Premarital Agreements

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New Horizon College English
Unit 9 Section A
Premarital Agreements
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Directions Watch the video and then discuss
the topics as follows
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Premarital agreements Premarital
agreements or prenuptial agreements are binding
legal contracts between two people who intend to
marry each other.
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Questions Answers
1. Have you ever heard of premarital agreements
before? What do you think they are for? 
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2. Do you think prenups (premarital agreements)
will take the romance out of marriage for the man
as well as the woman?
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3. Would you ask for a prenuptial agreement
before your marriage? Why or why not?
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Ive heard of premarital agreements. They
are also called prenuptial agreements or just
prenups. Taken literally, the premarital
agreements seem to be negotiated by lawyers for
the prospective spouses and signed before
marriages. In most cases, they are specially
designed to solve the financial problems, such as
the payment for child supporting and the division
of community property, arising from the breakup
of the marriages concerned. There are 50 of all
marriages in the United States ending up in
divorces, so prenups carry more popularity there
than in China. But they are now gaining in
acceptance in China.
Reference Words prenuptial agreement, prenup, be
taken literally, negotiate, prospective spouse,
in most cases, be designed to, financial problem,
the payment for child supporting, the division of
community property, arise from, breakup, end up
in divorce, carry more popularity, gain in
acceptance
key
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I do think so. If a marriage is cursed with the
worry about its breakup before taking place,
there will be little chance for both spouses to
enjoy the happiness derived from their romantic
love. As is clear to those still in love,
romantic love is the kind of love in which two
people just care for each other out of their true
attachments to one another. Both thirst solely
for pure sentiments and opportunities to fill
their needs rather than keep an eye on material
wealth. Such love, free of anything worldly, can
survive any adversity. Once their sincere
emotions are mixed with money, however, romance
will go out of their love for ever, as either or
both of them will fix his/her or their eyes on
material interests.
Reference Words be cursed with, derive from, as
is clear to those still in love, care for, out of
ones true attachments to, thirst for, pure
sentiment, fill sb.s needs, keep an eye on,
survive any adversity, free of anything worldly,
be mixed with, fix ones eyes on
key
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It depends, I should say. If I am lucky enough to
bathe myself in a romantic and true love, the
prenup will be the last thing I should do, for I
dont want it to take the romance or the pure
love out of my marriage. But if I am too unlucky
to find my true love, such an agreement will be a
must, because it can not only save me from
endless quarrels over the responsibilities for
marital life but also shed light on the issues
which could later widen and result in divorce. So
let there be prenups if they are the only way to
prevent a terrible marriage.
Reference words it depends, bathe oneself in,
the last thing sb. should do, take sth. out of,
true love, must (n.), savefrom, shed light on,
result in, let there be, prevent a terrible
marriage
key
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The author gives the reader a detailed exposition
of what prenups are, who needs prenups, what
points to be taken care of before signing
prenups, and how people evaluate prenups.
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Main idea ?
A general introduction of prenups What are
prenups and how they are forged?
Devices for developing it ?
Listing (???) Para. 1
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Listing (???)
The author lists three examples to introduce some
of the craziest clauses of prenups A future
husband wanted to be sure that if his marriage
didnt work out, he could keep his treasured
ice-cream collection safely stored away in a
freezer. A woman insisted on verifying who would
walk the dog. One man wanted the right to get a
divorce if his bride-to-be gained more than 15
pounds once she became his wife. (Para. 1)
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General-specific exposition (??? )
Who want prenups?(Paras. 5 - 8)
Detail 1 Those who will be involved in great
economic consequences in a divorce and those who
want to remarry. (Para. 5)
Detail 2 Those who have accumulated considerable
wealth, have already been stung once, and want to
reduce their exposure to future problems. (Para.
6)
Detail 3 Those who want to shield assets to be
passed on to children and grandchildren and plan
to remarry after a spouse has died. (Para. 7)
Detail 4 Those who have, or are in line for,
great inherited wealth or family businesses,
especially if the future partners have little or
nothing at all. (Para. 8)
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Quotation(???)
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The author quotes directly as follows 1) Its
because divorce has such great economic
consequences, and successive marriages have
become so common, said a family law lawyer.
(Para. 5) 2) They want to make their own
arrangements, rather than let a court decide,
said (Para. 6) 3) Someone may have an estate
of 1 billion and he may not want a second spouse
to get a payment of half a billion. He may want
more for his children, said a lawyer. (Para. 7)
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General-specific exposition (??? )
What points to be taken care of before signing
prenups?(Paras. 9-14)
Detail 1 Proper guidelines are necessary a
lawyer is required to write the document and do
not use the same lawyer as your future spouse
does. (Para. 9)
Detail 2 Do not sign a prenup under pressure.
(Para. 10)
Detail 3 Watch out that a dispute of carrying
out prenups could happen if a couple decides to
divorce while living abroad with different
passports. (Para. 12)
Detail 4 Have a correct understanding of the
nature of prenups they are business agreements.
(Para. 14)
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Problem-solution (??---???)
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Another problem is a prenuptial agreement signed
under pressure. (Para. 10)
Solution To avoid this, some lawyers will not
draw up an agreement once a wedding date has been
set. I figure theres a sword hanging over their
head, and thats pressure, they said. Such
lawyers counsel their clients never to send out
wedding invitations until both signatures are on
an agreement. (Para. 10)
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General-specific exposition (???)
Evaluations of prenups (Paras. 15 - 16)
Detail 1 Prenups sometimes may help save a
couple from a terrible marriage. (Para. 15)
Detail 2 Prenups sometimes prove to be of no use
to some happy marriages. (Para. 16)
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• send out
• take advice
• under sb.s
• nose
• argue over/
• about
• break out
• just about
• lead to
• enter into sth.
• have no
• bearing on
• end up

