Ukrainians are divorcing less

Recently, the State Statistics Com­mittee published data on the de­mographic situation in Ukraine for the 11 months of 2009. The year of crisis strengthened the mainstay of society - the family. Indeed it became economically irrational for married couples to get divorced

Ukraine has never seen such a low divorce rate as in 2009. The number of divorces decreased by nearly 14% to 3.1 per 1,000. Noteworthy is that since the mid 70s, the norm was around 3.6- 3.9 divorces per 1,000

The first disheartening news is that Ukraine's population continues to dwindle. Last year this indicator reached yet another milestone having fallen below the 46 million threshold. Despite this sad fact, last year Ukraine's pop­ulation decreased by only 180,000, while over the previous five years it fell by approximate­ly 265,000 per year. If this trend continues for another five years, the number of Ukrainians will begin to grow. But only politicians be­lieve in such an optimistic forecast. Experts at the Institute of Demography and Social Re­search say that if the crisis continues, most families will put off having a child. In the foreseeable future the so-called demograph­ic wave caused by many generations of fe­males being born in the first half of the 1980s will ebb as they surpass the age of active childbirth. This in turn means that in the next ten years it will be difficult to return to a population indicator of 46 million. Notwithstanding, the birth rate is on the rise. On December 1,2009 it exceeded the mortal­ity rate in five regions of the country.

Ex. 18 JUMBLED TEXTS

Work in pairs. Here are two newspaper articles, but they have been mixed up. Look at the headlines, and read the paragraphs quickly to decide which paragraphs go with which story. Then put them in the right order.

Divorce 1___2___3___4___ 5___6___7___8___

Marriage 1___2___3___4___ 5___6___7___

LITTER WRECKED- UNTIDY HANDYMAN'S MARRIAGE

BRIDE NO. 26 - A RECORD FOR MR. WOLFE

1. She also complained that there were piles of hardcore, bricks and old cars in the garden. And, when she attempted to clear up a space, her husband would fill it with more rubbish.

2. The judge, sitting in the High Court Family Division said Mr. White, a ‘moody, aggressive and difficult’ man, took on too many jobs in the home. He accepted the complaints of Mrs. White, a ‘highly-strung’ woman, that for many years her kitchen was left ‘in disarray’ and she found it difficult to work in.

3. THE ways of a handyman husband who started jobs, but seldom finished them, finally became too much for his wife.

4. Yesterday Mr. Justice EWBANK ruled that she need not put up with her home in disarray and a garden full of builder’s materials any longer ..... He awarded Mrs. LUCY WHITE, 40, a decree nisi because of the unreasonable behaviour of her husband PAUL, 41.

5. AMERICA’S most married man has broken his own record by marrying wife No. 26.

6. ‘I just don’t know, but I feel good about this one’. ‘Anyway, getting married is better than living; in adultery. Everyone should get married instead of living together, ’ he insisted.

7. As he left the wedding chapel in Las Vegas 75-year-old Glynn Wolfe confessed: ‘Marriage is the greatest adventure in the world, next to death. It’s fun.’ He said he had always been married. ‘The faces just change.’

8. Tools were left all over the house, except for the bathroom.’ Apparently the husband did not leave them there because they would get rusty.

9. Followed wife Mr. Justice Ewbank said Mr. White was also moody, sometimes for weeks at a time and jealous. At one stage he took to following his wife when she went out.

10. The couple married in 1966 and have two daughters, aged 12 and 10.

11. Christine refused to comment as her new husband criticized her eating habits. The latest Mrs. Wolfe, a divorcee with a grown-up daughter, has known her husband for 10 years. The couple do not plan to have a family.

12. Mr. Wolfe, father of 40, admitted that he did not know how long his latest bride would last. His longest marriage was four years, his shortest only 19 days.

13. He also complained about her visiting a woman neighbour, saying all she did there was to ‘yacketty yak’ and the proper place for her was at home with him and the family.

