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各种不同类型的家庭 "Family" - the word has different meanings for different people, and even the dictionary gives us several definitions: "a group of people related by blood or marriage," "two adults and their children," "all those people descended from a common ancestor," "a household," and so on. Some people think of family as a mother, a father, and their children; others include grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. For some of us, family means the group of relatives living far away from home. For others, having a family simply means having children. Some families have long histories, while others know very little about their ancestors. No matter if it is young or old, large or small, traditional or modern, every family has a sense of what a family is. It is that feeling of belonging, of love and security that comes from living together, helping and sharing." 家"这个词对不同民族来说有着不同的意义。甚至连词典都给我们提供了几个不同的定义："有着血统和婚姻关系的一群人"，"夫妻和子女"，"共同祖先传下来的所有的后代"，"在同一间房屋里一起生活的人"，等等。有些人把父母加子女就看成是一家人；还有些人认为家人应当包括祖父母、外祖父母、姑妈姨妈、叔父舅父及堂表兄弟姐妹。对我们中的一部分人来说，有家就意味着有孩子。有些家庭有着漫长的一段一段的家史，可是也有些家庭对他们祖先的情况几乎根本就不了解。不讼家史是长还是短，也不论家族的人口是多还是少，更不论家风是古旧还是新式的，每一位家庭成员都有一种所谓"家的感觉"。这种家的感觉就是那种归属感、相亲相爱和安全感，而这一切都是来自于共同生活、互相帮助、同甘共苦。 There are basically two types of families: nuclear families and extended families. The nuclear family usually consists of two parents (mother and father) and their children. The mother and father from the nucleus, or center, of the nuclear family. The children stay in the nuclear family until they grow up and marry. Then they form new nuclear families. 基本上有两种类型的家庭：核心是小家庭和扩展大家庭。核心小家庭通常由家长（父母）和孩子所组成。母亲和父亲是这个核心小家庭的核心，或者叫做中心。孩子们在核心家庭里一直住到长成大人并结了婚，然后他们再去组织新的核心小家庭。 The extended family is very large. There are often many nuclear families in one extended family. An extended family includes children, parents, grand-parents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. The members of an extended family are related by blood (grandparents, parents, children, brothers, sisters, etc.) or by marriage (husbands, wives, mothers-in-law, etc.). They are all related, so the members of an extended family are called relatives. 扩展的大家庭人口很多。在一家扩展的大家庭包括有儿童、父母亲、祖父母和外祖父母、叔父伯父、姑姑姨姨及堂表兄弟姐妹。一家扩展的大家庭的家庭成员之间都有血统关系（祖父母或外祖父母、父母、儿童、兄弟姐妹等）或者有婚姻关系（夫妇、岳母、婆母等），他们互相间都有亲缘关系，所以一个扩展的大家庭的成员之间都互称亲属。 Traditionally, all the members of an extended family lived in the same area. However, with the change from an agricultural to an industrial society, many nuclear families moved away from the family home in order to find word. In industrial societies today, the members of most nuclear families live together, but most extended families do not live together. Therefore we can say that the nuclear family becomes more important than the extended family was the society industrializes. 传统上，一个大家族的所有的家庭成员都居住在同一个地方。可是，随着由农业社会向工业社会的转变，许多小家庭搬离开了家乡以便寻找工作。今天，在工业社会里，绝大多数小家庭的成员是住在一起的，可是绝大多数大家庭成员都不住在一起了。 
在像美国这样的后工业化社会，甚至核心小家庭也在变化。由于人们不想多要孩子，核心小家庭变得更小了。无子女家庭的数字正在增长。过去，都是小家庭里的父亲去挣钱养家，而由母亲来照料家务和孩子。今天，在美国有50%以上的小家庭是两个人挣钱养家--父母都挣钱养家，还有极少数家庭是母亲挣钱，而由父亲来照料家务和孩子。很多核心小家庭也在搞"核分裂"，越来越多的父母在闹离婚。 What will be the result of this "splitting" of the nuclear family? Social scientists now talk of two new family forms: the single parent family and the remarried family. Almost 20% of all American families are single parent families, and in 85% of these families the single parent is the mother. Most single parents find it very difficult to take care of a family alone, so they soon marry again and from remarried families. As social scientists study these two new family forms, they will be able to tell us more about the future of the nuclear family in the post-industrial age. 这核心小家庭的"核心分裂"的后果会是什么呢？现在社会学家都谈到了有两种新的家庭类型：单亲家庭和再婚家庭。在全美国的家庭总数中单新家庭几乎占20%，在这20%的单亲家庭中，85%的单亲是母亲。其中绝大多数的单亲都发觉单靠自己来照料一个家是很困难的。于是她们很快地就再婚了，并组织了再婚家庭。在社会科学工作者们对这两种新的家庭类型作了仔细调查研究之后，他们就会更加详细地告诉我们，在后工业化社会的时代里，核心小家庭在未来的演变情况。 