新奇事件簿 芬兰新生儿父母可享7个月产假

Finland is giving new parents more time to spend with their babies. The Finnish government has decided¹ to give mothers and fathers seven months of parental² leave. This means Finland will almost double the amount of its maternity³ leave and paternity leave. The new Family Leave Policy will give 164 days to each parent. This is about seven months. Parents can also transfer up to 69 of their own days to their partner. This means it is possible for one parent to take nine months of parental leave. For single parents, Finland is giving all 328 days to the mother or father. Finland's current parental leave gives four months for maternity leave, and two months for fathers.

芬兰将给新生儿父母更多时间陪伴他们的孩子。芬兰政府已经决定给母亲和父亲7个月的产假。这意味着芬兰的产假和陪产假将增加近一倍。新的产假政策将给每位父母164天的假期，将近3个月。父母们也可以将自己69天的假体转给伴侣。这意味着父母中的一位可以享受9个月的产假。对于单身父母，芬兰会将所有328天的假期给母亲或父亲。芬兰目前的产假为四个月，父亲的是两个月。

Finland's government said the new rules were necessary to help young families. Finland's Minister of Social Affairs and Health explained why the country is introducing the new rules. She said: "The model guarantees the child a place at the centre of family benefits, and it promotes wellbeing and gender⁴ equality." It will also help to increase the country's declining⁵ birth rate. The number of babies born in Finland has dropped for the past nine years. Last year, Finland had the lowest number of babies born in the country since 1868. Finland's neighbour Sweden has the most generous leave policy, offering 240 days per parent. The USA has no national paid leave for mothers or fathers.

芬兰政府表示新规定对于帮助年轻家庭是必要的。芬兰社会事务和卫生部长解释了国家推行新规定的原因。她说到：“该模式保证了儿童在家庭福利的中心地位，并促进了福祉和性别平等。”这也将帮助提高国家不断下降的出生率。过去九年，芬兰的出生率下降。去年，芬兰的出生率是自1868年以来最低的。芬兰的邻国瑞典拥有最宽松的产假政策，为每位父母提供240天假期。美国没有全国性的带薪产假。

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 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

3 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。

4 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。

5 declining   

adj.下降的，衰落的

参考例句：

• The nub of the matter is that business is declining. 事情的实质是工商业在萎缩。
• It is encouraging to read that illiteracy is declining. 从读报中了解文盲情况正在好转，这是令人鼓舞的。