14. He had a word of warning for his 38-year-old wife, Christine. ‘The only thing I don’t like is that she eats sunflower seeds in bed. ‘

15. Mr. Wolfe’s other brides were aged from 17 to 72. Four of his marriages involved two women whom he married, divorced, and remarried.

(Standard 30 January 1984 and Daily telegraph 2 November 1984)

Reading THE $1,100,000 LOTTERY JACKPOT.

Read this case about a divorce.

Herman and Viola Alston separated in 1985. Two years later, in 1987, Viola Alston filed for divorce. In her divorce petition (request), Mrs. Alston did not seek alimony or a share of the couple’s property. At that time, Mrs. Alston was a clerk with the federal government and Mr. Alston was a prison guard with the District of Columbia.

A few days after Mrs. Alston filed the papers for a divorce, Mr. Alston had the winning ticket for the Lotto. In fact, the jackpot that he won was over a million dollars: $1,1 million. Under the term of the lottery prize, he receives $44,000 a year after taxes in lottery payments. Mrs. Alston thought that part of this money should go to her, so she refilled her divorce papers and demanded alimony. (In other words, when Mr. Alston won the lottery, the couple was still married. Mrs. Alston had filed the divorce papers, but Mr. Alston won the lottery before the divorce was final.)

Mrs. Alston said that she did not ask Mr. Alston for anything at the divorce because she knew that he did not have money or savings. Man who won Lotto before divorce must split his winnings

By Joel McCord | Joel McCord, Sun Staff Correspondent | December 4, 1990

ANNAPOLIS -- Herman and Viola Alston had been separated for two years. Their divorce papers were on file at the courthouse when Mr. Alston hit the D.C. Lotto for $1.1 million. Was Mrs. Alston entitled to a share of that? You bet, the Court of Special Appeals said yesterday in the first such case it has reviewed. She gets half of the $44,000 annuity Mr. Alston won for the next 18 years, the court ruled, upholding a lower court decision. Because the Alstons' divorce wasn't final, the winnings were marital property, the court said in upholding a ruling by Baltimore County Circuit Judge William M. Nickerson.

Writing. If you were the judge, what would you do? Does Mr. Alston have to pay half of his prize money (or any part of his prize money) to Mrs. Alston? Write two or three reasons for your answer.

Ex. 13. Match the vocabulary items in the left column with their definitions in the right column.

1	divorce	a	a game that people win by chance
2	petition	b	when all the people agree with a decision
3	alimony	c	to end a marriage permanently
4	filed	d	money or property from a divorced spouse
5	ticket	e	protest something; formally disagree
6	jackpot	f	a piece of; a portion of
7	terms	g	a legal document that requests a change
8	lottery	h	relating to the law
9	part	i	legally submitted a document into the system
10	demanded	j	insisted; required
11	appeal	k	a small paper used to enter a game or an event
12	legal	l	rules; requirements
13	unanimous	m	money, usually a large amount, won in a game
14	thought	n	something you win
15	prize	o	past tense of think
16	savings	p	the money that a family puts aside for a special reason

Reading 7: PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AND THE SCOPE OF PARENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES

In general, the welfare of children is the biggest concern of family law. Virtually all societies, and certainly all legal systems, treat children differently from adults. There are special courts to deal with young people who commit crimes. In economically developed countries, there are limits on the type and amount of work a child is allowed to do. There are age limits on the rights and duties of citizens; however, these vary from country to country. A Japanese may not vote until he is twenty, but a German may vote at eighteen. A Briton may marry at sixteen with his parents' consent, or at eighteen without it; a French girl may marry at fourteen, but a boy must wait until he is sixteen. In some parts of the United States you may drive a car at fifteen, but in others, not until eighteen. It is interesting that in many places a person may be sentenced to death at an age when he is not allowed to vote. Parents have a duty to make decisions, for example those concerning education, on behalf of their children. When parents are dead or absent, a legal guardian is appointed to make these decisions. Sometimes this is an adoptive parent- a person who legally adopts the child as his or her own and has all the rights and duties of a natural parent. Sometimes, it is a local authority, as in the case of children who have been taken into care because their parents are ill, in prison or unable to take care of them.