大家速读完第一段是不是这几个句子包含的意义印象深刻。开篇是一句名人名言，意思是“人说到底是要独自面对孤独的”。这句话为整个文章做了一个铺垫，因此还是十分重要的了。接着第二局，更为重要，因为要具体说明了“越来越多的欧洲人把这个独自面对孤独的年龄提前了”，实际上看完这一句，你基本应该说知道了整篇文章的主题是什么了。
Europe’s new economic climate has largely fostered the trend toward independence. The current generation of home-aloners came of age during Europe’s shift from social democracy to the sharper, more individualistic climate of American-style capitalism. Raised in an era of privatization and increased consumer choice, today’s tech-savvy(精通技术的) workers have embraced a free market in love as well as economics. Modern Europeans are rich enough to afford to live alone, and temperamentally independent enough to want to do so。
第二段首句就交待了“条件”——欧洲新的经济氛围在很大程度上促成(孕育)人们可以更早的面对孤独(独立)，上面第一段提到欧洲人提前进入面对孤独(独立)阶段。
Once upon a time, people who lived alone tended to be those on either side of marriage—twenty something professionals or widowed senior citizens. While pensioners, particularly elderly women, make up a large proportion of those living alone, the newest crop of singles are high earners in their 30s and 40s who increasingly view living alone as a lifestyle choice. Living alone was conceived to be negative—dark and cold, while being together suggested warmth and light. But then came along the idea of singles. They were young, beautiful, strong ! Now, young people want to live alone。
第三段，由“Once upon a time…”开头，大家都可以知道，这一段一定是把从前和现在的情况作个对比。那么，这一段很可能是后面题干中细节题的出题点。
The booming economy means people are working harder than ever. And that doesn’t leave much room for relationships. Pimpi Arroyo, a 35-year-old composer who lives alone in a house in Paris, says he hasn’t got time to get lonely because he has too much work. “I have deadlines which would make life with someone else fairly difficult。” Only an Ideal Woman would make him change his lifestyle, he says. Kaufmann, author of a recent book called The Single Woman and Prince Charming, thinks this fierce new individualism means that people expect more and more of mates, so relationships don’t last long—if they start at all. Eppendorf, a blond Berliner with a deep tan, teaches grade school in the mornings. In the afternoon she sunbathes or sleeps, resting up for going dancing. Just shy of 50, she says she’d never have wanted to do what her mother did—give up a career to raise a family. Instead, “I’ve always done what I wanted to do: live a self-determined life。”
最后一段，列举了个例，在经济飞快发展的现在个体的生活和情感关系状况，并且是一种正常的发展态势。