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职称英语：阅读理解练习（六）

请同学们下载视频右边的讲义自己先做，再听课，这一点非常重要！

Trying to Find a Partner

One of the most striking findings of a recent poll in the UK is that of the people interviewed,one in two believes that it is becoming more difficult to meet someone to start a family with.

Why are many finding it increasingly difficult to start and sustain intimate relationships?Does modern life really make it harder to fall in love?Or are we making it harder for ourselves?

It is certainly the case today that contemporary couples benefit in different ways from no longer rely upon partners for economic security or man doesn’t expect his spouse to be in sole charge of running his household and raising his children.

But perhaps the knowledge that we can live perfectly well without a partnership means that it takes much more to persuade people to abandon their independence.

In theory,finding a partner should be much simpler these a few generations ago,your choice of soulmate (心上人) was constrained(限制) by geography,social convention and family it was never explicit,many marriages were essentially arranged.

Now those barriers have been broken can approach a builder or a brain surgeon in any bar in any city on any given the world is your oyster (牡蛎),you surely have a better chance of finding a pearl.

But it seems that the old conventions have been replaced by an even tighter constraint:the tyranny of choice.

The expectations of partners are inflated(提高) to an unmanageable degree: good looks,impressive salary,kind to grandmother,and right is no room for error in the first impression.

We think that a relationship can be it isn’t,it is work to protect ourselves against future heartache and don’t put in the hard e motional labor needed to build a strong course,this is