SECTION A In this section you will hear a
mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening, take notes
on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but you will need
them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture. When the lecture is
over, you will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes
to complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE. Use the blank sheet for
note-taking. Now listen to the mini-lecture.
Complete the gap-filling task. Some of the gaps below require a maximum of
THREE words. Make sure the word (s) you fill in is (are) both grammatically and
semantically acceptable. You may refer to your notes.
The Marriage Contract A
marriage is a contract. You can either write that contract yourself or choose
between two prefabricated contracts. The first option is similar to the
no-fault contract. The second is the so-called "covenant
marriage". Even if you never divorce, your choice among
contracts can (1)______ the entire course of your marriage. That’s because
the
1.______ possibility of divorce alters your incentives to keep your spouse
happy. Let’s compare three kinds of marriage: a no-fault
contract where either party can (2)______ a divorce on demand, a
mutual-consent
2. ______ contract where both parties must agree
to a divorce, and a covenant marriage where even mutual consent is
not (3)______You might think
3. ______ that of these three kinds,
(4)______. marriage is always the most likely
4. ______ to end in divorce. That isn’t true. The reason is that a lot of
marital issues are negotiable. And the negotiating process itself provides
all the right incentives to (5)______your spouse’s needs.
5.______ Under either no-fault or
mutual-consent system, the marriage (6)______ as long as it’s possible to
keep both partners happier
6. ______ together than they would be apart. Therefore, these
two systems produce the same number of divorces. On the other hand, if you’re
in a covenant marriage, divorce might be (7)______even when the marriage
turns
7.______ bad for both of you. If we assume that all marital
conflicts are (8)______, the covenant marriage has no striking advantages.
But
8.______ sometimes there are important decisions that can’t be negotiated,
like the decision whether to bring home a surprise bouquet of flowers. It’s
the issues you can’t negotiate that makes the covenant marriage worth
considering. But the same inability can make the no-fault marriages the
(9 ______of all.
9.______ In conclusion, when
marital issues are negotiable, no-fault and mutual consent do equally well
and covenant marriage is always a mistake. But when important issues can’t be
negotiated, both the covenant marriage and the no-fault become more
(10)______.
10.______