双语：英国女性依然是家务的主心骨

 　Women have fought hard for equality but a staggering 82 per cent still do the housework in their home, according to a revealing new study into Britain's cleaning habits。

　　Just eight per cent of husbands and boyfriends pull their weight when it comes to household chores, figures show。

　　More than a third of young adults aged¹ under 24 admit they rely on their parents to clean up after them, while two per cent of Brits pay a professional cleaner。

　　Although men do much less round the home it would seem they are hard task masters with a third insisting 'I like my house to be clean at all times'。

　　The fact 15 per cent of men describe cleaning as 'too much hard work' provides some insight into why they pass the buck² when it comes to housework。

　　And women feel that, even in this day and age, the cleanliness of their home reflects on them with half saying they get embarrassed when it isn't clean and refuse to accept visitors。

　　At one end of the spectrum³, one in eight Brits don't allow people to wear shoes in their home, while one in ten admit they simply don't care if others think their house is dirty。

　　The Cleaner Living study by domestic appliance manufacturer Miele revealed a host of cleaning errors we make and ways in which we try to hide the dirt away。

　　Twenty seven percent of us have turned over a cushion to hide a stain, twelve per cent have covered a stained carpet with a piece of furniture and five per cent have swept dirt under a rug。

　　Four in ten admit they have simply swept dirt from a kitchen surface or table onto the floor, while a quarter have used a dish cloth to mop up a spillage on the floor and just put it back。

　　A mucky four per cent have even used a dish cloth to clean pet bowls and then continued to use it for washing up。

　　Relationship expert Phillip Hodson, spokesman for the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, said many men still regard traditional housework as 'women's work'。

　　He said: 'Many men see putting oil in the car or changing a light bulb as doing their bit around the house but still see cooking and cleaning as women's work。

   

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

3 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。