向前一步:第169期 全能女人是个神话(2)

 Think of Icarus, who soared¹ to great heights with his man-made wings. 想想伊卡洛斯的故事，他戴着人造的翅膀飞上高空。

His father warned him not to fly too near the sun, but Icarus ignored the advice. 父亲警告过他不要飞得离太阳过近，但伊卡洛斯没有听从这个建议，

He soared even higher, his wings melted, and he crashed to earth. 甚至飞得越来越高。当他的翅膀渐渐融化，他又重重地跌落地面。

Pursuing both a professional and personal life is a noble and attainable² goal, up to a point. 一个人同时追求职业和个人生活上的成就，从某种意义上讲，这当然值得尊敬。

Women should learn from Icarus to aim for the sky, but keep in mind that we all have real limits. 女性应该学习伊卡洛斯为自己设定高目标，但要记住，现实是存在局限性的。

Instead of pondering³ the question "Can we have it all?," we should be asking the more practical question "Can we do it all?" 不要去想“我们是否能拥有一切”，而应该问更实际的问题：“我们能做到一切吗？”

And again, the answer is no. 答案显然是不能。

Each of us makes choices constantly between work and family, exercising and relaxing, making time for others and taking time for ourselves. 每个人总是在不断做出选择，比如：事业和家庭，运动与放松，与别人相处的时间以及给自己独处的时间。

Being a parent means making adjustments, compromises, and sacrifices every day. 为人父母就意味着每天都要在时间上做出调整、妥协和牺牲。

For most people, sacrifices and hardships are not a choice, but a necessity. 对大多数人来说，这样的牺牲和辛劳并不是一种选择，而是必须做的事情。

About 65 percent of married-couple families with children in the United States have two parents in the workforce⁴, 在美国，65%有孩子的家庭中，父母双方都在外工作，

with almost all relying on both incomes to support their household. 因为养家糊口基本上要依赖两人共同的收入，

Being a single working parent can be even more difficult. 让一个人来挣钱养家比从前困难得多。

About 30 percent of families with children are led by a single parent, with 85 percent of those led by a woman. 美国有孩子的家庭中，30%都是单亲家庭，而这其中有85%的单亲家庭由女性独自承担养家的责任。

 

1 soared   

v.高飞( soar的过去式和过去分词 )；猛增；（音乐）升高；高耸

参考例句：

• The bird soared high, with outspread wings. 鸟儿展翅高飞。
• The rocket soared skywards. 火箭呼啸着朝天上飞去。

2 attainable   

a.可达到的，可获得的

参考例句：

• They set the limits of performance attainable. 它们确定着可达到的运行限度。
• If objectives are to be meaningful to people, they must be clear, attainable, actionable, and verifiable. 如果目标对人们是具有意义的，则目标必须是清晰的，能达到的，可以行动的，以及可供检验的。

3 pondering   

考虑( ponder的现在分词 )； 深思熟虑； 沉思； 琢磨

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem. 年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The young couple are pondering moving their house. 这对年轻夫妇正在考虑把自己的家搬走。

4 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。