2016考研英語最新時文精讀精析：走下坡路的男性

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考研英語閱讀重在平時練習(xí)，本文老師節(jié)選一篇2015年5月30日《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人》的文章，供大家練習(xí)。這篇文章是一篇很好的泛讀題材，文章指出，當(dāng)今的男性實則在“走下坡路”，屬于the weaker sex弱勢階層。為何如此呢?原來男性看似是占社會的主導(dǎo)，但是其自身也是存在諸多問題與不足。

At first glance the patriarchy appears to be thriving. Men dominate finance, technology, films, sports, music and even stand-up comedy. In much of the world they still enjoy social and legal privileges simply because they have a Y chromosome. So it might seem odd to worry about the plight of men.Yet there is plenty of cause for concern. Men cluster at the bottom as well as the top. They are far more likely than women to be jailed, estranged from their children, or to kill themselves. They earn fewer university degrees than women. Boys in the developed world are 50% more likely to flunk basic maths, reading and science entirely.

乍一看，父權(quán)制似乎正如日中天。男性主宰了金融、技術(shù)、影視、體育、音樂，甚至單人脫口秀。在這個世界的大多數(shù)地方，他們?nèi)匀粌H僅因為有一條Y染色體而享有社會的和法律的特權(quán)。因此，擔(dān)心男性身處困境可能有點(diǎn)杞人憂天。然而，這種關(guān)注是有充分理由的。男性在社會頂層聚集的同時也在底層扎堆。他們被關(guān)進(jìn)監(jiān)獄，被自己的孩子疏遠(yuǎn)，或者是自殺的可能性都比女性更大。他們得到的大學(xué)學(xué)位少于女性。在發(fā)達(dá)國家中，男孩在數(shù)學(xué)、閱讀以及科學(xué)這三門基礎(chǔ)學(xué)科上全不及格的可能性比女生高出50%。

One group in particular is suffering. Poorly educated men in rich countries have had difficulty coping with the enormous changes in the labour market and the home over the past half-century. As technology and trade have devalued brawn, less-educated men have struggled to find a role in the workplace. Women, on the other hand, are surging into expanding sectors such as health care and education, helped by their superior skills. As education has become more important, boys have also fallen behind girls in school (except at the very top). Men who lose jobs in manufacturing often never work again. And men without work find it hard to attract a permanent mate.

一類男性尤其受罪。在過去的50年中，發(fā)達(dá)國家中那些沒受過多少教育的男性始終在應(yīng)對勞動力市場和家庭的巨變方面存在困難。因為技術(shù)和貿(mào)易降低了靠力氣謀生之人的價值，沒受過多少教育的男性一直難以在工作場所中給自己找到一個定位。相反，得益于她們的高級技能，女性正在蜂擁進(jìn)入保健看護(hù)和教育等日漸擴(kuò)張的部門。隨著教育變得越來越重要，男孩還在學(xué)校中落在了女生的后面(除了在學(xué)習(xí)最好的層面)。失去其制造業(yè)工作的男性經(jīng)常是再也不去工作，而沒有工作的男性發(fā)現(xiàn)自己難以吸引一個終生伴侶。

由此帶來的后果就是：男性日漸萎縮的工作機(jī)會正在強(qiáng)化貧困，摧毀家庭。

Shrinking job opportunities for men, they say, are entrenching poverty and destroying families. 這就造成了工薪階層家庭的解體。Hence the unravelling of working-class families.

那么，如何解決當(dāng)下面臨的危機(jī)呢?What can be done? 答案部分在于文化態(tài)度的轉(zhuǎn)變。在過去一代人的時間中，中產(chǎn)階層的男性已經(jīng)懂得，他們需要在照顧孩子方面出一把力，而且已經(jīng)改變了他們的行為。工薪階層的男性需要趕上來。

Part of the solution lies in a change in cultural attitudes. Over the past generation, middle-class men have learned that they need to help with child care, and have changed their behaviour. Working-class men need to catch up. 同時，政策制定者也需要伸出援手，Policymakers also need to lend a hand.

現(xiàn)在兩性社會都已經(jīng)趨于平等了，要實現(xiàn)自己的抱負(fù)也不是由性別決定的，男性也應(yīng)該改變自身的不足來適應(yīng)這個新世界。