填空题 In most cultures, there is an expectation that when a person reaches adulthood, marriage should soon follow. In the United States alone, each month upwards of 168,000 couples wed, __1__ to love, honor, and respect their chosen life mates until death parts them. The expectation is deep-rooted However, the social functions, purposes, and relevance of marriage are rapidly changing in __2__ society, making them less clear-cut than they have been throughout history. For instance, in a Pew Research Center random polling of over 2,000 individuals, fewer than half of all of the adults polled indicated that __3_ a man and a woman plan to spend the rest of their lives together as a couple, it was important that they legally marry.
Those of us who choose to marry have specific reasons why we decide to marry the person we do. There is a tendency, however, in our Western, individualistic culture: We tend to marry for reasons that benefit ourselves, rather than for reasons that benefit the society __4__, such as found in collectivist cultures. Research in Western cultures has found, for example, that the number-one reason people cite for marrying is to signify a lifelong commitment to someone they love. However, this reason is not the only response to why people wed — today, people get married for reasons of commitment, security, and personal belief systems. The Pew Research Center’s recent findings suggest that the main reasons people get married are for __5__ happiness and commitment, and bearing and raising children. As the data from this survey show us, there are racial, age, and religious differences in what people consider to be the main purposes.
1. A. trusting B. competing C. vowing D. pretending
2. A. contemporary B. conventional C. constructive D. consequent
3. A. whereas B. unless C. for D. if
4. A. at length B. at large C. at random D. at risk
5. A. moral B. mutual C. visual D. versatile