新标准大学英语三-Unit4
Golden memories
1 I can still vaguely recall the men who built the walls, and raised the roof, even though it was many families ago. The master from the manor house over the way needed a lodge for his groundsman, and found a clearing in the huge orchard which ran up and down the hills. He sent workmen to haul the golden stone from the local quarry and they spent three months constructing two cottages in the park.
2 I only see my neighbour side-on. I've never seen him from the front, but I do know that strangely, although we're identical, we're the exact opposite of each other, with my front door facing east and my neighbour's facing west, my bedroom in the back over his kitchen, my kitchen under his bedroom in the front. I think I'm the lucky one because each morning, my stone gleams in the sunlight.
3 The groundsman tended the orchards and the gardens around the manor house, so the trees in autumn were always bowed down with apples and pears, and as the days grew shorter the land around was teeming with helpers picking the fruit and rounding up the windfalls to take to the manor house, or to market in town down the way.
4 Apart from the autumn, it was quiet here, and the groundsman seemed forlorn until one day, he brought a young woman home. I was soon filled with the sounds of conversation and laughter, and the smell of cooking. While the groundsman was at work on the estate, the woman tended the garden around me, planting roses, daffodils and tulips, summer plants and chrysanthemums. There was a riot of colours, from blossom tinged with pink in early spring to the dark golden colours of late autumn. It felt good to look after the happy couple.
5 Soon there were children to look after too, first a girl, who gurgled happily and slept deeply, and then a boy with powerful lungs, who kept us all awake. But both were content and well-behaved. They played quietly together inside or in the garden, and gradually grew older and taller. One of my happiest memories is of one warm summer's day. High up in the topmost bough of one of the apple trees rested the boy, reading his favourite book.
6 My windows are my eyes, and they look onto woodland and fields, with distant, low hills nestling the whole scene in their arms. In the distance is a city of spires, silent except on days when the bells peal. On these days, the groundsman and his family used to dress smartly and leave the house for several hours.
7 The children grew up, and the daughter disappeared, only to return with a young man on her arm. Then the son went missing, and one day, I saw the postman arrive with a bundle of letters, and give the groundsman and his wife a telegram. When they read it, she cried out and fainted. For some time after this, they sat on my porch clasping each other in a tight embrace and weeping.
8 As the years passed by, the couple grew older, and suddenly the house was deserted. We had grown up together, but I didn't have a chance to say goodbye.
9 A new family arrived, a smart man and wife, with two children. He vanished every morning carrying his briefcase, only to return home at night. The children disappeared too during the day, but would later bring their friends back to play in the garden, climbing trees and kicking footballs. Around this time, the view from my windows began to change. My neighbour and I were no longer the only homes around, because opposite there were new terraced and semi-detached houses being built. They were made of bricks and looked taller and thinner than we were. I thought they looked rather coarse against my handsome stone. And many more people came to live around here as well, the streets became quite congested with people teeming up and down on their way somewhere. It seemed as if no one spent much time at home any more.
10 As the years passed, there were new families who came to stay. Two middle-aged women spent several years here, and I liked them because of the care they showed to my rooms and my garden. Everything was spick and span; it was as if they had furnished the house in the same style as when I was first built. They also installed electricity – I hadn't realized how bright the lights could be or how gloomy my rooms must have appeared. But then they concluded that the outside bathroom was no longer suitable for their needs, and I had to abandon one of the bedrooms so they could fit a bathtub and lavatory indoors. The old well by the front gate was transformed so that water was piped underground directly into the house. And gradually they installed all sorts of appliances, such as a cooker and washing machine. But we were all warm and clean, and although it was different, it wasn't unpleasant.
11 Soon more houses were built and more people came. I got used to the horse-drawn deliveries made by the milkman, or the rag-and-bone man calling from his cart for old cloth and metal things we no longer needed. But then horseless carriages started to pass the front of the house. At first it was no more than whirring and clanking going past every hour or so, but over the years, the road became jammed with traffic, and soon there were lines of buses and cars waiting at the crossroads.
12 At home I had another family to look after. At different times in the morning, both the man and the woman left me and walked down the hill or waited for the bus. When their children came home, they let themselves in with their key, and watched television for hours until the parents returned. They had a pet dog who sat outside all day, barking and howling, or digging up my garden, which I have to admit I resented.
