Answer the following questions on the text.

1. Give the definition of family.

2. What does it symbolize to an individual, to society at large?

3. What are the so-called universally recognized family values?

4. What are the two general types of family and which of them is regarded as “normal”?

5. Why do many sociologists consider that the family unit is in crisis today? What new trends testify to this belief?

6. What is the ideal that people generally associate with family life in the past? What image is called to your mind by the term “Victorian values”?

7. What is the vision of a golden age based on?

8. Why do some sociologists believe that there is no point in making comparisons with families of a generation ago? Do the new trends prove that marriage has gone out of fashion?

9. How did the family scene change in the 1990s? Enumerate the major changes that took place and say whether they are still influential today.

10. How did the face of family life change as women entered the labour market? What legal changes gave women new opportunities?

11. Are men and women entitled to maternity leave or paternity leave in Britain? Why are women often wary of taking a maternity leave? What are the arguments in favor of a paternity leave?

12. What child care facilities exist for pre-school children in Britain and do they boast high standards?

13. Is working part-time a solution for British women with young children? What might improve the day care situation in Britain?

14. Are there any significant developments as far as the roles of men and women in the family are concerned? How is it reflected on women’s desire to combine the mother role with a career?

15. What was a commonly held view on divorce in the past?

16. How did the Second World War influence the divorce rate in Britain?

17. What legal act affected the conditions for divorce and, consequently, the divorce rate? What are other reasons for a wider acceptance of divorce?

18. Who suffers from a divorce most of all and why? Are there any legal provisions which secure the welfare of the children of the divorced parents?

19. What social bodies provide counseling for married couples going through troubled times?

20. Cohabitation as an alternative lifestyle has become a common living arrangement. What are the partners guided by? How has the trend affected the marriage rate?

21. What is the average marriage age in Britain at present and why do young men and women tend to delay marriage and family?

22. Has the attitude to having children outside marriage changed too? Why do we observe more teenage mothers keeping their children, unlike it used to be in the past?

23. What are some of the types of one-parent family in Britain today? Enumerate and analyse the potential problems both male and female single-parent households have to face.

24. How has the public attitude towards child rearing and discipline changed since the 1960s?

25. What are the underlying reasons for the growth of the number of old people living alone in Britain?

26. Describe the alternative ethnic family forms co-existing with the traditional British pattern. Are they male- or female-dominated families? Who controls the family finances?

27. How does family life in Britain differ from our country? Have the general attitudes to it changed? If they have, do you think these changes are good?

28. Do you agree that a healthy society is dependent on a stable family life?

Text B

Дата добавления: 2015-12-08