In Cambodia, the choice of a spouse is a complex one for the young male. It may involve not only his parents and his friends, (1)_____ those of the young woman, but also a matchmaker. A young man can (2)_____ a likely spouse on his own and then ask his parents to (3)_____ the marriage negotiations, or the young man’s parents may make the choice of a spouse, giving the child little to say in the selection. (4)_____, a girl may veto the spouse her parents have chosen. (5)_____ a spouse has been selected, each family investigates the other to make sure its child is marrying (6)_____ a good family.

    The traditional wedding is a long and colorful affair. Formerly it lasted three days, (7)_____ by the 1980s it more commonly lasted a day and a half. Buddhist priests offer a short sermon and (8)_____ prayers of blessing. Parts of the ceremony involve ritual hair cutting, (9)_____ cotton threads soaked in holy water around the bride’s and groom’s wrists, and (10)_____ a candle around a circle of happily married and respected couples to bless the (11)_____ . Newlyweds traditionally move in with the wife’s parents and may (12)_____ with them up to a year, (13 )_____ they can build a new house nearby.

    Divorce is legal and easy to (14)_____ , but not common. Divorced persons are (15)_____ with some disapproval. Each spouse retains (16)_____ property he or she (17)_____ into the marriage, and jointly-acquired property is (18)_____ equally. Divorced persons may remarry, but a gender prejudice (19)_____ up: The divorced male doesn’t have a waiting period before he can remarry (20)_____ the woman must wait ten months.

答案精析：空格前的分句表明婚礼原来持续三天，而空格后的分句提及自20世纪80年代后，婚礼通常持续一天半，此处强调与以往情况的不同，与前者形成明显的对比，因此应选择B项。

错项排除：A项since“既然”引导原因状语从句，C项or“或者”表选择关系，D项so“所以”表示因果关系，都不符合语义，故排除。