Lesson57 Family Life
British and American families are small. In fact, the populations of bothBritain and the USA have stopped growing.
The typical family has a father, mother and two children.
Grandparents come to visit, but do not usually live with their children.
Most people get married between the ages of 20 and 25, but many marriagesend in divorce. This means that in both countries there are a large numberof "single parent families", one father or mother looking after theirchildrenalone.
The typical British family has a car, a colour TV set, a washing machine,and a cat or dog as well. They start the day at about 7 o'clock, havebreakfast at 8, and are off to work by 8:30. Most women now go out to workas well as men. The children have lunch at school at about 12:30, and comehome at 4 in the afternoon. Their parents are usually home by 6 o"clock, andthe family eats together. After the dinner the father may go to the pub fora drink, or stay at home and watch TV with the others. Children go to bedearly, at about 8 o'clock, two or three hours before their parents.
The typical American family has more money than a British family. Many havetwo or three cars, large modern kitchens and more electrical goods. They eatmore meat and spend more on clothes, but their daily program is nearly thesame. Like British children, American children eat lunch at school, comehome mid-afternoon, and go to bed earlier than their parents.
家庭生活
英美两国的家庭规模都不大。事实上，英美两国的人口已经停止增长。一个典型的家庭有父亲、母亲和两个孩子。祖父母会到自己孩子家中逗留做客，但通常不会和他们长期住在一起。
大多数人在二十岁到二十五岁之间结婚，但很多婚姻以离婚收场。这意味着两国有大量的“单亲家庭”，父亲或母亲单独抚养孩子。
典型的英国家庭有一辆车、一台彩电、一台洗衣机，还有一只猫或狗。他们早晨七点起床，八点吃早饭，八点半前离家外出工作。如今大多数妇女和男人一样出去工作。孩子十二点半在校吃中饭，下午四点回家。父母通常晚上六点到家，然后一家人一起吃晚饭。饭后，父亲或到酒吧喝酒，或在家和家人一起看电视。孩子们睡得早，大约八点就休息了，比父母早两到三个小时。
典型的美国家庭比英国家庭有钱，他们大多有两到三部车，有宽敞的现代化厨房和更多的电器。美国家庭虽然比英国家庭吃肉多，在穿衣上花钱多，但两国家庭的日常生活几乎是相同的。和英国孩子一样，美国孩子在学校吃午饭，下午三四点回家，早于父母上床睡觉。 |