四成美国人认为结婚已过时

四成美国人认为结婚已过时

 Almost four in ten American couples now believe that marriage is becoming obsolete¹, according to a new survey published yesterday.

More than ever before, people in the US are coming to believe that wedding bells aren’t necessary for a happy family.

With US census² figures revealing that marriages for adults eighteen and over were at an all-time low of 52 per cent, an increasing number of children are growing up out of wedlock³.

The Pew Research Centre poll, carried out with Time magazine, showed that nearly one in three American children are now living with a parent who is divorced, separated or never married.

That’s a five-fold increase from 1960. Broken down further, about 15 per cent have parents who are divorced or separated and 14 per cent who were never married.

Within those two groups, a sizable chunk⁴ – 6 per cent – have parents who are live-in couples who opted⁵ to raise kids together without getting hitched⁶.

The 39 per cent of Americans who now think marriage is on the way out is a significant increase from 1978, when just 28 per cent felt that way.

When asked what constitutes a family, the vast majority of Americans agree that a married couple, with or without children, fits that description.

But four of five surveyed pointed⁷ also to an unmarried, opposite-sex couple with children or a single parent. Three of five people said a same-sex couple with children was a family.

‘Marriage is still very important in this country, but it doesn't dominate family life like it used to,’ said Andrew Cherlin, a professor of sociology and public policy at Johns Hopkins University.

The changing views of family are being driven largely by young adults 18-29, who are more likely than older generations to have an unmarried or divorced parent or have friends who do.

But economic factors, too, are playing a role.

It was a sharp one-year increase that analysts⁸ largely attributed to people unwilling⁹ to make long-term marriage commitments in the face of persistent¹⁰ unemployment.

Still, the study indicates that marriage isn't going to disappear anytime soon.

Despite a growing view that marriage may not be necessary, 67 per cent of Americans were upbeat about the future of marriage and family.

根据昨天发布的一项新调查，如今近四成美国情侣认为结婚正在变得过时。

越来越多的美国人开始认为结婚并不是保证家庭幸福的必要条件，持这一观点的人数之多前所未有。

美国人口普查统计数据显示，美国成人（18岁及以上）的结婚率达到历史新低，仅为52%。越来越多的孩子是在父母没有结婚的环境中成长的。

由皮尤研究中心与《时代》杂志共同开展的这项调查显示，近三分之一的美国儿童目前同离异、分居或从未结过婚的单亲父母生活在一起。

这一比例自1960以来增长了5倍。经过进一步分类发现，大约15%的孩子的父母已经离婚或分居，14%的孩子的父母从未结过婚。

在这两组人中，还有6%的孩子的父母选择同居并一起抚养孩子但不结婚，这种情况的孩子也占据了不小的比例。

现在有39%的美国人认为结婚正在变得过时，持这一观点的人相比1978年是显著增多了，那时候只有28%的人这么想。

当被问及组成家庭的要素时，大多数美国人都认为，不管有没有孩子，结了婚就算组建了家庭。

但也有五分之四的被调查者认为，没有结婚但有孩子的异性伴侣或单亲父母也组成了家庭。五分之三的人称，有孩子的同性伴侣也算作家庭。

约翰?霍普金斯大学社会学与公共政策系教授安德鲁?彻林说，“婚姻在这个国家依然非常重要，但它不像过去那样主导家庭生活。”

家庭观念的变化主要是由18岁到29岁的年轻人带动的。相比往代人，这些人父母未婚或离婚的更多，处于这种情况的朋友也更多。

另外，经济因素也产生了影响。

分析人士认为，之所以在一年之内会有这么急剧的变化，很大一部分原因在于持续高失业的局面让人们不愿意做出长期的婚姻承诺。

尽管如此，研究表明，婚姻这种形式绝不会很快消失。

虽然越来越多的人认为不一定要结婚，但仍然有67%的美国人对婚姻和家庭的未来持乐观态度。

1 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

2 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

3 wedlock   

n.婚姻，已婚状态

参考例句：

• My wife likes our wedlock.我妻子喜欢我们的婚姻生活。
• The Fawleys were not made for wedlock.范立家的人就跟结婚没有缘。

4 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

5 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

6 hitched   

（免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上

参考例句：

• They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
• We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

9 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

10 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。