The Changing American Family 变化中的美国人的家庭 The family is important to people all over the world although the structure of the family is quite different from one country to another. In the United States, as in many countries in the world, the family is changing. A generation or two ago, the traditional family, in which the father was boss, was customary. Now, the modern family, in which both the father and the mother are equal partners, is more common. Although there are several similarities between the traditional and the modern family, there are also some very important differences. 家庭对于全世界各国人民来说都是非常重要的，尽管某一国家同另外某一国家的家庭的结构是完全不同的。但在美国也正像世界上很多国家一样，家庭正在变革。一两代人以前，传统旧式家庭习惯上都是父亲是一家之主；现在，现代新式家庭中，更多见的是父母双方以平等的伴侣身份出现。尽管在传统旧式家庭与现代新式家庭之间有些相似之处，但也有着一些很重要的不同之处。 The traditional family of yesterday and the modern family of today have several similarities. The traditional family was a nuclear family, and the modern family is , too. The role of the father in the traditional family was to provide for his family. Similarly, the father in the modern family is expected to do so, also. The mother in the traditional family took care of the children's physical and emotional needs just as the modern mother does. 昔日的传统旧式家庭和今日现代新式家庭之间的一些相似之处就是：传统旧式家庭是核心小家庭，现代新式家庭也是核心小家庭。在传统旧家庭中父亲的任务是挣钱养家，与此相似的是，在现代家庭中也是指望着父亲来养家的。传统旧式家庭中母亲负责来满足孩子们在身心成长方面的需求，现代新式家庭里的母亲也是这样。 
另一方面，在传统旧式家庭和现代新式家庭之间也有着一些很大的差别。首先，丈夫在家庭中的地位就很不同。传统家庭中的丈夫是全家人的首领，因为只有他一个人是在家庭之外工作的。如果妻子上班挣钱，那就被认为丈夫不能很好的养家糊口。今天在许多家庭中，夫妻双方都去工作挣钱。因此，夫妻双方共同担任全家人的首领。还有，有关花钱的一些重大决定，在传统家庭中都由丈夫不决定。可是现代家庭中丈夫要和他的工作了的妻子共同来作决定。还有，在传统家庭中，丈夫不帮妻子做家务，也不帮做饭。等丈夫回家来的时候，晚餐已经做好了。与此相反，在现代家庭中，丈夫在家里帮助他那参加工作的妻子。丈夫帮助做一些家务活，甚至丈夫做饭也是常有的事情。 The second difference is in the woman's role. In the traditional family, the woman may have worked for pay during her first years of marriage. However, after she became pregnant, she would usually give up her job. Her primary role was to take care of her family and home. In contrast, in many families today, the modern woman works outside the home even after she has children. She's doing two jobs instead of one, so she is busier than the traditional mother was. The traditional wife learned to live within her husband's income. On the other hand, the modern wife does not have to because the family has two incomes. 第二，女人的角色不同。在传统家庭中，在婚后最初几年女人可能上班工作。可是，一旦他怀孕了，她通常都会放弃她的工作职位。她的主要任务是照顾好家人管好家务。与此相反，今天在许多家庭中，现代的妇女，即使在有了孩子以后也要到家庭外面去工作。她在家里家外做两份工作而不是只做一份工作，所以她要比传统家庭中的母亲更心碌些。传统家庭里的妻子要学会在丈夫收的钱数范围内来花钱。与此相反，现代家庭的妻子就不必这样了，因为这个家庭有双份收入。 The final difference is in the role of the children. In the traditional family, the children were taken care of by the mother because she did not work outside the home. However, today preschool children may go to a child care center or to a baby-sitter regularly because the mother works. The school-age children of a traditional family were more dependent. Their mother was there to help them to get ready for school and to make their breakfast. In contrast, modern children are more independent. They have to get up early in the morning and get ready for school. Their mother is busy getting ready for work, so they may even have to make their own breakfast. 最后，儿童们的作用不同。在传统式旧家庭里，孩子们都由母亲来照料，因为她不到家庭外面去工作。可是今天，学龄前的儿童可能得去幼儿托管所或者经常去请来照看孩子的人，因为母亲要上班去。传统家庭中学龄儿童比较依靠母亲，有他们的母亲在那里为他们准备着上学所用的一切，为他们做好早餐。与此相反；现代家庭中的儿童独立做事能力更强。早晨孩子们必须早起并准备好上学用品。因为他们的母亲忙于准备去上班，所以孩子们甚至不得不自己来做早餐。 In conclusion, the American family of today is different from the family of fifty years ago. In the modern family, the roles of the father, mother, and children have changed as more and more women work outside the home. The next century may bring more important changes to the American family structure. It should be interesting to see. 由此可以得出结论，今日美国人的家庭与五十年前的家庭是不同的。在现代家庭中父亲、母亲和孩子们的角色、作用、地位都变了，因为有越来越多的妇女到家庭外面去工作。下一个世纪很可能给美国人的家庭结构带来更大的一些变化。我们以浓厚的兴趣拭目以待。
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