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  3. Over the past decade, DINK (Double Incomes No Kids) has been a life style pursued by an increasing amount of westerners and has

Over the past decade, DINK (Double Incomes No Kids) has been a life style pursued by an increasing amount of westerners and has

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问题     Over the past decade, DINK (Double Incomes No Kids) has been a life style pursued by an increasing amount of westerners and has influenced people in China in recent years. But for the majority of people, it’s still hard to accept the concept of a DINK family. The following two excerpts are about different views towards DINKs.
    Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should:
    1. summarize briefly both excerpts and then
    2. express your opinion towards DINKs, especially whether Chinese young couples should be discouraged to be DINKs.
Excerpt 1
    The "childfree by choice" lifestyle has a funny nickname—DINKs. It stands for "dual income, no kids." The name and the lifestyle may be gaining more and more popularity now.
    Laura Portz started the DINK lifestyle when she married her husband, Austen, three years ago. "We’re first time homebuyers for a couple of years now." says Laura, Besides their home, they’ve also been able to make some more fun purchases, since they’re not spending money on kids. Another DINK couple, Shannon Tervo and Jason Weiss, do enjoy opportunities to have dinner together, just the two of them, and go on trips to concerts and music festivals.
    "You don’t have to make arrangements for anyone, but yourselves." says Jason.
    More and more couples are choosing to wait to have children, or not have them at all. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, this year, 47.6 percent of women ages 15 to 44 had no kids. That is the highest percentage since the Bureau started keeping track in 1976.
    "The biggest difference between DINKs and couples with kids is finances and time," says Crystal D’Orazio, a licensed marriage and family therapist. She sees all kinds of couples; plus, she and her husband have three kids. "I definitely feel the stress," says D’Orazio. "Couples that have kids, often it costs more money. They don’t have as much time together."
    "There’s so much to do. There’s so much activity life and groups and organizations and things for DINKs to get involved in." says D’Orazio.
Excerpt 2
    Shanghai, after witnessing consecutive negative population growth in the past 11 years, now discourages young couples to become DINK (double income no kid) families.
    The metropolis has stopped granting rewards to couples who choose not to have children, revealed Xia Yi, deputy director of Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission.
    In the past 11 years, Shanghai saw a consecutive negative increase of population. Last year, the number of net births among the city’s permanent residents was 57,000, but the number of deaths stood at 100,700, meaning a natural growth rate of -3.24 per thousand.
    Officials said the average size of families in Shanghai is also shrinking. In 1949, the average family had 4.9 people, but the size dropped to 3.1 in 1990 and 2.8 in recent years.
    Xia explained that many couples choose not to have children because of rising costs to bring up children and their concerns of potential unemployment. Young parents, especially young women who received better education, declined to bear children or bear children at their prime child-bearing age, lest their promising future be spoiled by the birth of the babies.
    However, Xia pointed out, few children could cause problems in the future, as aging society has become a problem in the city. "The society could hardly develop in a healthy way without multiplying."
选项
答案 Should DINKs Be Discouraged? The above excerpts display different attitudes to DINK lifestyle. As indicated in the first excerpt, in order to lead a life with a more bounteous economy and more leisure time, some American couples become DINKs. Even expert D’Orazio who has three children shows her approval. Contrary to most Americans’ voluntary choice, many young couples in Shanghai are somehow forced to be DINKs because of rising costs to bring up children, concerns of potential unemployment and fears of spoiling future, while the local authorities discourage DINKs and boost fertility due to the continuous low level of natural growth rate. Considering the current situation in China, however, I think we should not discourage Chinese young couples to be DINKs. Firstly, DINK lifestyle can spare couples the expenses of raising a child. As the living costs in China are soaring, you are rushed off your feet trying to pay for your children’s baby formula, tuition fees from kindergarten to college, medical care and insurance before you know it. The burdens never seem to end. Secondly, without the restraint of children, DINKs are free to fulfill their life ambitions. In a society where the equality between man and woman is increasingly valued, a woman is no longer a birth machine which carries on the family line. Young couples in China now are mainly composed of the 1980s generation, most of whom appreciate freedom and personal space. In addition, they don’t necessarily have the ability and patience to provide a favorable environment for a child. All the time and energy consumed by raising a child might as well be saved and better used in aspiring after career success and life goals. In conclusion, the lifestyle of DINKs to some extent saves young couples a lot of expenses, and gives them more space to realize their life goals. Therefore, young couples who are not ready for the responsibility of parenting should be allowed to be DINKs.
解析     材料给出了两篇有关丁克族的分析报道，分别提出正反两种观点。
    材料一是支持的观点。材料以两对丁克族夫妇为例，根据有关专家的意见，指出选择做丁克族的夫妇在经济和时间上更加宽裕(finances and time)，也有各种专门为丁克族准备的活动和组织(activity life and groups and organizations)使他们的生活更丰富。
    材料二是反对的观点。材料指出，上海由于持续了11年的人口负增长(consecutive negative increase of population)，考虑到老龄化社会(aging society)带来的发展问题，不鼓励年轻夫妇做丁克族。但是，当下有很多夫妇因为育儿所需花费极大，以及担心因为生育导致失业，因此选择不要孩子。
    开篇：概括材料，分别总结美国夫妇和中国夫妇选择做丁克族的原因，引出自己的观点：根据当前中国的社会现实，不应该限制人们选择丁克的生活方式。
    主体：分两方面阐述原因。
    1．丁克家庭的生活方式可以省去不少育儿开销。
    2．丁克家庭的生活方式可以让夫妻两人有更宽裕的时间实现人生理想。
    结尾：重申观点，指出年轻的夫妻如果还没有做好养儿育女的准备，不妨选择丁克的生活。
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