英语PK台 第79期:英语新闻轻读汇--奶爸幸福带薪休产假

 Should men get paternity leave?

别人家的奶爸：幸福带薪休产假

Editor's note: Women get maternity¹ leave after giving birth, so should their husbands also get time off to take care of their newborns? Should paternity and maternity leave are offered at the same time? In China, men can get paid paternity leave from 3 to 30 days according to different places. The first couple of weeks are pretty exhausting for both parents, and even more stressful if the father has to work.

Amy (Sweden): Yes, absolutely! It is great for fathers to be able to bond with their children by staying at home for a while, and also realize what it is like to take care of children all day. In my native Sweden, both parents receive 480 days' leave – including around 80% of their salary – for each child, with 60 days reserved for each parent and the remaining 360 shared as the couple choose. Jon (Finland): In Finland, we get 18 days of paid paternal² leave, and in addition get to split³ 158 days more between parents (all at about 70% of salary, with all the associated job protection for returning to work etc.).

Vocabulary:

Paternity, maternity, to bond with

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 paternal   

adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的

参考例句：

• I was brought up by my paternal aunt.我是姑姑扶养大的。
• My father wrote me a letter full of his paternal love for me.我父亲给我写了一封充满父爱的信。

3 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。