Today， cohabitation is a common pattern among people in the Western world。 People may live together for a number of reasons。 These may include wanting to test compatibility or to establish financial security before marrying。 It may also be because they are unable to legally marry， due to reasons such as same－sex； some interracial or inter－religious marriages are not legal or permitted。 Other reasons include living as a way for polygamists to avoid breaking the law， or as a way to avoid the higher income taxes paid by some two－income married couples （in the United States）， negative effects on pension payments （among older people）， or philosophical opposition to the institution of marriage （that is， seeing little difference between the commitment to live together and the commitment to marriage）。 Some individuals also may choose cohabitation because they see their relationships as being private and personal matters， and not to be controlled by political， religious or patriarchal institutions。
Some couples prefer cohabitation because it does not legally commit them for an extended period， and because it is easier to establish and dissolve without the legal costs often associated with a divorce。 In some jurisdictions cohabitation can be viewed legally as common－law marriages， either after the duration of a specified period， or the birth of the couple’s child， or if the couple consider and behave accordingly as husband and wife。 （This helps provide the surviving partner a legal basis for inheriting the deceased’s belongings in the event of the death of their cohabiting partner。） In Saskatchewan， Canada， a married person may cohabit with other married or single persons and become the spouses of all of them under the Saskatchewan Family Property Act。 Consent of the “subsequent spouse” is not required。 Although Canada has a federal criminal code law prohibiting polygamy， which includes anyone who authorizes more than one conjugal union at a time， Saskatchewan judicial authorities that unilaterally authorize multiple conjugal unions have not yet been charged under this federal law。
2婚前同居危害的表达方式
Negative effects to cohabiting before marriageHigher risk of divorce（更高离婚率）。 Cohabiters who do marry are more at risk for subsequent divorce than those who did not cohabit before marriage。 In the United Sates the risk of divorce is 50 percent higher for cohabiters than for non－cohabiters。 The divorce rate is even higher with previously married cohabiters and serial cohabiters。
Less satisfactory adjustments in marriage（婚姻低满意度）。 In a study， cohabiters generally report lower satisfaction with marriage after they marry than do non－cohabiters。 There are indications that some living－together couples have more problematic， lower－quality relationships with more individual and couple problems those non－cohabiters。
Harmful effect upon children（对孩子有不好影响）。 Research in both England and the US details the negative impact upon children， including a much higher incidence of child abuse。
在最近一项有一万五千余城市男女参加的网络调查中，有78。9％的人承认有过婚前同居的经历，其中六成以上的人对那段经历丝毫没有后悔，即使没有结果，大部分人也认为同居生活那一段是非常美好的回忆。同居由未婚同居，到试婚，再到婚前同居，名词的感情色彩越来越平和而简单。如今人们的观念越来越豁达，同居已是再正常不过的事，两个相爱的人住在一起，女人为对方收拾衣物，男人的手臂成为对方的枕头，最后就算因各种原因未能执子之手，与子偕老，也有着很多难以忘怀的生活片段。
Key words ＆ Sentences
关键词句全知道
Only two decades ago in China， cohabitation was regarded as a corrupt and decadent Western lifestyle， and the adjective “illegal” accompanied any mention of it。
在20年前的中国，“同居”还被认为是一种腐化堕落的西方生活方式。人们提起它时，总会在前面加上“非法”一词。
The college students inclined to agree with “cohabitation”， “premarital sexual behavior”， the male agreed with them more than female。
大学生多倾向于赞同“同居”、“婚前性行为”，男性的赞同程度高于女性。
The study revealed that 69 percent of college students thought that premarital cohabitation or premarital sex was acceptable。
研究显示，69％的大学生认为婚前同居或婚前性行为是可以接受的。
But those who live together before marriage are more likely to divorce。
但是那些婚前同居的人更有可能离婚。
They’re only probationary cohabits。
他们只是试婚同居者。
The two of them don’t intend to get married， but they’ve been shacking up together for a year now。
他们两人并不打算结婚，但他们同居已一年多了。
Many believe living together before getting hitched allows couples to get used to each other’s idiosyncrasies， paving the way for a smooth married life。 But a relate survey suggested those who live together but don’t marry are up to 40 per cent more likely to be unfaithful than those who tie the knot。
很多人认为婚前同居可以帮助情侣习惯彼此的生活习惯，婚后生活会更顺利。但相关研究显示，同居但没结婚的男女的出轨率比已婚人士高出四成。
Couples who live together before marriage and those who don’t both have about the same chances of a successful union， according to a federal report out Tuesday that turns earlier cohabitation research on its head。
周二出炉的一份关于同居的联邦调查报告结果显示：未婚先同居和婚后才同居的情侣们最后成功结合的概率不相上下。
Of those married 10 or more years， 60％ of women and 62％ of men had ever cohabited； 61％ of women and 63％ of men had cohabited only with the one they married。
调查显示，在婚龄超过10年的夫妇中，有60％的女性和62％的男性曾有过婚前同居行为。在有过同居史的人中，有61％的女性和63％的男性只和目前的配偶同居过。
Meanwhile， 66％ of women and 69％ of men married 10 years had never cohabited。
而婚龄正好是10年的夫妇中有66％的女性和69％的男性从来没有婚前同居过。
Paul Amato， a sociologist at Pennsylvania State University， says the new data suggest that “maybe the effect of premarital cohabitation is becoming less of a problem than it was in the past。 ”
宾州州立大学社会学家保尔？艾玛说这些新数据表示婚前同居行为对最终婚姻的影响较之以前要小。
If it becomes normative now， maybe it’s not such a big deal。
如果婚前同居成为一个规范，那么它将不再是一个问题。
Here’s a real difference in the types of cohabitations out there。
不同的同居前提最终带来的结果并不相同。
Those who live together after making plans to marry or getting engaged have about the same chances of divorcing as couples who never cohabited before marriage。
已经计划结婚或者订婚后再住在一起的，跟从未同居者的婚后离异率并没有差别。
But those who move in together before making any clear decision to marry appear to have an increased risk of divorce。
但还没有明确结婚计划就住在一起的情侣则有更高的离婚率。