向前一步:第187期 全能女人是个神话(20)

 If there is a new normal for the workplace, there is a new normal for the home too. 如果说这个时代的工作形成了一种新的常态，那么家庭也一样。

Just as expectations for how many hours people will work have risen dramatically, 正如人们预期工作时间在大幅增长一样，

so have expectations for how many hours mothers will spend focused on their children. 人们预期母亲在孩子身上投入的时间也在增加。

In 1975, stay-at-home mothers spent an average of about eleven hours per week on primary child care 1975年，全职母亲平均每周花11个小时在家照顾孩子

(defined as routine caregiving and activities that foster a child's well-being¹, such as reading and fully² focused play). （包括日常照料以及培养孩子能力的各种活动，比如阅读和专注力游戏等），

Mothers employed outside the home in 1975 spent six hours doing these activities. 在外工作的母亲在这方面花费的时间是6个小时；

Today, stay-at-home mothers spend about seventeen hours per week on primary child care, on average, 今天，全职母亲平均每周在同样的事情上要花17个小时，

while mothers who work outside the home spend about eleven hours. 而上班族母亲则要花11个小时左右。

This means that an employed mother today spends about the same amount of time on primary child care activities as a nonemployed mother did in 1975. 这就意味着今天的上班族母亲在孩子身上投入的时间和1975年的全职母亲一样多。

My memory of being a kid is that my mother was available but rarely hovering³ or directing my activities. 我记得当自己还是个孩子时，母亲总在身边，但她不会总是围着我转，

My siblings⁴ and I did not have organized playdates. 我和弟弟妹妹也没有密密麻麻的活动时间表。

We rode our bikes around the neighborhood without adult supervision⁵. 我们三人每天都会骑着自行车四处乱转，没有成年人在旁边看护。

Our parents might have checked on our homework once in a while, but they rarely sat with us while we completed it. 我们的父母有时候会看看我们的作业，但很少会在我们做作业时守在旁边。

Today, a "good mother" is always around and always devoted⁶ to the needs of her children. 今天，一个“好妈妈”总是围绕在孩子身边，对孩子关怀得无微不至。

 

1 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

4 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

5 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

6 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。