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  3. In times of economic crisis, Americans turn to their families for support. If the Great Depression is any guide, we may see a dr

In times of economic crisis, Americans turn to their families for support. If the Great Depression is any guide, we may see a dr

admin2012-07-21  34
问题     In times of economic crisis, Americans turn to their families for support. If the Great Depression is any guide, we may see a drop in our skyhigh divorce rate. But this won’t necessarily represent an increase in happy marriages. In the long run, the Depression weakened American families, and the current crisis will probably do the same.
    We tend to think of the Depression as a time when families pulled together to survive huge job losses. By 1932, when nearly one-quarter of the workforce was unemployed, the divorce rate had declined by around 25% from 1929. But this doesn’t mean people were suddenly happier with their marriages. Rather, with incomes decreasing and insecure jobs, unhappy couples often couldn’t afford to divorce. They feared neither spouse could manage alone.
    Today, given the job losses of the past year, fewer unhappy couples will risk starting separate households. Furthermore, the housing market meltdown will make it more difficult for them to finance their separations by selling their homes.
    After financial disasters family members also tend to do whatever they can to help each other and their communities. A 1940 book, The Unemployed Man and His Family, described a family in which the husband initially reacted to losing his job "with tireless search for work." He was always active, looking for odd jobs to do.
    The problem is that such an impulse is hard to sustain. Across the country, many similar families were unable to maintain the initial boost in morale (士气). For some, the hardships of life without steady work eventually overwhelmed their attempts to keep their families together. The divorce rate rose again during the rest of the decade as the recovery took hold.
    Millions of American families may now be in the initial stage of their responses to the current crisis, working together and supporting one another through the early months of unemployment.
    Today’s economic crisis could well generate a similar number of couples whose relationships have been irreparably (无法弥补地) ruined. So it’s only when the economy is healthy again that we’ll begin to see just how many broken families have been created.
In the initial stage, the current economic crisis is likely to______.
选项 A、tear many troubled families apart
B、contribute to enduring family ties
C、bring about a drop in the divorce rate
D、cause a lot of conflicts in the family
答案C
解析 根据题干关键词current economic crisis将本题出处定位于首段。该段指出美国经济大萧条时朗，离婚率下降，但是从长远来看(in the long run)家庭会受到损害，而当前的经济危机可能也会造成同样的  后果。前后对比可以看出，离婚率下降的时期应该在经济危机的初期(in the initial stage).也就是说，在当前经济危机的初期，离婚率有可能下降，故答案为[C]。[A]“拆散许多有问题的家庭”以及[D]“造成许多家庭矛盾”是最终的结果，不符合题干中的in the initial stage；[B]“有助于家庭关系的持久”与首段第三句But this won’t necessarily represent an increase in happy marriages不符。
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