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Eventually, the changes that will strengthen stepfamilies will likely come from shifts in cultural prejudices. Such change is slow, but there are signs that some movement along this line is beginning to take place. For instance, Roger Coleman, a clergyman in Kansas City, Mo., performs marriage ceremonies specifically designed to include children when a parent remarries. In years of officiating second marriages, he says, he became keenly aware of the confusion and insecurities of the children, and the ceremony — which includes a special medal worn by the child — aims to celebrate the “new family” and move the church beyond mere criticism of divorce. This year, Coleman says, over 10,000 families across the country will use the medal in their remarriage ceremony.

Similar changes are occurring in public schools around the country. One of the difficulties for stepfamilies is that schools and other public institutions have typically not recognized the stepparent as a valid parent; school registration forms, field trip permission slips, health emergency information — none of these required or acknowledged the stepparent. The message, whether intended or not, has been that only biological parents count. It’s a message that the stepparent and stepchild internalize, worsening what’s often an already difficult relationship, and one which the larger community takes as another sign that stepfamilies are not legally recognized in American society. Through the efforts of the Step-family Association of America and other advocates, schools around the country have begun changing their policies to acknowledge the increasingly important role of stepparents.

Change is also evident in a marketplace eager to exploit this wide social trend. In a particularly American sign of the times, the Hallmark greeting card company, is about to launch a line of cards devoted entirely to non- traditional families. The cards never use the word “step”, but most of the “Ties That Bind” line is clearly aimed at people who have come together by remarriage rather than biology — or, as one card puts it, “Thrown together without being asked, no chance of escape.” Some are straightforward (“There are so many different types and ways to be a family today”), while others are more indirect (“It’s like at a puzzle where the pieces aren’t where they used to be”). But all are aimed at the vast and growing market of people who don’t identify with the old definitions of family, and who are finding ways to make their new families work. Who knows — soon there may even be a card Tori La Londe can send to her former husband’s former mother-in-law.

1．The marriage ceremonies performed by Roger Coleman _________.

A．always make children feel confused and insecure

B．are more romantic than any other marriage ceremony

C．are designed to include some children to create an exciting atmosphere

D．are arranged to let children attend their parent’s remarriage ceremonies

2．The examples of school registration forms, field trip permission slips, health emergency information in public schools are applied to suggest _________.

A．biological parents are irreplaceable in the growth of a child

B．stepparents are no substitute for the biological ones

C．traditional views on the family structure still persist

D．efforts are made to facilitate the present situation

3．The underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 “Who knows — soon there may even be a card Tori La Londe can send to her former husband’s former mother-in-law.” means _________.

A．Businesses can benefit more from new patterns of families

B．People begin to be open to different new definitions of family

C．Sending cards is a good way to tie the bond of the family

D．Ex-husband’s ex-mother-in-law plays an important role in the family

4．What does the passage mainly discuss?

A．The increasingly important role of stepparents.

B．The practical ways to strengthen the stepfamilies.

C．The difficulties that are facing the stepfamilies.

D．People’s gradual recognition towards stepfamilies.