新奇事件簿 女孩做家务时间比男孩多1.6亿小时

It will come as little surprise to many that girls spend 40 per cent more time performing unpaid¹ household chores than boys. That 40 per cent equates² to a whopping 160 million more hours of chores a day undertaken by girls. In some countries, this figure is considerably³ higher. A new report from the United Nations children's agency UNICEF highlights this disparity. UNICEF's Anju Malhotra stated, "Girls sacrifice important opportunities to learn, grow and just enjoy their childhood." She added: "This unequal distribution of labour among children also perpetuates⁴ gender⁵ stereotypes⁶ and the double burden on women and girls across generations."

对许多人来说这可能有点出人意料，女孩子比男孩子多花40%的时间来做没有报酬的家务。40%相当于女孩子一天比男孩子多做1.6亿个小时的家务。在某些国家，这个数字还要高的多。来自联合国儿童机构联合国儿童基金会(UNICEF)一份新的报告强调了这一差距。UNICEF工作人员Anju Malhotra表示：“女孩们牺牲了学习，成长和享受童年乐趣的机会。”她补充说：“孩子在家务方面不公平的贡献使性别固定模式和一代又一代女子肩上的双重责任持久存在。”

Much of the work done by girls is of a menial and physically⁷ demanding nature. Two-thirds of girls cook and clean in the home, while half collect firewood or water. They also spend a long time caring for children and elderly relatives. The country where girls work longest is Somalia. Here, girls aged⁸ between 10 and 14 years spend 26 hours a week on household chores. The report is being released to coincide with the UN's International Day of the Girl Child, which is on the 11th of October. UNICEF said: "Quantifying the challenges girls face is the first critical step towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality and breaking down barriers that confront the world's 1.1 billion girls."

女孩们做的大部分工作既低下，又需要体力。三分之二的女孩在家煮饭和清洁，一半的女孩捡柴或挑水。她们还要花很多时间照看孩子和年幼的弟妹。女孩子做家务时间最长的国家是索马里。在这里，10岁到14岁的女孩每周要花26个小时的时间做家务。这份报告的出炉与联合国国际女童日的到来一致。UNICEF表示：“确定女童面临的挑战的数量是达成可持续发展目标中性别平等的目标以及打破全世界11亿女童面临的障碍的关键的第一步。”

1 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

2 equates   

v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的第三人称单数 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• He equates success with material wealth. 他认为成功等同于物质财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This equates to increased and vigor, better sleep and sharper mental acuity. 也就是说可以起到增强活力，改善睡眠，提高心智的作用。 来自互联网

3 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

4 perpetuates   

n.使永存，使人记住不忘( perpetuate的名词复数 )；使永久化，使持久化，使持续

参考例句：

• Giving these events a lot of media coverage merely perpetuates the problem. 媒体大量地报道这些事件只会使问题持续下去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Lack of water perpetuates poverty, increases the risk of political instability, and affects global prosperity. 水资源短缺导致贫穷，使政局不稳，且影响全球的繁荣。 来自互联网

5 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

6 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

8 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。