今天的句子:
This is most obviously true about careers: parenthood worsens the pay gap because women are much better financially compensated for taking time out to care for young children and then, because they earn less on average, it makes more financial sense for them rather than fathers to go back part-time, the surest way to hinder your career. But it is about so much more: the housework, the emotional labour of ensuring everyone’s OK, the isolation that can result from uneven social sacrifice, the aspects of life that have nothing to do with motherhood that can sink without trace. If we want more people to want more children, we need to think about how to create a culture where it is the norm for all parents of young children – fathers included – to work part-time and share the load more equally; policies such as at least three months of generous use-it-or-lose-it paternity leave can help set these norms.
思考题:
It can be learned from the text that ___.
A.the author is not in favor of bearing children
B.caring for young children is good for career
C.paternity leave policies increase fertility rate
D.men in general are more tolerant of isolation
句子解析:
第一句:
This is most obviously true about careers:// parenthood worsens the pay gap because women are much better financially compensated// for taking time out to care for young children and then, //because they earn less on average, it makes more financial sense for them rather than fathers to go back part-time, the surest way to hinder your career.
参考译文:在职业上,这种情况最明显:生儿育女会加剧收入差距,由她们来照顾年幼子女会获得更好的经济补偿,而且因为女性的平均收入较低,她们回去做兼职比父亲们更具有经济意义,这肯定是阻碍你事业发展最确定的方式。
第二句:
But it is about so much more: the housework, the emotional labour of ensuring everyone’s OK, the isolation that can result from uneven social sacrifice, the aspects of life that have nothing to do with motherhood that can sink without trace.
参考译文:但是,影响远不止这些:家务活、确保人人都好的“心累”、更多的社交牺牲带来的孤立;这些与育儿无关的方方面面可能渗透生活,却不留痕迹。
第三句:
If we want more people to want more children, we need to think about how to create a culture where it is the norm for all parents of young children – fathers included – to work part-time and share the load more equally; policies such as at least three months of generous use-it-or-lose-it paternity leave can help set these norms.
参考译文:如果我们想让更多的人要更多的孩子,就得思考如何营造一种文化,让所有年幼子女的家长(包括父亲)兼职工作并平等分担育儿任务成为风尚;政策——如至少三个月的非用即失的陪产假——可以帮助形成这些风尚。
思考题解析:
A. the author is not in favor of bearing children
(作者不赞成生育孩子)
A选项错误。
B. caring for young children is good for career
(照顾小孩对事业有好处)
B选项错误。
C. paternity leave policies increase fertility rate
(陪产假政策提升生育率)
C选项正确。
D. men in general are more tolerant of isolation
(男人一般更能容忍孤独)
没有提及!
D选项错误。
文章来源背景和来源:
The world needs babies, so we'd better rethink what we expect from mothers
世界需要孩子,所以我们最好重新思考对母亲们的期望
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/09/world-needs-babies-better-rethink-what-we-need-from-mothers
背景:没有比生孩子(生不生?什么时候?和谁?)更个人、更私密的话题了。可这些个人选择的集合最终决定了整个社会的生育率:一个告诉你出生活婴数与同期平均育龄妇女人数之比的既枯燥又靠不住的统计数据。大多数富裕国家都面对同样的人口困局,生育率越来越低,就连之前有些人对疫情封锁可能营造生育潮的“小欢喜”都落了空。认为“更多性就更多孩子”的人——说实在的——幼稚,他们大概忘了这是个网购什么都方便的时代。生育率下降是众多因素复杂交织的结果,其中不乏女性独立意识提升和计生手段先进的原因,但纠其根本是因为育龄夫妇(尤其是女性)没有在生育和养育孩子方面得到充分的支持和帮助,在经济方面如此,在文化方面更是这样。虽然富裕国家的政府早就高调地各种拉响警钟,但真正有效的政策凤毛麟角。要逆转劳动适龄人口减少的趋势,简单发钱是不够的(当然也是必须的),重新思考我们对母亲们的期望将是第一步。