13 I liked the last person who lived with me. Joseph worked at home assembling furniture, so I saw him all day, and we kept each other company. He wasn't a young man, and had difficulty moving around, taking small steps, using his hands to steady himself, sometimes stopping to catch his breath.
14 Of course, I'm not the home I used to be either. My floorboards creak, and ghosts moan throughout the night. There are traces of everyone who has lived with me, scuff marks on the walls, carved initials on the banisters, doors which don't close properly. They are my golden memories, of course, but in fact, I look and feel my age.
15 Joseph hasn't been here for a while, and there's a deathly hush. The garden is full of decaying apples and dead leaves. No one has collected them this year. The front gate has fallen off its hinges, and someone has sprayed some words on the stonework at the side of the house. I'm afraid to admit that there's even dirt and mould inside the house. Even the neighbourhood isn't what it used to be, full of loud music and shouting late at nights, and frankly, the traffic is impossible to live with.
16 Suddenly today, there is some excitement outside. At the front of the house, a lorry stops and a gang of workmen get out, all carrying bags and other devices. Perhaps they're coming to live with me. But around the corner, I can hear a very loud screeching sound coming closer, and actually, it's quite frightening. Round the bend comes a large crane with a kind of ball and chain. I do hope it will go away.
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美好的回忆
1 虽然这个房子已经换了许多户人家了，但我还依稀记得那些筑墙、盖屋顶的工人。 当时马路对过那座庄园大宅的主人需要建一个小屋给他的园丁住。他在这片连绵不断的巨大的丘陵果园中找到了一片空地，并派工人到本地的采石场运来金黄色的石头。工人们花了三个月的时间在园子里建起了这两座农家小屋。
2 我只从侧面看到过我旁边的那座房子，我从来没有见过它的正面。但是我知道，尽管我们在结构和外观上是一模一样的，我们的朝向正好相反，这真是不可思议。我的前门朝东，隔壁房子的前门是朝西的。我的卧室在房子的后部，在隔壁那所房子里，这个位置的楼下是厨房。我的厨房在房子的前部，在隔壁的那个房子里，这个位置的楼上是卧室。 我觉得我比我的邻居幸运，因为每天早上，我这边的石头会享受到阳光的照耀。
3 园丁精心地照料庄园周围的果园和花园，所以到了秋天，树上总是果实累累，结满了苹果和梨。当白天越来越短的时候，四周的土地上全是一片忙碌的景象，帮工们采摘水果，并把地上被风吹落的水果集中起来，然后送到庄园或是沿着那条路运到镇上的市场去卖。
