VII. Read the passage, and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D for each question.

The American family unit is in the process of change. In the first half of the 20th century, there were mainly two types of families: the extended and the nuclear. An extended family includes mother, father, children and some other relatives, living in the same house. A nuclear family is composed of just parents and children living under the same roof.

As the American economy had progressed from agricultural to industrial one, people were forced to move to different parts of the country to get good jobs. These jobs were mainly in the large cities. Now, in fact, three-quarters of Americans live in urban areas which occupy 2.5% of the national total land mass. Of the 118 million in the labour force, only 3 million still work on the farm.

Since moving for better jobs has often divided the extended family, the nuclear family became more popular. At present, 55% of the families in the US are nuclear families. But besides the two types of traditional family groupings, the family is now being expanded to include a variety of other living arrangements because of divorce. There is an increase in single-parent families, in which a father or mother live with one or more children. Divorce has also led to blended families, which occur when previously married men and women marry again and combine the children from former marriage into a new family. There are also some couples who do not want to have children to form two-person childless families.

41. A nuclear family is one that________.

A. consists of father, mother, and children living in the same house

B. relatives live with

C. there are only grandparents, parents and their children living in

D. is bigger than extended family

42. The expression “under the same roof’ means________

A. a house with one roof B. a house with the roof the same as the wall

C. in the same building D. under the house

43. The nuclear family becomes more popular because of________.

A. more divorces B. the division of the extended family

C. fewer jobs in big cities D. an increase in single-parent families

44. How many types of families have there been in the US since the first half of the 20th century?

A. Two B. Three C. Four D. Five

45. A blended family is a newly-formed family________.

A. with the combination of children of the two previously married father and mother

B. that has only father or mother living with children

C. in which there are no children

D. that there is only one couple living in with their newborn children