专四专八考试

【单选题】In child custody cases, most U. S. courts are bound to make their decision based on their assessment of what lies in the best interest of the child—whether single custody with the mother, the father, or some third party; whether sole custody, or some form of joint custody. Theoretically, before any evidence is presented, both a mother and a father are seen as having an equal right to custody.And the judge may take the child’s own preferences into account, sometimes seeking testimony from the child, particularly if he or she is older than twelve years.
However, custody cases were not always guided by such a framework. Until the mid-19th century, the father was almost always given custody of his child; his right in this regard was almost equivalent to a property right. However, during the 19th century, this longstanding practice gradually gave way to what came to be known as the "tender years" doctrine.
The tender years doctrine, in fact, was first raised inEnglish courts in 1839, with theCustody of InfantsAct; this gave judges some discretion in child custody cases, for infants and children under the age of seven. The doctrine gradually was adopted in the United States, although in practice, mothers were awarded only temporary custody of their infant children; when they turned five or six, the mother then had to return her children to their father.
However, the doctrine was gradually expanded, "tender years" being defined as any age under the age of thirteen, and with mothers being granted permanent, not just temporary, custody of their children. Mothers came to be seen as having a special ability to nurture their pre-teenaged children. Gender roles also played into the rise of the tender years doctrine; fathers would leave the house in the early morning and go to work, returning at night, often after the children had been put to beD、Mothers, on the other hand, did not work; they were at home with their children all day, or taking their children to school in the morning and fetching them in the afternoon, or engaging in other activities with their children.Awarding a child to a father was almost like forcing the child to live exclusively with a near-stranger.
By 1920, children were being awarded to their mothers in custody cases with the same predictability with which they had been awarded to their fathers eighty years earlier.
A、father who wished to contend for custody of his child would have to demonstrate that the mother was clearly unfit. It was not until the latter part of the 20th century, as a father’s rights movement developed and gender roles began rapidly evolving, that courts began applying the principle of "best interest of the child" in deciding custody cases. Mothers could no longer argue that they had developed closer bonds with their children than their husbands, because mothers held jobs outside of the house almost as frequently as fathers.And courts have argued that favoring mothers over fathers in custody cases conflicts with theEqual ProtectionClause of the 14thAmendment of theConstitution.
Although the tender years doctrine is no longer legally applied in U. S. courts, many feel that a bias still exists toward granting custody to mothers rather than fathers, and that fathers face an uphill battle in seeking sole custody of their children. In reality, more and more courts are seeking some form of joint custody—certainly legal custody and often physical custody as well, where practicable reasoning that children will receive the greatest benefit by continuing to receive substantial parenting from both their mothers and their fathers.
"Tender years" doctrine was expanded just because ______.
A、the father was a complete stranger to his children, never minding what they did
B．the mother was more considerate and loving than the father in caring their children
C．the mother has more time than the father to engage in activities with
网考网参考答案：C
网考网解析：
第四自然段中“Gender roles also played into the rise of the tender years doctrine”这句表明，幼年条令被扩展了，母亲对其小孩有永久的监护权，最主要的原因就是性别角色，因为父亲忙于工作没有时间在家照顾小孩，母亲不用工作，整天在家和小孩一起度过。 document.getElementById("warp").style.display="none"; document.getElementById("content").style.display="block"; 查看试题解析出处>>