4 除了秋天，其他时候这里非常安静。园丁好像很孤独，直到后来有一天，他带了一名年轻女子回家。 房子里很快充满了欢声笑语和饭菜的香味。 园丁在庄园干活的时候，他的妻子会照看我周围的花园，种玫瑰、水仙和郁金香，还有夏季植物和菊花。 从早春淡粉色的鲜花到深秋的深黄色的叶子，花园里真是五彩缤纷。 能照看这样一对幸福的夫妇，我感觉很不错。
5 没过多久，又有孩子要照看了。头一个孩子是女孩，她常常高兴得咯咯笑，睡得也很沉。后来又添了一个男孩，他哭起来嗓门很大，让我们大家晚上都睡不好觉。 但是他们都很快乐，也很听话。 他们会静静地在屋里或花园里一起玩耍。渐渐地，他们长大了，也长高了。 最让我感到愉快的记忆是：在一个温暖的夏日，我看到男孩高高地坐在一棵苹果树的枝干上，读着他最喜爱的那本书。
6 我的窗户是我的眼睛，能看到绿树和田野。窗外的风景被低矮的丘陵围绕着，仿佛一切都栖息在它的怀抱里。远处是尖塔林立的城市，平日里静悄悄的，只有在特定的日子里，钟声响起的时候才会打破这种平静。 在那些特定日子里，园丁和他的家人会穿上漂亮的衣服外出，几个小时之后才回来。
7 孩子们渐渐长大了。先是女儿不见了，回来的时候挽着一个年轻人。 儿子也离开了家。有一天，我看到邮递员拿着一摞信来到门口，递给园丁和他的妻子一封电报。 他们读完电报，妻子大叫一声，晕倒在地。 在这之后的一段日子里，他们常常坐在我的门廊下相拥而泣。
8 过了一年又一年，园丁夫妇的年纪越来越大了，突然有一天这房子人去楼空。 我们是从小一起生活的，可是我连跟他们说再见的机会都没有。
9 一户新的人家住了进来，是一个帅气的男人和他的妻子，还有两个孩子。 他每天一大早就拎着公文包出去上班，晚上才回来。 孩子们白天上学，放学后经常带朋友回家到花园里玩、爬树、踢足球。 差不多就在这个时候，我窗外的景象开始发生变化了，这儿不再只有我和我旁边的房子了，对面有人在盖一排半独立式的新房子。 新房子是砖砌的，比我们高、比我们窄。 我觉得和我的漂亮石头相比，它们看起来比较粗糙。 越来越多的人来这附近居住，街道上人们熙来攘往，似乎没有人会在家里呆上太长的时间。
10 年复一年，又有新的家庭住进来。 两个中年妇女在我这儿住了几年，我很喜欢她们，因为她们精心照料我的房间和花园。 处处干净整洁，她们把房间布置得如同我当初刚建成的时候的样子。 她们还给房间通了电——我以前不知道电灯有这么亮，也没意识到我的房间以前是多么昏暗。 后来，她们觉得外面的洗手间不能满足她们的需要了，我就只好放弃一个卧室，这样她们就可以在室内装一个浴缸和马桶。 前门边的那个老井也被改造了，改造后水就可以通过地下管道直接通进屋内。 她们又逐渐安装了各种各样的电器，比如炉具和洗衣机。 我们都很暖和、干净。虽然房子和以前不太一样了，但是总体感觉还是不错的。
11 不久，周围建起了更多的房子，越来越多的人住了进来。 送牛奶的驾着马车来送奶，收破烂的坐在车上喊话，问我们有没有不要的旧衣服和金属废品，对这些我已经习以为常了。 不过后来，一种不需要马拉的车开始从门前开过。 一开始差不多是每隔一个小时有一辆车叮叮当当地从门前经过。但是过了几年，马路上变得越来越热闹，很快十字路口前就排了一队队等待绿灯的公共汽车和小汽车。
12 在家里，我又开始照看另一个家庭。 这家的男主人和女主人早上分别在不同的时间离开家，步行下山或去等公共汽车。 他们的孩子放学回来之后，自己用钥匙开门进屋，然后看上几个小时的电视，直到他们的父母回来。 他们养了一只宠物狗，它整天坐在外面，时不时地狂吠、嚎叫，还在我的花园里刨坑挖土，说实话，我很讨厌它这么干。
13 我喜欢住在我这儿的最后一个人，约瑟夫。他在家里干活，组装家具。所以我整天都能看到他，我们相依为伴。 他已经上了年纪，腿脚不太灵便，走路非常慢，要用双手扶着桌椅什么的才不会摔倒，有时候还要停下来喘口气。
14 当然，我也不是以前那个样子了。 我的地板开始嘎吱作响，整个晚上屋子里都会有奇怪的声音，好像闹鬼一样。 每一个在我这里住过的人都留下了痕迹：墙上的记号，刻在楼梯扶栏上的姓名的首字母，关不紧的门。 当然，这些都是我美好的回忆，但是我看上去已经有点破败了，我自己也感觉到了。
15 约瑟夫已经有一阵子没在这儿住了，屋子里静悄悄的。 花园里到处是腐烂的苹果和枯叶。 今年没有人来摘苹果、清理树叶。 前门已经从铰链上脱落了，有人在房子侧面的石墙上喷涂了几个字。 虽然我很不情愿，但我不得不承认房子里面甚至积满了污垢，有的地方都长霉了。 甚至附近的街区也已经和以前完全不一样了，一到晚上到处是嘈杂的音乐和喊叫声。说实话，街上喧闹的车流已经让人无法忍受了。
16 今天，外面突然出现一阵骚动。 一辆卡车在房子前面停了下来，从车上下来一群工人，每人都拿着口袋和其他器械。 也许他们是来和我一起住的。 但是从拐角传来一阵巨大的发动机的轰鸣声，声音离我越来越近。实际上，这声音听起来挺吓人的。 一个装了铁球和铁链一类的东西的起重机从路的拐弯处开了过来。 我真希望这个东西不要靠近我。
No place like home?
