It has been noted that, traditionally, courts have granted divorces on fault grounds; one spouse is deemed to be at fault in causing the 86 divorce. More and more today, however, divorces are being granted on a no-fault bases. The word spouse in line 2 is closest meaning to a __ judge B problem C divorce decree D marriage partner E

D

This question is a vocabulary question that asks for a synonym of the word "spouse" as used in the context of the provided text. The text discusses the concept of divorce and mentions "courts have granted divorces on fault grounds" and then contrasts it with "divorces are being granted on a no-fault bases." The word "spouse" in line 2 is used in the context of discussing divorce, which implies a relationship between two individuals. Therefore, the synonym should reflect this relationship context.- Option A "judge" is incorrect because a judge is a person who presides over a court, and the context does not suggest that "spouse" refers to a role within the court system.- Option B "problem" is incorrect as it does not reflect a relationship between two individuals; rather, it refers to an issue or difficulty.- Option C "divorce decree" is a legal document that finalizes a divorce, not a term for a person in a relationship.- Option D "marriage partner" is correct because it directly refers to an individual who is in a marital relationship, similar to "spouse," which is used to describe one of two individuals in a marriage.- Option E is not provided, so it cannot be considered.Therefore, the correct answer is D, "marriage partner," as it is the closest in meaning to "spouse" in the context of the text provided.