Trying to Find aPartner

One of the moststriking findings of a recent poll in the UK is that of the people interviewed,one in two believes that it is becoming more difficult to meet someone to starta

family with.

Why are many findingit increasingly difficult to start and sustain intimate relationships?Doesmodern life really make it harder to fall in love?Or are we making it harderfor

ourselves?

It is certainly thecase today that contemporary couples benefit in different ways fromrelationships. Women no longer rely upon partners for economic security orstatus.A

man doesn't expecthis spouse to be in sole charge of running his household and raising hischildren.

But perhaps theknowledge that we can live perfectly well without a partnership means that ittakes much more to persuade people to abandon their independence.

In theory,finding apartner should be much simpler these days.Only a few generations ago, your choiceof soulmate（心上人）wasconstrained（限制）by geography, social

convention andfamily tradition. Although it was never explicit,many marriages wereessentially arranged.

Now those barriershave been broken down.You can approach a builder or a brain surgeon in any barin any city on any given evening. When the world is your oyster（牡

砺）,you surelyhave a better chance of finding a pearl.

But it seems thatthe old conventions have been replaced by an even tighter constraint: thetyranny of choice.

The expectations ofpartners are inflated（提高）toan unmanageable degreE.good looks,impressive salary,kind to grandmother,andright socks.There is no room for error in

the firstimpression.

We think that arelationship can be perfect. If it isn't,it is disposable.We work to protectourselves against future heartache and don't put in the hard emotional laborneeded to

build a strongrelationship.Of course,this is complicated by realities.The cost of housing andchild-rearing creates pressure to have a stable income and career before a life

partnership.

What does therecent poll show?

A.It is getting moredifficult for a woman to find her husband.

B.It is gettingincreasingly difficult to start a family.

C.It is getting moredifficult for a man to find his wife.

D.It is gettingincreasingly difficult to develop an intimate relationship with your snouse.