Reading: Matching Headings: Question 10

A Across a growing number of high-income countries, the single most common type of household is no longer a couple with children, or even a couple without children, but a single adult living entirely alone. In several European nations, the proportion of one-person households has more than doubled since the 1960s, and demographers now estimate that roughly a third of all households in some major cities consist of someone living by themselves.

B Part of this shift can be traced to changes in how and when people form partnerships. Across much of the developed world, the average age at first marriage has risen by several years since the mid-twentieth century, while rates of separation and divorce have climbed steadily, leaving a larger share of working-age adults living alone at some point between relationships, whether by circumstance or as an interim arrangement.

C A separate and demographically distinct driver operates at the other end of the age range: as life expectancy has increased, a growing number of older adults, particularly women, outlive their spouses by a decade or more, and increasingly choose or are obliged to remain in their own homes alone rather than move in with adult children, as was more common in earlier generations.

D None of this would be possible on the same scale without a further, largely economic, precondition: rising average incomes in many cities have made a single wage sufficient to cover an entire household, while the growth of compact urban housing stock, including studio apartments built for one occupant, has made solo living a realistic option in a way it rarely was a century ago.

E Distinct from either the relationship-driven or the economic explanation is a more recent cultural change, most pronounced among adults in their twenties and thirties: for a growing number of these individuals, living alone is not a temporary state between relationships or a response to bereavement, but an actively chosen arrangement, valued for the independence it offers, even among those who could readily afford to share accommodation with a partner or housemates.

F Whatever combination of causes lies behind it in a given country, the trend carries practical consequences that planners are only beginning to address: housing markets built around family-sized units must adapt to demand for smaller dwellings, while public health researchers warn that older people living alone face a heightened risk of social isolation that community services are not yet fully equipped to address.

The passage has six paragraphs, A–F.

List of Headings i. The scale of a trend now visible across many high-income countries ii. Later marriage and higher rates of separation among working-age adults iii. Longer lifespans and the loss of a partner in later life iv. Rising affluence and city living making solo households more affordable v. A cultural shift toward valuing independence over shared living vi. New challenges this trend poses for housing and social policy vii. Government incentives designed to encourage larger families viii. A return to multigenerational households in some regions ix. International comparisons of household income levels

Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.

Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F