英譯中
    A major source of anxiety about the future of the family is rooted not so much in reality as in the tension between the idealized expectation in the culture and the reality itself. Nostalgia for a lost family tradition, which, in fact, never existed, has prejudiced our understanding of the conditions of families in contemporary society. Thus, the current .anxiety over the fate of the family reflects not only problems in the family but also a variety of fears about other social problems that are eventually projected onto the family.
    The real problem facing American families today are not symptoms of breakdown as is often suggested; rather, they reflect the difficulties of adaptation to recent social changes, particularly to the loss of diversity in household membership, to the reduction of the variety of family functions and, to some extent, to the weakening of the family adaptability. The idealization of the family as a refuge from the world and the myth that the work of mothers is harmful has added considerable strain. The continuous emphasis on the family as a universal private retreat and as an emotional haven is misguided in light of historical experience.
    【參考譯文】
    人們對家庭的未來感到憂心忡忡，其根本原因不在于現(xiàn)實，而在于對文化的理想化期望與現(xiàn)實本身的沖突。由于懷念失落的家庭傳統(tǒng)，我們在理解現(xiàn)代家庭狀況時常存在著偏見，而實際上，這種家庭傳統(tǒng)從未存在過。當前人們對家庭命運的擔憂不僅僅反映出了家庭的問題，由于社會問題常常投射到家庭中，這種擔憂也反映了人們對其他社會問題的種種憂慮?，F(xiàn)在美國家庭面臨的真正問題不是人們所常說的家庭崩潰的征兆，而是反映出美國家庭難以適應(yīng)最近的社會變化，尤其是難以適應(yīng)家庭規(guī)?？s小、家庭職能減少以及家庭適應(yīng)能力越來越弱的現(xiàn)實。把家庭理想化為遠離世界的避難所，或者錯誤地認為母親工作對于家庭不利，使家庭承受了更大的壓力。從過去的經(jīng)驗來看，一直強調(diào)家庭是個人和情感的避風港是有失偏頗的。