在职教育硕士英二模拟key-jyss2012-02.docVIP

答案： 2012在职英语专业教育硕士英语II 复习材料2 I. Reading Comprehension Passage 1 Since its foundation in 1954, the United Nations has written into its major covenants(契约) the need to establish minimum ages for marriage. But the custom of marriage is a highly sensitive cultural issue, mainly because it is so unpleasantly involved with women’s rights and societal社会组织结构 traditions and practices, and rules on marriage vary widely between countries. Some countries, particularly in West Africa, still do not have a legal minimum age for marriage. In the West, a 13-year-old is still considered a child. Even getting married in one’s late teens is not usually encouraged because married life is likely to interfere with干扰a young woman’s education and consequently restrict opportunities in later life. And there are also physical dangers in giving birth so young. The World Health Organization has over the past ten years identified early childbirth as确认为a major cause of female mortality必死性in many countries. Under Islamic religious law, the age of consent同意 for sex and marriage is puberty青春开花期, which Muslims say is in harmony with the biological transition from childhood into adulthood. In Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, the age of puberty at around 13 or 14 is the legal age for marriage, but in Turkey it is 15, and in Egypt and Tunisia, 18 the same minimum age as in many Western countries. It is argued认为 that by allowing earlier marriages, Islamic law is promoting stable relationships, while Western laws are encouraging promiscuity乱交 among young people. In many countries, the trends of urbanization都市化 and education for girls have seen a drop in the number of child brides. However, ③early marriages continue to occur in poor rural areas, where society works very much on personal arrangement between families, villages and communities. And it doesn’t only happen in countries which don’t have a legal minimum age. In India, for example, the legal age of