1 Are we the restless adventurers of our imagination, like the explorers and inventors of the past, forever searching for new places to discover or for bridges to build, relentless in our desire to travel? Or are we – deep down – rather more home-loving people, who are prone to homesickness when we're away for too long?
2 Traditionally, it was summer camp which gave each and every one of us our first experience of homesickness. This US-wide institution of convenient childcare during the long summer vacation was idealized by the parents as being great "fun". In 19th- and 20th-century Britain the experience of homesickness began at an even earlier age, when sons of the aristocracy were torn from the family hearth and sent to boarding school at the age of seven. Even today there are stories of boys in school dormitories crying themselves to sleep for want of a mother's hug, boys who then grew up to be heartless politicians and ruthless captains of industry.
3 Nowadays, homesickness is usually first experienced when teenagers leave home and go to college. Students are even cautioned not to contact their parents too often during the first few weeks, in order to avoid provoking too much attachment.
4 So is homesickness just associated with a lack of maturity? In fact, literary references to homesickness can be found in Homer's Odyssey. The modern term was coined in the 17th century to describe the feelings of Swiss mercenaries who missed their homeland while fighting elsewhere in Europe. They were even banned from singing Swiss songs, which were considered a threat to their skills and courage. It used to be seen as a dangerous disease that people could die from.
5 During the 18th and 19th centuries, it was considered virtuous to miss your home, especially for women. During the Civil War, soldiers who showed symptoms of combat stress were diagnosed as suffering from "nostalgia", or severe homesickness. The restless move westward by our ancestors, our so-called manifest destiny, was not prompted merely by a promised land, but by a homeland which had no place for them. Immigrants still create and live in their own communities, to cope with their homesickness.
6 In the late 19th and 20th centuries, homesickness was considered to be childish and immature, and unhelpful especially for those serving in distant colonies. But in recent years, we've been more willing to talk about it. British actors in Hollywood, sportsmen on long tours abroad and soldiers serving in foreign wars have all been more open about how they suffer and deal with extreme homesickness. They reveal how favorite pieces of music or food can launch them into floods of tears. And is it a surprise that hospital patients want to go home even before they're fit to leave?
7 Business travellers too can suffer from homesickness. Ask any frequent flyer in their forties or fifties "Do you still enjoy the thrill of travel?", and they'll probably sigh and reply that the sense of separation is now too strong. The comfort of a luxury hotel room during a weekend on their own in a foreign city is infinitely less appealing than taking the children to the park or a ball game. For professional exiles, homesickness is acknowledged as part of culture shock, a stage everyone goes through sooner or later after the initial enthusiasm for one's new surroundings, and as cynicism and despondency set in. Acknowledging that one is homesick may help avoid the risk of anxiety and depression.
8 Nostalgia, now regarded as a sentimental enjoyment of the past, remains closely related to homesickness. It encourages us to indulge in casual curiosity for our childhood. We revisit the candy we used to eat as kids, Wrigley's spearmint chewing gum, and we laugh at the best jokes on the Laffy Taffy wrappers. A man's mid-life crisis is usually linked to the so far unfulfilled wish to ride a Harley from coast to coast. All-American sports – especially baseball – are still fetishized in our fevered memories; Budweiser, the pick-up truck, cheerleaders, Levi's Jeans, diners and open-air movies, even the Statue of Liberty herself – all are icons of our nostalgia for the past.
9 I spent time in Europe when I left college, working in Rome as an au pair, in Prague as an English teacher and in Paris as a lecturer in American studies. In all, I was away for ten years, and every call I made home ended in my mother's and my own tears. Coping with homesickness when you're older and wiser is just as difficult as it is for the seven-year-old British kid or the US freshman. I spent lots of money on cheap air fares across the Atlantic whenever I could afford the time or the money.
10 And where did I go back to, when I left Europe? To a post as assistant professor in a school just ten miles away from my home in Rhode Island. Sure, I bought an apartment – a converted loft in a warehouse, just like the barn on my parents' farm – decorated it, married the guy I was in love with at school and had children. But my home was still where my folks were, until they passed away.
