Text C. Families of the Past, Present and Future

A book which is still being discussed by many Americans today is “Future Shock” by Alvin Toffler. In this book the author describes the great changes which were made in family life because of science and industry.

In the past, when more Americans lived on farms, the typical family had many children. In a farm family, parents and their children often lived with grandparents. Often, too, uncles and aunts lived nearly. But when industry became more important than agriculture in American life, families became smaller. Industry requires workers who are ready and able to move off the land and to move again whenever necessary. Large families cannot be moved from place to place as smaller families can.

Today, because of industrialization, a typical family will move even more often than now, so families will be even smaller. The typical family may remain childless and consist only of a man and a woman. A smaller number of families may raise children. These families may raise children as their chief occupation, leaving the childless families free to move from job to job. Furthermore, these child-raising families may raise other people’s children in addition to their own.

Exercise 2. Read Text D and answer the questions:

1. Why must children in Japan work hard?

2. Why do Japanese study seriously?

3. Do parents help them? Why?

4. What is “an arranged marriage”?

5. Who is a matchmaker?

6. Do you think it is a good idea?