Single-Parent Families: A Growing Reality Walk into any school today and you'll notice something different from a generation ago. Among the...

Single-Parent Families: A Growing Reality

Walk into any school today and you'll notice something different from a generation ago. Among the children waiting at the gates, many are picked up by just one parent – usually a mother, sometimes a father. Single-parent families have quietly become a normal part of modern society. Whether due to divorce, separation, the death of a partner, or personal choice, millions of parents worldwide are raising children on their own. (18) __________.

Life as a single parent isn't easy. Money is often the first concern. With only one income supporting the household, paying rent, buying groceries, and covering school fees can feel like a constant struggle. Maria, a single mother of two in Madrid, describes her routine: "I wake up at 5 a.m. to prepare breakfast and lunches, drop the kids at school, work until 6 p.m., then rush home to cook dinner and help with homework. By the time they're asleep, I'm too tired to think." This exhausting cycle is familiar to many single parents, (19) __________, with no partner to share the load when a child gets sick or when the washing machine breaks down.

Yet single-parent families aren't just about struggles – they have their own special strengths. (20) __________. Ten-year-old Jake helps his dad with shopping and cooking, skills his friends with two parents haven't learned yet. The parent-child relationship can become incredibly close too. Without another adult in the house, conversations go deeper and bonds grow stronger. Many single parents say their children are their motivation – the reason they work hard and stay positive even on difficult days.

Fortunately, attitudes are changing. Schools now recognize different family types and avoid assuming every child has two parents at home. Workplace policies are improving, (21) __________. Community groups bring single parents together for practical support and friendship. While challenges remain, single-parent families are proving that what children (22) __________, and a parent who shows up for them every day.

[Adapted from The Annie E. Casey Foundation]

Question 18: 

A. What families looked like once as an unusual way is now simply considered another way

B. Although families once considered it unusual, it is now another way that simply looks

C. What was once considered unusual is now simply another way families can look

D. Because unusual ways for families to look were once considered, it is now simply another

Question 19: 

A. leaving them to shoulder caregiving responsibilities alongside the breadwinner’s role

B. having the financial breadwinner and caregiver shoulder their dual responsibilities

C. whose responsibilities as breadwinner and caregiver are left for them to shoulder

D. left to shoulder both the breadwinner’s role and the caregiver’s responsibilities

Question 20: 

A. Participating early to become more mature is possible, therefore children are more competent

B. Given that children pitch in early, growing up more mature is what they fail to be capable of

C. Having pitched in early, children often become more mature and capable at a younger age

D. Assuming that children grow up more mature, they often learn to pitch in early for capableness

Question 21: 

A. enabling school events to attract more parents by offering companies flexible hours luringly

B. and parents can attend school events with flexible working hours offering many companies

C. with more companies offering flexible hours so parents can attend school events

D. so lopsidedly can parents attend school events that more companies offer flexible hours

Question 22: 

A. and family need love and stability not a specific family structure

B. are specific family structure needing most instead of love and stability

C. need most isn't a specific family structure – it's love, stability

D. specifically need most is the family structure of love and stability