The Family(第一題：文章題目：What Makes a Family?家庭的構(gòu)成)
The structure of a family takes different forms (家庭結(jié)構(gòu)有著不同的形式)around the world and even in the same society. The family’s form changes as it adapts to (適應(yīng))changing social and economic influences. (家庭的構(gòu)成形式也在不斷變化：隨著不斷變化的社會和經(jīng)濟影響而變化) Until recently, the most common form in North America was (第二題)the nuclear family(核心家庭), consisting of a married couple with their minor children. The nuclear family is an independent unit. It must be prepared to fend for itself. Individual family members strongly depend on one another. There is little help from outside the family in emergencies. Elderly relatives of a nuclear family are cared for only if it is possible for the family to do so. In North Africa, the elderly often do not live with the family. They live in retirement communities and nursing homes. (第四題：通過描述“核心家庭”的共性：這里講的是所有“核心家庭”的共同特點，即獨立單位，自己照顧自己，家庭成員之間緊密依賴彼此，外界的幫助微乎其微等。)
There are many parallels (相似點)between the nuclear family in industrial societies，such as North America，and of families in societies such as that of the Inuits，who live in harsh environments. (北美的“核心家庭”同因特人的家庭有很多相似之處)The nuclear family structure is well adapted to a life of mobility(良好地適應(yīng)流動性的特點). In harsh conditions，mobility allows the family to hunt for food(狩獵撲食). For North Americans，the hunt for jobs and improved social status (找工作，提高社會地位)also requires mobility.
The nuclear family was not always the North American standard. In a more agrarian (農(nóng)耕時代)time，the small nuclear family was usually part of a larger extended family(大家庭). This might have included grandparents，mother and father，brothers and sisters，uncles，aunts，and cousins. In North America today，there is a dramatic rise in the number of single-parent households(單親家庭的數(shù)目大幅增加). Twice as many households in the United States are headed by divorced，separated，or never-married individuals as are comprised of nuclear families. (由核心家庭構(gòu)成的單親家庭的數(shù)目是由于離婚、分居或者未婚導(dǎo)致的單親家庭的兩倍。)The structure of the family，not just in North America, but throughout the world，continues to change as it adapts to changing conditions.(適應(yīng)新的變化的環(huán)境)
詞匯:
nuclear adj. 原子核的，中心的 harsh adj. 嚴酷的
emergency n. 緊急狀況 agrarian adj. 土地的，耕地的
注釋:
1. It must be prepared to fend for itself. 它必須能夠照料自己。
2. In North America，the elderly often do not live with the family; they live in retirement communities and nursing homes. 在北美洲，老人很少和家人一起生活;他們一般住在退休社
區(qū)和養(yǎng)老機構(gòu)。
3. In harsh conditions，mobility allows the family to hunt for food. :在惡劣的條件下，流動性能讓一個家庭吃飽飯。