向前一步:第166期 让你的另一半成为你真正的人生搭档(24)

 A law professor, Mel often taught classes at night. 作为一个法律教授，梅尔晚上常常有课，

Since he wanted the family to have at least one meal together each day, 但他希望每天至少能和家里人一起吃一顿饭，

he decided¹ it would be breakfast and prepared the meal himself, complete with fresh-squeezed orange juice. 所以他决定每天在家吃早餐，并且自己动手为全家人准备早餐。

A more equal division of labor² between parents will model better behavior for the next generation. 父母之间平等的分工将为下一代起到更好的示范作用。

I have heard so many women say that they wished their partners helped more with child care, 我听很多的女性说过，她们很希望另一半能多照顾孩子，

but since it's only a few more years until their kids are off to school, it's not worth the battle to change the dynamic. 但由于孩子很快会长大，所以也不值得大费周折地改变现状。

In my opinion, it is always worth the battle to change an undesirable³ dynamic. 在我看来，为了改变非理想状态，无论何时都值得双方去努力。

I also worry that these women will face the same dynamic when it comes time to care for aging parents. 我也担心到了我们该照顾父母的时候，这类女性也会面临同样的问题。

Women provide more than twice as much care not only for their own parents, but for their in-laws as well. 在照顾自己父母和对方父母时，女性付出的劳动通常也是男性的两倍。

This is an additional burden that needs to be shared. 照顾父母的责任同样也需要分担。

And children need to see it being shared so that their generation will follow that example. 而且孩子们也需要看到父母的合作，这样他们以后就会效仿，变得更加孝顺。

In 2012, Gloria Steinem sat down in her home for an interview with Oprah Winfrey. 2012年，作家格洛丽亚·斯泰纳姆在家里接受奥普拉的采访。

Gloria reiterated⁴ that progress for women in the home has trailed progress in the workplace, explaining, 斯泰纳姆重申了女性在家里取得的进步促进了她们在职场中的进步，她解释说：

"Now we know that women can do what men can do, but we don't know that men can do what women can do." “现在我们知道男人能做的事，女人也能做；但我们还不知道女人能做的事，男人能不能做。”

I believe they can and we should give them more chances to prove it. 我相信男人也能做，而且我们应该给他们机会去证明这一点。

 

1 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。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

4 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。