时差N小时 学生也可以休产假

One thing we don't quite understand is why the local press should hype the maternity¹ leave the Ministry² of Education has decided³ to grant high-school girls. Perhaps there was no other issue the local media thought interesting enough to attract readers and viewers.

我们非常不理解，当地媒体为何对教育部准予高中女生休产假这件事如此大肆炒作——大概是他们没有其它可以吸引读者和观众的事情了吧。

Such help is already available in all developed countries of the world, however. In the United States, for instance, high-school mothers can even feed their babies between classes. But, this seemingly insignificant⁴ piece of news did not escape the eyes of reporters with a nose for news, like those of a bloodhound for game. They wanted a hullabaloo.

其实，这种事在所有的发达国家都见怪不怪了。例如，美国的高中生母亲甚至可以在课间给自己的婴儿喂奶。但是，这件看似不起眼的消息没能逃脱那些新闻嗅觉灵敏的记者们的眼睛。他们就像一个个猎犬一样。他们要的是一个爆炸性的效果。

Fortunately, they did not succeed. The reason is simple. Taiwanese parents mostly agreed that something had to be done for hapless girls carrying babies while attending high school. Awarding them maternity leave is the least the education ministry can and should do to help them. There are not many high-school mothers, but that does not mean the authorities should ignore their predicament. For one thing, they are, as often as not, ostracized⁵ by their peers. As a result, many pregnant teens abort⁶ unwanted babies. Most of the new mothers drop out of school, with little chance to complete secondary education.

幸运的是，他们的如意算盘落空了。原因很简单。台籍家长们大多认为，他们应该为那些无助的高中生妈妈们做点什么。准许她们休产假算是教育部能为她们所做的最起码的事。虽然高中生妈妈并非多数，但这并不意味着当局就应忽视她们的困境。此外，她们往往受到同龄人的排斥。因此，许多怀孕的少女选择了堕胎。就是那些生下孩子的新妈妈们，她们大多也会选择辍学，鲜有人能够完成中学学业。

At any rate, it is of paramount⁷ importance that all students realize that all newborn babies are welcome.

无论如何，所有的学生都意识到，每个新生儿都应受到呵护——这才是最重要的。

1 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

5 ostracized   

v.放逐( ostracize的过去式和过去分词 )；流放；摈弃；排斥

参考例句：

• He was ostracized by his colleagues for refusing to support the strike. 他因拒绝支持罢工而受到同事的排斥。
• The family were ostracized by the neighborhood. 邻居们都不理睬那一家人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 abort   

v.使流产，堕胎；中止；中止(工作、计划等)

参考例句：

• The captain instructed them to abort the mission.上尉指示他们中止执行任务。
• With this button the user can abort the audio sequence.用户可以用该按钮终止音频序列。

7 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。