Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter.

Prenuptial Agreements

A) A prenuptial agreement (or “prenup”) is a contract between two people who are about to get married that dictates how assets will be divided if the marriage ends in divorce or death. When properly handled, a prenuptial agreement can help a couple sort out important issues prior to marriage, and many successful marriages have prenuptial agreements but don’t end in divorce. On the other hand, nearly 50 percent of new marriages end in divorce, so unfortunately, getting a prenuptial agreement may be wise simply because of the odds.

B) In the past, prenuptial agreements were looked down upon as something that “encouraged” divorce, a sign that a marriage was doomed from the start. Over the last two decades, however, prenuptial agreements have become more accepted by couples and by courts. They still have a long way to go though as only 5 percent to 10 percent of newlyweds have prenuptial agreements.

C) Judges also take a critical eye to prenuptial agreements during divorce hearings, tossing out an agreement if it seems unfair to one partner. Despite the stigma associated with them, there are many reasons to get a prenuptial agreement. First, you may want a prenuptial agreement if you are in any of the following categories: A business owner eligible for an inheritance has significant assets like a home, stock or retirement fund. One partner is significantly wealthier than another. One partner expects a significant increase in wealth or salary in the future. Either partner has children from a previous marriage or elderly family members to support and care for. One partner is supporting the other through college or graduate school.

D) As you can see, a prenuptial agreement does more than protect one’s own assets. If you are engaged to be married and have children from a past relationship, a prenuptial agreement can contain language guaranteeing that, in the event of a divorce, money will be set aside to provide for those children. If one partner has past debts, a prenuptial agreement can dictate who will repay those debts or whether they will be paid off together. Perhaps you are also engaged but are worried about what might happen to family property or an heirloom in the event of a divorce—a prenuptial agreement can help with that as well.

E) A prenuptial agreement may allow you to have greater control over how assets are divided. It also can diminish stress and uncertainty in the event of a divorce. You will save money on lawyers and will have a clear understanding of how assets will be divided, assuming that a judge accepts the agreement as valid. And because both parties are familiar with the agreement, divorce proceedings should be more amicable than a bitter protracted conflict where both parties bicker over who gets what.

F) Creating a prenuptial agreement requires open and honest discussion, but it’s also a legal process, so you’ll need lawyers as well. Each of you should hire a separate attorney who has experience writing prenuptial agreements and is familiar with all applicable state laws. The lawyers will write the agreement together with the interests of their respective clients in mind. Each partner should create a list of the assets he or she owns, as well as any outstanding debts.

G) In this part of the process, honesty is crucial. A judge can and will declare a prenuptial agreement invalid if it’s proved that someone concealed or failed to disclose important information. Once you are both satisfied with the prenuptial agreement, it should be signed well in advance of the wedding and in the presence of a lawyer. Ideally, you’ll sign the agreement before the invitations go out, but a month or more before the wedding is considered by many to be the bare minimum. A key criterion for a valid prenuptial agreement is that it is signed voluntarily by both parties, without any coercion or under duress. If the agreement is signed close to or even on the wedding day, a judge may throw it out, or it can be easier for a disgruntled spouse to claim that he or she didn’t have time to look over the agreement or was pressured to sign.

H) A prenuptial can help you protect assets, plan how finances will be managed and guard against a potentially nasty divorce. Here are some other things that can be discussed in a prenup: joint or separate tax returns; who will be responsible for household bills, joint or separate bank accounts; how major purchases or projects—house, car, business—will be done; how credit cards will be managed; savings accounts; how to settle future disagreements; how to provide for a spouse who survives the other. There are many things you can’t or should not put in a prenuptial agreement.

I) You shouldn’t include rules about how the household will be run (beyond financial matters), the use of last names or responsibilities regarding children. You can’t limit or waive your rights to child support, visitation or custody. Some states allow you to make stipulations about alimony, but others don’t. Even if you have strict specifications in your prenup on how some financial matters will be handled, that does not mean you are bound to it for life. A will can be more generous than a prenuptial agreement in that it can leave more money to a spouse than is offered in the prenup.

J) Experts also recommend that you review your prenuptial agreement every few years. After five or ten years of marriage, you might want to be more generous than your original prenuptial agreement, or you might find that the original document no longer satisfies your needs. You could also add a sunset clause to your prenuptial agreement that causes it to end after 10 or 20 years.

K) Postnuptial Agreement. A postnuptial agreement is a contract made after a couple gets married. Like a prenuptial agreement, a postnuptial agreement requires each partner to obtain his or her own legal representation. These agreements are designed to help resolve outstanding issues in the marriage—finances, assets, kids, even home maintenance. Like a prenuptial agreement, this agreement must be drafted and signed in complete honesty with a full disclosure of assets, no coercion and a document that’s fair for both parties. Check on the validity of these types of agreements in your area before pursuing one. You may also want to consider some form of marital counseling either in place of or in addition to a postnuptial agreement.

                                                             1. The division of the family assets might be substantially determined by the prenuptial agreement reached before marriage.

(1)

2. In the past, people were generally reluctant to sign prenuptial agreements, believing that they would encourage divorce.

(2)

3. Prenuptial agreements are proposed, in some cases, for the purpose of effectively protecting the personal assets of one party in a would-be marital relationship.

(3)
       4. The husband or wife is not bound to the prenuptial agreement for life even if the financial matters are strictly stipulated in it.

(4)
        5. In the United States, the husband and wife can arrange joint or separate tax returns.

(5)
         6. A prenuptial agreement may be dismissed if the judge concludes that it is not signed voluntarily by both parties.

(6)
         7. A prenup could be a good choice in that unexpected things might take place in a marriage.

 (7)  

  8. People are advised to hire separate lawyers when they decide to reach a prenuptial agreement, as the creation of such agreement is a legal process.

 (8)

 9. Either of the parties cannot refuse to limit or waive their rights to child support, visitation or custody, as this endangers the welfare of their child or children.

 (9)

 10. It is advisable to add a sunset clause to a prenuptial agreement if the marriage ends after 10 or 20 years.

(10)

参考答案：

EBDIH      GAFIJ

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English.

乐于交际似乎不失为延长寿命的好办法。处理好与家人、朋友、邻居甚至是宠物的关系都有助于延长寿命，但延年益寿最好的办法莫过于处理好婚姻关系或是一个类似的关系。研究表明，婚姻可以使男性增加多达7年的寿命，使女性增加多达两年的寿命。其研究结果适用于所有的死亡，包括因疾病、意外或自我伤害导致的死亡。

参考答案：

    Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life. Relationships with family, friends, neighbors, even pets, will all do the trick, but the biggest longevity boost seems to come from marriage or an equivalent relationship. Studies suggest that marriage could add as much as seven years to a man’s life and two to a woman’s. The effect holds for all causes of death, whether illness, accident or self-harm.