Section C

Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the

Taiwan's divorce rate has continued to rise over the past 10 years as more and more married couple have given up on their【B1】______to a life-long relationship.

In its most recent demographic (人口学) and social survey, the island's【B2】______found that the divorce rate in Taiwan has increased by an average of 6.4 per cent【B3】______over the last decade.

A【B4】______of 4,379 couples in Taiwan ended their marriages in 1998. This increase of 4,830 over the previous years【B5】______Taiwan's annual divorce rate 0.2 per cent, it the【B6】______among all the countries and【B7】______of Asia, officials said.

Married couples between 30 and 34 were more likely to divorce than those in any other age group of married people. Among those【B8】______, 2.8 per cent of the men and 23.4 per cent of the women who divorced a husband/wife last year were from this age group.

The survey found that【B9】______. Of the men who divorced last year, 31 per cent had only a junior high school education, and 34 per cent of the women who divorced had only a primary school level education.

The survey also found that【B10】______. Among couples married for between 15 and 19 years, the divorce rate grew 10.97 per cent between 1997 and 1998, but it jumped by 14 per cent among those married for 20--24 years and by 13.8 per cent among those married for 25-29 years.

Taiwan's divorce rate, averaging 0. 2 per cent in 1998, 【B11】______.

【B1】