15.家庭暴力的概念
段落大意：家庭暴力指發生在家庭成員間的身體或情感傷害行為，包括配偶間的暴力行為、虐待兒童或老人，等等。
Family violence refers to physically or emotionally harmful acts between individuals in families or in intimate relationships. The term “family violence”covers a wide range of behaviors and includes domestic violence （sometimes referred to as spouse abuse）, child abuse, and abuse of the elderly. Violence between adult partners can include threats and coercion （脅迫）, physical and sexual assault, and murder. Child abuse ranges from physical or sexual assault to neglect of a child’s basic needs. Violence toward the elderly may involve physical, psychological, or financial abuse or neglect.
16.家庭暴力的程度
段落大意：家庭暴力是一個普遍的社會問題，但因諸多因素，很難準確評估其實際程度。
Experts agree that family violence is a widespread problem, but the actual extent is difficult to accurately measure. Most experts believe that the extent of violence is higher than research indicates. Data based on official reports, such as police or hospital records, tend to underestimate the extent of violence and abuse because much violence is never reported. Surveys of individuals, which generally produce higher estimates than official records, are also assumed to underestimate the extent of family violence. Understandably, many respondents may fail to report incidents of violence. Furthermore, definitions of what constitutes abuse may vary. Records indicate that the victims of most instances of family violence are women and children. However, some independent surveys indicate that men are also likely to experience violence from a partner.
17.虐待兒童的概念
段落大意：虐待兒童指有意對兒童造成身體或情感上的傷害，是主要社會問題之一。在評價虐待兒童的標準上，不同國家各不相同。
Child abuse refers to intentional acts that result in physical or emotional harm to children. The term “child abuse”covers a wide range of behavior, from actual physical assault by parents or other adult caretakers to neglect of a child’s basic needs. Child abuse is also sometimes called child maltreatment. Although the extent of child abuse is difficult to measure, it is recognized as a major social problem, especially in industrialized nations. It occurs in all income, racial, religious, and ethnic groups and in urban and rural communities. It is, however, more common in some groups, especially those below the poverty line. Cultures around the world have different standards in deciding what constitutes child abuse. In Sweden, for example, the law prohibits any physical punishment of children, including spanking（摑）. By contrast, in some countries of Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, parents are expected to punish their children by hitting them.
18.虐待兒童行為的種類
段落大意：虐待兒童的行為包括身體虐待、性侵犯，以及情感虐待等。
There are several different types of child abuse, and some children experience more than one type. Physical abuse includes deliberate acts of violence that injure or even kill a child. Unexplained bruises, broken bones, or burn marks on a child may be signs of physical abuse. Sexual abuse occurs when adults use children for sexual gratification（滿足） or expose them to sexual activities. Emotional abuse destroys a child’s self-esteem. Such abuse commonly includes repeated verbal abuse of a child in the form of shouting, threats, and degrading or humiliating criticism. Other types of emotional abuse are confinement, such as shutting a child in a dark closet, and social isolation, such as denying a child’s friends.
19.最常見的虐待兒童行為：忽視
段落大意：最常見的虐待兒童行為是忽視，包括身體忽視、情感忽視及教育忽視等。
The most common form of child abuse is neglect. Physical neglect involves a parent’s failure to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care to a child. It may also include inadequate supervision and a consistent failure to protect a child from hazards（危險） or danger. Emotional neglect occurs when a parent or caretaker fails to meet a child’s basic needs for affection and comfort. Examples of emotional neglect include behaving in a cold, distant, and unaffectionate（無溫情的） way toward a child, allowing a child to witness chronic or severe spousal abuse （配偶間的暴力）, allowing a child to use alcohol or drugs, and encouraging a child to engage in delinquent behavior. Another form of neglect involves failing to meet a child’s basic education needs, either by failing to enroll a child in school or by permitting a child to skip school frequently.
20.虐待兒童的原因 I：代代相傳
段落大意：許多在成長過程中受到父母暴力行為影響的孩子長大後會虐待自己的孩子，導致惡性循環。
Many children learn violent behavior from their parents and then grow up to abuse their own children. Thus, the abusive behavior is transmitted （傳遞） across generations. Studies show that some 30.percent of abused children become abusive parents, whereas only 2.to 3.percent of all individuals become abusive parents. Children who experience abuse and violence may adopt this behavior as a model for their own parenting. However, the majority of abused children do not become abusive adults. Some experts believe that an important predictor of later abuse is whether the child realizes that the behavior was wrong. Children who believe they behaved badly and deserved the abuse become abusive parents more often than children who believe their parents were wrong to abuse them.
21.虐待兒童的原因 II：壓力
段落大意：壓力導致虐待兒童趨勢的上升。這些壓力可能來自：失業、生病、貧困的家庭狀況、家庭的過於龐大、新生兒降生、殘疾家庭成員等。貧困家庭虐待兒童的現象更常見。
Stress from a variety of social conditions raises the risk of child abuse within a family. These conditions include unemployment, illness, poor housing conditions, a larger-than-average family size, the presence of a new baby or a disabled person in the home, and the death of a family member. A large majority of reported cases of child abuse come from families living in poverty. Child abuse also occurs in middle-class and wealthy families, but it is better reported among the poor for several reasons. Wealthier families have an easier time hiding abuse because they have less contact with social agencies than poor families. In addition, social workers, physicians, and others who report abuse cases subjectively label children from poor families as victims of abuse more often than children from rich families.
22.虐待兒童的原因 III：社會疏離
段落大意：慣於虐待兒童的父母一般都與社會疏離，缺少社會參與導致他們無法得到社會幫助。
Parents and caretakers who abuse children tend to be socially isolated. Few violent parents belong to any community organizations, and most have little contact with friends or relatives. This lack of social involvement deprives abusive parents of support systems that would help them deal better with social or family stress. Moreover, the lack of community contacts makes these parents less likely to change their behavior to conform （遵守） to community values and standards.
23.虐待兒童的原因 IV：家庭結構
段落大意：虐待兒童的另一大原因是特定的家庭結構，如單親家庭、夫妻關係長期不和的家庭、虐待配偶家庭等。
Certain types of families have an increased risk of child abuse and neglect. For example, single parents are more likely to abuse their children than married parents. Moreover, single-parent families usually earn less money than other families, so this may account for the increased risk of abuse. Families with chronic marital discord （婚姻不和） or spousal abuse have higher rates of child abuse than families without these problems. In addition, families in which either the husband or wife dominates in making important decisions, such as where to live, what jobs to take, when to have children, and how much money to spend on food and housing, have higher rates of child abuse than families in which parents share responsibility for these decisions.
24.文化因素對兒童虐待的影響
段落大意：文化因素通常決定了家庭所能得到的社會幫助和支持，從而影響兒童受虐待的概率。
Cultural factors often determine the amount of community support a family receives. In cultures with low rates of child abuse, child care is usually considered the responsibility of the community. That is, neighbors, relatives, and friends help with child care when the parents are unwilling or unable. In the United States, parents often shoulder child-care demands by themselves, which may result in a higher risk of stress and child abuse.
25.虐待兒童的後果
段落大意：虐待兒童的後果既嚴重又影響深遠。身體虐待會導致淤傷、大腦損傷、永久殘疾，甚至死亡。心理虐待會導致兒童對自我價值的貶低、無法與同齡人溝通、注意力不集中或學習障礙等。虐待甚至會導致嚴重的心理問題。