Retell the text. Read and translate the text

Read and translate the text

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. One more definition says that marriage is a union between two people that feel that they are right for each other, and decide to spend the rest of their lives together as one.

In one form or another marriage has existed almost as long as civilization itself. Marriage is a universal institution whereby men and women are joined in a special kind of dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family. This union is regulated by society, and society's laws, rules, customs, beliefs, and attitudes prescribe the rights and duties of the man and woman.

Marriage is different from love. It is a good institution but a lot depends on the person you are married to.

There is no such thing as a good wife or a good husband - there's only a good wife to Mr. A or a good husband to Mrs. B. If a credulous woman marries a pathological liar, they may live together happily to the end of their days - one telling lies, the other believing him. А man who cannot live without constant admiration should marry a "God, you are wonderful!" type of woman. If he is unable to make up his mind, he is right in marrying a dictator. One dictator may prosper in marriage: two are too many.

The way to matrimonial happiness is barred to no one. It is all a matter of choice. One shouldn't look for perfection, one should look for complementary part of a very imperfect other half.

If someone buys a refrigerator, it never occurs to him that it is a bad refrigerator because he cannot play grammarphone records on it; nor does he blame his hat for not being suitable for use as a flower-vase. But many people who are very fond of their stomach marry a cook and then blame her for being less radiantly intelligent and witty than George Sand. Or a man may be anxious to show off his wife’s beauty and elegance, marry a mannequin and be surprised to see in six months that she has no balanced views on the international situation. Another marries a girl only and exclusively because she is seventeen and is much-surprised 15 years later to find out that she is not 17 anymore. And if ladies marry a title or a bank account they must not blame their husbands for not being romantic heroes.

You should know what you are buying. And as long as you do not play records on your refrigerator and not put bunches of chrysanthemums into your hat, you have a reasonable chance of so-called happiness.

Unlike their parents, many single adults today are waiting longer to get married. Some women and men are delaying marriage and family because they want to finish school or start their careers; others want to become more established in their chosen profession. Most of these people eventually will marry. One survey showed that only 15 per cent of all single adults want to stay single. Some women become more interested in getting married and starting a family as they enter their 30s.

One positive result may come from men and women marrying later. People who get married at later ages have fewer divorces. Along with the decision to wait to marry, couples are also waiting longer before they have children, sometimes in order to be more firmly established economically.

Some couples today are deciding not to have children at all. In 1955, only one per cent of all women expected to have no children. Today more than five per cent say they want to remain childless. The ability of a couple to choose whether they will have children means that more children who are born are very much wanted and loved.

About half of all marriages end in divorce. A divorce happens when a husband аnd a wife legally end their marriage. The number of divorces grew steadily for many years, but this doesn't mean that people do not believe in marriage. It simply means that they are giving up being married to a particular individual. Most people who get divorced marry again. About 80 per cent of all men and 75 per cent of all women who get divorced remarry.

Divorce laws allow men and women to terminate bad marriages; getting a divorce is now rather easy.

Like marriage rates, divorce rates tend to decline in times of economic depression and rise during periods of prosperity. Approximately one half of all divorces are among persons in their 20s, and the rate is exceptionally high among teenagers. Divorce is also most frequent in the first three years after marriage, and the incidence is higher among lower socioeconomic levels.

In order to lower the rate of divorce, many public and religious agencies now instruct young unmarried couples in the responsibilities of marriage. Other agencies and marriage counselors offer help to married couples in solving their problems. In addition many high schools, colleges, and universities offer courses in preparing for marriage.

2. Match the word and its Russian equivalent:

admiration	родство
credulous	успех, процветание
decline	завершить, ограничить
kinship	доверчивый
matrimonial	восхищение
prosperity	темп, скорость
rate	обзор
remarry	снижение, упадок
survey	вступить в повторный брак
terminate	супружеский

3. Explain in English:

credulous womanestablish in chosen profession

pathological liarremain childless

matrimonial happinessto terminate bad marriages

perfection complementary part

4. Why do people marry? Give your ideas about the choice of a perfect partner.

5. Comment on the following:

× It is a woman’s business to get married as soon as possible and a man’s to keep unmarried as long as he can. (B.Shaw)

× No matter how happily a woman may be married, it always pleases her to discover that there is a nice man who wishes that she were not. (H.Mencken)

× Marriage is the waste-paper basket of emotions. (S.Webb)

× Marriage is a bribe to make a housekeeper think she is a householder. (T.Wilder)

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