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2017届高考英语二轮专题训练：阅读理解（12） A Across the globe, single-parent homes are on the rise. In the US, the 2000 census (人口普查 ) showed 24.8 million or nearly 24 percent of the nation's 105.5 million households, were traditional two-parent homes. By comparison, 9.8 million households or 9.8 million of all US households were headed by an adult raising a child alone. The 1990 census showed 26 percent of homes were led by a married mother and father, and 8 percent of homes were led by a singe parent. Similar increases occurred in other countries. In the UK, lone-parent family homes increased from 3.3 percent in 1990 to 5.5 percent in 1999. Single parent households in Australia rose from 5.8 percent in 1990 to 7.6 percent in l999. Belgium saw the increase from 1. 8 percent to 2.7 during the same period of time. These countries tend to have greater acceptance of single parenting because there are fewer nearby family members to disapprove, Riche, a Census Bureau director, said. Just as in the US, those changes raised new questions about how involved government should be in helping single-parent families. Some research suggests children raised in two-parent families are better off than those who depend on one. "The position of one-parent families in any country is very much a gender (性别) issue－women's opportunities, especially working-class women on low income," said Sue Chen, coordinator (协调员) of the Single Action Parents Network in England. | 