11 Homesickness is both a painful longing to be back home, and an extremely common occurrence. It's not immature or something to be ashamed of. Maybe, just maybe, it's when your parents die that you make your own home, that you no longer have to suppress your feelings of homesickness. Can you finally indulge in your strong feelings for your own home?
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天涯无处似家园？
1 我们是我们想象中的那种永不停歇的探险者吗？像早先的那些探险家和发明家一样，带着难以遏制的云游四方的欲望，不停地寻找可以发现的新大陆，可以建造的桥梁？ 或者，在内心深处，我们更恋家？如果离家太久，便会思乡念家？
2 从传统上讲，是夏令营让我们每个人平生第一次体会到了想家的感觉。 夏令营遍布全美，是漫长暑假里方便的儿童托管所，被父母们美化成特别“好玩”的地方。 而在十九、二十世纪的英国，这种想家的感受开始得更早，贵族子弟到了七岁就被带离温暖的家，送到寄宿学校就读。 到今天我们还能听到关于这些男孩的故事：因为没有得到母亲的拥抱，有的孩子在学校宿舍里哭着入睡，有的长大成人之后就变成了冷漠的政客或残酷无情的产业巨头。
3 如今，年轻人第一次体会到思乡之情通常是在他们离家上大学的时候。 学校甚至会提醒学生在开学初的几周不要和父母联系过于频繁，以免激发过多的依恋之情。
4 那么这种思乡念家的情感只是不成熟的表现吗？ 事实上，文学作品中对思乡的描述可以追溯到荷马史诗《奥德赛》。 “思乡”（homesickness）这个现代词首创于十七世纪，用来描述瑞士雇佣军在欧洲其他地方作战时那种思念家乡的感觉。 他们甚至被禁止吟唱瑞士歌曲，因为这些歌曲也被认为会削弱他们的战斗力和士气。 在那个时候，人们把思乡病看作是一种可以致死的危险疾病。
5 到了十八、十九世纪，思念家乡被视为美德，尤其是对女性而言。 在美国内战期间，有战斗应激症状的士兵会被诊断为患上了“乡愁病”，即严重的思乡病。 我们的先辈之所以源源不断去西部开拓，去推动我们所谓的“命定的扩张”，不仅仅是因为向往福地，也是因为家乡没有他们的容身之所。 现在的移民仍然创建自己的社区并居住其中，以此来排解他们的乡愁。
6 在十九世纪末和二十世纪，思乡病被认为是幼稚和不成熟的表现。尤其是对那些在千里之外的殖民地效力的人来说，思乡之情更是有损无益。 但是近些年来，我们已经更加愿意谈论这个话题了。 在好莱坞的英国演员、在国外长期巡回比赛的运动员、在海外征战的士兵都变得更加坦率，愿意谈论他们是如何承受和排解巨大的思乡之苦的。 他们透露说，最喜爱的乐曲或者最喜欢的食物能让他们泪如泉涌。 所以住院的病人尚未康复就想回家，这有什么奇怪的呢？
7 出差旅行的人也会想家。 你去问问那些四、五十岁的飞机常客：“你们还享受旅行带来的快感吗？”他们也许会叹一口气，回答说别离的感觉现在已经让人难以忍受。 比起带着孩子去公园或是看球赛，在外国城市豪华饭店舒适的客房里独自过周末就不那么有吸引力了。 对那些职业异乡客而言，思乡之情被认为是文化冲击的一个组成部分，是每个旅行者迟早都要经历的一个阶段。当你对新环境最初的新鲜感消失之后，取而代之的是玩世不恭和沮丧。 承认自己患上了思乡病也许能帮助我们避免患上焦虑症和抑郁症的风险。
8 现在人们把怀旧（nostalgia）看作是一种对过去充满感伤的怀念，但它依然与思乡之情密切相关，它鼓励我们沉溺于童年的那种随兴的好奇。 我们回想我们孩提时吃的糖果，比如说箭牌绿薄荷口香糖；我们对着莱菲果味太妃糖包装纸上的经典笑话开怀大笑。 男人遇到中年危机，通常是因为骑着哈雷摩托车横跨美国这样的儿时梦想迄今都没有实现。 在我们狂热的记忆里，我们疯狂迷恋那些典型的美式体育项目，尤其是棒球。百威啤酒、皮卡、拉拉队长、李维牌牛仔裤、路边小饭馆、露天电影甚至自由女神像本身都是我们怀旧情怀中的重要标志物。
9 大学毕业之后，我在欧洲呆了一段时间。我在罗马当“互裨”姑娘，在布拉格当英语老师，在巴黎当讲师讲授美国研究课程。 加起来我总共离家十年，每次我给家里打电话，讲到最后我和我妈妈都是泪流满面。 虽然你长大了，变得更睿智，但是排解思乡之情还是那么难，在这方面你一点都不比那些7岁的英国孩子和美国大学新生强。 只要有时间有钱，我就会买廉价机票，坐上飞机飞过大西洋回到美国，我在这上面花了不少钱。
10 离开欧洲之后，我回到了什么地方呢？ 我在一个大学找到了一个助教的职位，这个学校离我在罗得岛的家只有10英里。 当然，我买了公寓，是货仓里一间经过改装的阁楼，那个货仓就像我父亲农场里的那个谷仓。我装修了房子，和我上学时相恋的男友结婚，生儿育女。 但是对我来说，在我父母离世之前，他们所在的地方才是我真正的家。
11 思乡既是痛彻心扉的归家的渴望，也是极其普通的寻常事。 它并不是一个人不成熟的表现，也不是什么令人羞愧的事情。 也许，只是也许，只有当你的父母故去，你才真正建立起自己的家，你才不需要再压抑你的思乡之情。 你最终能否尽情享受你对自己家庭的强烈的感情呢？
A roof over your head