• passport
• circumstance
• static
• bearing
• justification
• heap
• shed
• drawer
• Phrases and
• Expressions
• work out
• store away
• insist on/

• upon
• make no
• mistake
• (about sth.)
• gain in
• make/hit the
• headlines
• call for
• be in line
• for
• under
• pressure
• draw up

• lay bare
• to shed/throw
• /cast light on
• Proper Names
• Jacqueline
• Kennedy
• Onassis
• Aristotle
• Onassis
• The American
• Academy of
• Marriage

• Lawyers
• Ed Smith

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A. Compatible Expressions
1.????,??????
? to work out (L. 1)
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Due to the scientists careful preparation, the
space program has worked out quite well.
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• 1)verify (L.3)vt. make certain prove the truth
  of ??,??
• All the teachers took part in the test to verify
  that they master the modern teaching methods.
• ??????????,?????????????????.

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• clause (L.5) n. a particular part of a written
  legal document
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• There is a clause in the contract which says the
  company can fire people for economic reasons.
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• ??????????
• an additional clause ????
• n. ??
• a noun clause ????
• an attributive clause ????

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• 3)bind (L.11) vt. hold ( people or things )
  together
• She thought that having his child would bind her
  husband to her forever.?
• ??????????????????
• They bound the prisoner's hands behind his back..
  
• ?????????????

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• 4) division (L.12) (n. dividing or being
  divided) ??,??
• This division of the students into three groups
  is very simple.
• ?????????????????

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• 5)make/hit the headlines (L.16)become important
  news
• ??????
• The arrival of the football team hit the
  headlines?
• ??????????????????
• "Computer crime" first made the headlines in
  1983.
• ?????1983 ???????

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• 6) contest (L.18)(vt.(take part in and) try to
  win . ??
• She stands a good chance since only two people
  are contesting the seat.
• ???????????????????
• She won a gold medal in an international contest.
• ??????????????

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• 7)sting (L26) v. stimulate sb. by making him or
  her angry painful ??,??
• In the early days she had been stung by criticism
  of the way she dressed.
• ??????????,????
• Tears of anger stung his eyes and his heart sank
  his disappointment was beyond words.
• ????????????,??????,????????????

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• 8) exposure(L.26) n. exposing or being
  exposed an instance of this ??,
• Cancer can be caused by exposure of radiation.
• ???????????.

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• 9) shield (L32) vt. protect from harm defend
  from criticism, attack ??,??
  
• Let me shield you from the wind. Nevertheless,
  the vastly expanded social contacts
• ???????

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Prenuptial agreements, or prenups are
designed to address ________ problems as they
arise in a marriage. They are negotiated by
lawyers for the ___________ spouses, and signed
before a minister binds them in marriage. A
typical _________ for a prenuptial agreement is a
man who has ___________ considerable wealth, has
already been _____ once, and wants to reduce his
________ to future problems. Retired people in
their 60s and 70s who are remarrying after a
spouse has died need prenups as well in order to
______
financial
prospective
candidate
accumulated
stung
exposure
shield
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assets to be ______ on to children
and grandchildren. Another situation that calls
for premarital agreements ______ when a ________
spouse has, or is in ____ for, great ________
wealth or a family business, especially if the
future partner has little or nothing at all. Of
course, there are some notable problems
_________ such an agreement. First, one should
not use the ____ lawyer as his/her future spouse
does. Second, one should _____ a prenuptial
agreement
passed
occurs
potential
line
inherited
regarding
same
avoid
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