調查：英家庭每天爭吵三次
Parents and children have at least three disagreements a day, with mothers causing most of the rows, according to new research.
The most common rows are over household chores, children "treating the house like a hotel", and couples taking each other for granted, a survey of 3,000 families found.
Fights flare up three times a day, usually lasting for five minutes. Families spend 91 hours a year arguing, with mothers the worst culprits for shouting and sulking.
Mark De Netto, spokesman for family database Uinvue – who organised the research – said: "It was interesting to note that mum still seems to play the pivotal role within the family.
"However the results do show that dads are getting far more involved."
Researchers found that daughters were most likely to slam doors during an argument, while fathers preferred to go for a long drive to cool off.
Television was a big source of disagreement, with mothers preferring soap operas, fathers wanting to watch sport or documentaries, and children arguing for films or reality TV shows.
Mr De Netto said: "Although arguments are a common factor in all families, our results show that they play a vital role in building and strengthening bonds within the family and act as a release valve for family members, so minor arguments do play a positive role in family life.
"We do still think it is worthwhile counting slowly to ten sometimes."
One in ten of the families polled said they were not on speaking terms at the time of the survey.
最新調查表明，父母和子女每天至少發生三次爭執，而大多數情況下都由母親引起。
這項針對三千個家庭的調查發現，最普遍的爭吵誘因是家務活，孩子“把家當旅館”以及夫妻之間互相指望。
調查發現，家庭爭吵每天爆發三次，每次通常持續五分鐘。受訪家庭每年的爭吵時間平均爲91個小時，而導致爭吵的最大“罪魁禍首”是母親。
組織該調查的Uinvue家庭數據庫機構發言人馬克·德·內圖說：“有意思的是，母親在家庭中仍起着關鍵性的作用。”
“然而調查結果同時表明，父親在家庭中的作用越來越大。”
調查人員發現，女兒在爭吵時最愛摔門而去，而父親則喜歡開車出去轉一圈，讓自己冷靜下來。
電視是引發矛盾的一大誘因。媽媽愛看肥皂劇，爸爸想看體育節目或紀錄片，而孩子們則想看電影或者真人秀。
德·內圖先生說：“雖然爭吵是所有家庭都存在的一個問題，但我們的調查結果表明，這對於建立和加強家庭成員的聯繫至關重要，是家庭成員的解壓閥。所以小吵小鬧對於家庭生活具有積極作用。”
“我們仍然認爲，有時從一慢慢數到十對控制情緒很有幫助。”
十分之一的受訪家庭表示，在調查開展時，家庭成員之間正處於冷戰狀態。
Vocabulary:
row: to quarrel noisily（爭吵）
takesomeone for granted: to not show that you are grateful to someone for helping you or that you are happy they are with you, often because they have helped you or been with you so often（因熟悉某人而覺察不出其真正價值，認爲某人所做的事理所應當）
flare up：to become suddenly enraged（突然發怒，突然爆發）
sulk：to remain silent or hold oneself aloof in a sullen, ill-humored, or offended mood（生氣，發怒）
soap opera：a radio or television series depicting the interconnected lives of many characters often in a sentimental, melodramatic way（肥皂劇）
release valve：發泄渠道，減壓閥
on speaking terms：ready and willing to communicate; not alienated or estranged（交往；I'm not on speaking terms with her. 我和她現在關係不好，互相不說話。）