As a general rule, many young people in England hope at some stage to buy their own home as soon as they get their first job. But property prices are high, and although mortgages, or loans, are available, they will only amount to approximately three times a person's salary, which is not enough nowadays to buy anything but the smallest flat in the least desirable area. So rented accommodation is very common, and someone would usually expect to pay around 30 per cent of their income on rent or in repayment of their mortgage.
Because of the high costs, it's also common to share a flat or a house with friends, especially during the first few years in their first job. If there aren't enough friends, it's usual to advertise and offer to share with complete strangers. However, by the time a couple wishes to start a family, they tend to live as a small family unit.
Generally speaking, older houses are preferable to new ones, as they're said to "have character" even if they may lack some of the luxuries you would get in a modern house or flat. People typically move home several times during their lifetime, and use the increase in the value of the property to buy something more suitable to their needs, as the family grows. But in general, a family only does so on the arrival of the younger generation. It's relatively rare for a family to invite grandparents or elderly relatives to live in the same home, even when they become unwell. For a couple, the advantages of childcare within the home, available at all hours of the day, are outweighed by the disadvantages of the extra responsibility which ageing parents' health and physical mobility might bring. Broadly speaking, there are two reasons for this. Firstly, families are smaller than they used to be and life expectancy is greater, so the commitment to long-term care of elderly relatives is proportionately more substantial. Secondly, the National Health Service provides medical care for the elderly, in common with the rest of the population, free at the point of use.
For families who are unable to buy their own homes, the local council provides council housing – uncrowded, well-built homes at rents which are below the market rate. In most cases, these are houses on two floors with a garden. Under recent governments there have been opportunities for tenants to buy their council homes at a discount of up to 60 per cent of the market price.
Finally, for most people with low incomes and low savings there are housing benefits to help pay for rented accommodation. Along with pensions and medical care, appropriate housing remains one of the principal welfare responsibilities of the state in the UK.
