英语听力精选进阶版 6140

A New Survey Examines Parenting Roles 一项对父母职责的调查

Can it be true that Australian men spend more time during the week brushing their teeth than they do alone with their children?

A new study from the University of New South Wales has discovered that during the working week, Aussie fathers only spend an average of just over a minute each day alone with their children.

Australian mothers, on the other hand, spend three hours a week purely¹ looking after their children – a much greater disparity than in other countries like America, Denmark, Italy and France, where couples divide the child-care more evenly.

These findings will infuriate those who want to shake off the perhaps unfair image of Australia as a land of old-fashioned male chauvinism.

According to the author of the study, Australian fathers appear to like the fun aspects of parenthood, but shy away from the drudgery². So while they tend to be happy taking the kids to the park or to sports events, they are unlikely to participate regularly in feeding, bathing, or taking the kids to school.

In short, Australian parenting is seen as a woman's job and a man's hobby.

Many people believe that the last twenty years have seen the arrival of the so-called ‘new man’ – the man who is willing to share the housework and child-care and is not afraid to demonstrate his sensitive side either.

The new man has a picture of his children on his computer desktop³ at work; he never misses the kids’ school plays and he passes on a drink after work so that he can get home in time to read their bedtime story.

This new study suggests that the new man feels a little more at home in Europe than in Australia.

Indeed, a poll⁴ conducted in the UK for the think-tank the Fatherhood Institute in January indicated that almost 70% of British women thought that men were as good at raising children as women.

That’s something for Aussie men to ponder⁵ while they brush their teeth!

GLOSSARY 词汇表

working week 上班时间(周一到周五)

Aussie （俚语）澳大利亚人

disparity 不同，不等

child-care 儿童保育

findings 调查结果

infuriate 触怒

shake off 试图摆脱

male chauvinism 大男子主义

aspects 方面

parenthood 父母身份

shy away 避免接触

drudgery 单调沉闷的工作

in short 总的来说

so-called 所谓的

sensitive side 敏感的一面

computer desktop 电脑桌面

passes 避开， 回绝

poll 民意调查

think-tank 智囊团

ponder 仔细考虑

1 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

2 drudgery   

n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作

参考例句：

• People want to get away from the drudgery of their everyday lives.人们想摆脱日常生活中单调乏味的工作。
• He spent his life in pointlessly tiresome drudgery.他的一生都在做毫无意义的烦人的苦差事。

3 desktop   

n.桌面管理系统程序；台式

参考例句：

• My computer is a desktop computer of excellent quality.我的计算机是品质卓越的台式计算机。
• Do you know which one is better,a laptop or a desktop?你知道哪一种更好，笔记本还是台式机？

4 poll   

n.民意测验，民意调查，选举投票

参考例句：

• The result of the poll won't be known until midnight.选举结果要到午夜才能揭晓。
• They expected a heavy poll.他们期望会有很高的投票数。

5 ponder   

vt.考虑；vi.沉思

参考例句：

• You should pause and ponder now.你现在应该停下来仔细考虑一下。
• He sits to ponder his misfortune there.他坐在那里沉思着他的不幸。