1. Daily Life: Divorce
Most people believe that the biggest grounds for divorce are either infidelity or arguments over
money. However, a new report from British law firm Gateley suggests otherwise. According to its
analysis of 350 divorce cases, seven out of ten divorces occur because of disputes over who does
what household chores. Twenty percent of divorces are due to unfaithfulness. Gateley says gone are
the days when the wife did all the cooking and cleaning. Dual income marriages now mean split
responsibilities for vacuuming, doing the dishes and tidying. Gateley advised couples to discuss who
does what before walking down the aisle. A spokeswoman said that, "going into a marriage blind
could be a recipe for disaster".
Conversely, a study in Norway suggests that couples who share household chores are more likely to
split up. Thomas Hansen, co-author of the report 'Equality in the Home,' said the divorce rate among
couples who shared housework equally was 50 percent higher than for those where women did all
the work. Mr Hansen said that in Norway women did most of the housework in 70 percent of
marriages, and were "largely happy" to do so.
Relatedly, because of the poor economy recently, many families are now "too poor to split up". The
U.K. charity Relate said that in many middle-income families, couples stay together because they
can't afford to divorce. Relate says this results in a "toxic" home environment.
"Online activities, the mp3 and printable handouts are available for this lesson at http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com"
http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1211/121123-household_chores.html
大抵の人々は離婚の最も大きな理由として不誠実さや金銭的な論争だと信じています。しかしながら、イギリスの法律事
務所ゲータレイの新しいリポートはそうでない事を示唆しています。この350件の離婚ケースの分析によれば、10件中７
件の離婚は家事雑用を誰がやるのかを揉めて起こっています。離婚ケースのうち20%は不信によって起こっています。
ゲータレイは妻がすべての料理と掃除をしていた日々は既に終わったと述べています。今や共働きの既婚者というのは掃
除や皿洗い、片付けの責任を分担することを意味しています。ゲータレイはカップルに対して、バージンロードを歩く前
に誰が何を担当するのか話し合っておく事を進めています。広報担当者は”盲目的に結婚するということは紛争の火種に
なりかねない”と話しました。
それとは逆に、ノルウェーの研究では家事を共有する夫婦のが別れる可能性が高いと述べています。トーマス・ハンセン
（「家庭における平等」の共著者）は家事を女性が全て行う夫婦と比較して、家事を平等にシェアする夫婦の方が50%離
婚率が高いとしています。ハンセン氏はノルウェーの70%の既婚女性が家事を全て行い、大抵の人がそうする事に満足し
ています。
関連として、近年の経済状況の悪化から、多くの家庭は離婚できないほど貧しいのです。リレイト英国慈善団体は多くの
中間所得層の家庭において夫婦は離婚のためのお金が用意できないから一緒に暮らしているのだと述べています。リレイ
トはこの環境を”有毒”な家庭環境であるとしています。
2. Daily Life: Divorce
リーディングを読む前：
What are some common reasons why people get divorced?
Let’s think about household chores... with your group, write down the chores that most people do
in their houses.
Talk with your group...
Which chores do you like to do? Why?
Which chores do you dislike? Why?
If you get married someday, what household chores do you want your husband/wife to do?
Do you expect that you will share housework equally, or not? (and do you WANT to share?)
リーディングを読む前：
離婚する理由 ___________________________________
そうでない事を示唆しています___________________________________
10件中７件___________________________________
バージンロードを歩く___________________________________
盲目的に結婚するということ___________________________________
紛争の火種になりかねない___________________________________
別れる___________________________________
3. Daily Life: Divorce
Reading 20 Questions
(1) What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
(2) What do most people usually think are the biggest reasons for divorce?
(3) Whose reasearch is discussed in this paragraph?
(4) What makes them experts on this topic?
(5) In what country was this research done?
(6) What new results did they find about divorce?
(7) What advice does the law firm give to couples?
(8) Going into a marriage blind doesn’t mean 目が見えない。。。what does it really mean?
(9) The second paragraph starts with the world “conversely”. Thinking about this word...would you guess that the
second paragraph would have a similar opinion to the first... or would you guess that the opinion will be completely
opposite?
(10) What is the main idea of the 2nd paragraph?
(11) Where was this study done?
(12) In the majority of the homes in Norway, what percent of the housework is done by women?
(13) Women do most/all of the housework in what percent of marriages in Norway?
(14) According to this study, how do women in Norway feel about this situation?
(15) What surprising reason is given in paragraph 3 for couples not getting a divorce?
(16) The people talked about in paragraph 3 are from what country?
(17) Why do people in the UK have so little money?
(18) Who is the “expert” making the statements in paragraph 3?
(19) Which social group is saying that they are “too poor to divorce”?
(20) Does Relate think that it is good for couples to stay together if they want a divorce?
4. Daily Life: Divorce
After Reading
Now that you have read this article, if you get married someday, what will you do
(regarding housework)?
What do you think might be some reasons why the results were so different
between UK and Norway? (just your guess at possible reasons)
What do you think are big reasons why people get divorced in Japan?
How much does it cost to get a divorce in Japan?
What other expensed might there be to get divorced (besides the divorce itself)?
After Reading
Make a pie graph showing the reasons why people divorce in the UK.
Make a bar graph showing who does housework in Norway.
Interview your classmates. Find out who does the housework in their families. OR
Who they expect to do the housework when/if they get married. Graph the results.