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居有其所
在英国，一般来说许多年轻人都希望在找到第一份工作之后能尽早自己买房子。但是房价居高不下，虽然有抵押贷款或银行贷款，但是贷款额最高只是一个人薪水的三倍左右。现在这些钱只能在最差的地段买最小的公寓。所以租房住是非常普遍的，人们通常会拿出收入的30%付房租或还抵押贷款。
由于房租太高，和朋友一起共租一个公寓或房子也是很常见的做法，尤其是他们刚工作的头几年。如果没有足够多的朋友合租，人们通常会登广告，和素不认识的人同住。但是当一对夫妇要开始建立家庭的时候，他们一般会以一个小家庭为单位单独居住。
一般来说，老房子比新房子更受欢迎，虽然老房子缺少现代房屋或公寓的那些豪华设施，但是人们觉得它们比较“有特点”。人们一生中通常会搬几次家，随着家庭成员越来越多，他们会卖掉房子，用增值的财产去买更符合他们需求的房子。通常，一个家庭只是在有了下一代之后才会这么做。相对来说，很少有人会请祖父母或年长的亲属来一起住，即使他们身体变得不怎么好。对一对夫妻来说，有人在家里一天24小时照看孩子当然好，但是与照顾身体欠佳、行动不便的年迈的父母所担负的额外责任相比这就显得微不足道了。概括起来，大概有两个原因。第一，现在的家庭比以前的要小，人的平均寿命也延长了，所以长年照顾年迈亲属的责任也相应增加。第二，国民健康服务体系能为老年人提供医疗服务，和其他国民一样，老年人可以免费享受这种医疗服务。
当地政府会统一建造廉租房，以低于市场价的租金为那些买不起房子的家庭提供宽敞、质量可靠的住房。在大多数情况下，这些房子都是带花园的两层楼房。在近几届政府的努力下，租户有机会以最低按市场价60%的优惠价格买下市政廉租房。
最后，对于大多数低收入、没有多少储蓄的人来说，政府提供住房补贴帮他们支付房屋的租金。和养老金、医疗保险一样，居有其所仍然是英国政府提供的主要福利政策之一。
Over recent decades in Europe, the family is one of the domains where the greatest changes have taken place. The traditional European nuclear family consisted of a married father and mother with several children, but today this is only one option among many. Declining marriage rates, an increased number of divorces, the wide acceptance of co-habitation, the legalization of same-sex marriage and dropping fertility rates have caused the size of the average household within the European Union to drop to 2.4 people. Yet family remains of the utmost importance to people. Eighty-four percent of Europeans say that family is very important, almost twice as many as those who find friends very important. Perhaps the most significant changes relate to childbearing, since these result in important demographic changes over time. Throughout Europe, having children is no longer considered a duty towards society, but rather just one of life's options. The choice to stay childless is well accepted in many countries. The driving force behind these changes appears to be individualization. Values oriented towards autonomy, privacy, self-actualization and personal happiness have become more important, and have ousted values that point at collective goals.
在欧洲，家庭是近几十年来发生变化最大的领域之一。传统的欧洲核心家庭由一对已婚父母和几个孩子构成，但现在这种家庭只是诸多选择中的一个。日益下降的结婚率、离婚人数的增加、人们对同居的普遍接受、同性婚姻的合法化、日渐下降的生育率让欧盟家庭的平均人口数下降到了2.4人。家庭对人们来说依然是至关重要的。84%的欧洲人认为家庭非常重要，这个数字是那些认为朋友很重要的人数的两倍。也许影响最为重大的一些变化和生育有关，因为随着时间的推移这些变化会引发人口结构上的重要改变。在整个欧洲，人们不再把生育子女看作是对社会的责任，而是把它视为诸多生活选项中的一个。在很多国家，丁克的做法被广泛接受。这些改变背后的推动力似乎是个体化。追求独立自主、隐私、自我实现和个人幸福的价值观已经变得越来越重要，这让那些注重集体目标的价值观失去了容身之所。
目前，中国老年人口居世界第一，已经进入老龄化社会。而中国现在正处于社会转型期，建立一个完整的社会福利体系仍需很长的一段时间，因此中国的养老问题较为特殊。预计在今后半个世纪，家庭养老仍然是中国主流的养老模式。孝敬父母（filial piety）一直是中国传统伦理道德（ethics）的重要组成部分。在当今这样一个老龄化的社会中，弘扬孝道就显得更加重要，因为在鼓励人们对家里的老人提供日常照顾和情感慰藉方面，孝道仍将起关键性的作用。
China, with the largest population of elderly people in the world, has become an ageing society. Meanwhile, China is also a country undergoing social transition. It will be a long time before a sound social welfare system can be established, which means that China is in a unique situation when it comes to care of its ageing population. It is predicted that in the next 50 years, family care for the aged will still be the dominant practice in China. Filial piety has always been a significant part of traditional Chinese ethics. In today's ageing society, it will be all the more important to promote the virtue of filial piety, as it will continue to play a crucial role in encouraging people to take good care of their elderly family members by providing daily care and emotional support.
