经济独立，社会地位提高了。
