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🤔️小作业：

1. What is the main purpose of the paragraph beginning with “The costs of working motherhood range from financial ones…”?

A. To introduce a new topic unrelated to previous sections

B. To offer statistical comparisons between mothers and fathers

C. To provide concrete examples that support a broader argument

D. To criticize the policy on child care

无注释原文：

Working Women Often Underestimate Motherhood Costs

From: The Wall Street Journal

New research suggests that women frequently underestimate the time, money and effort it takes to raise children and have a career at the same time, leading many to invest in their skills and then reluctantly leave the workforce when the true costs of being a working mother become apparent.

Some women in their prime childbearing years might have “misplaced optimism” about their employment prospects after having children, said Jessica Pan, an economist at the National University of Singapore and one of the authors of “The Mommy Effect: Do Women Anticipate the Employment Effects of Motherhood.”

Since around 1990, they found about 2% of 18-year-old women who participate in a University of Michigan survey of young Americans' attitudes and values said they expect to be stay-at-home mothers at the age of 30. Yet 15% to 18% of American women become homemakers by age 30, suggesting that many expected to combine work and motherhood and then reversed course.

Women's likelihood of working shortly after having a child in the U.S. declines by anywhere from 28 to 40 percentage points, and by roughly 38 percentage points in the U.K., and barely recovers over the next five to 10 years relative to similar women without children, the economists found after examining government surveys. In the U.K., less than half of those departures were predicted by women a year earlier.

Women are awarded 57% of all bachelor's degrees and a majority of master's and doctorate degrees in America, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Even though they work at higher rates than those without college educations, labor-force participation for women with undergraduate and graduate degrees has declined since 2000, according to a report from The Brookings Institution.

The “Mommy Effect” researchers offer a provocative explanation: The true costs of motherhood are tough to anticipate. When asked in a U.S. government survey, 60% of women with bachelor's degrees and children under the age of 6 agreed with the statement that “being a parent is harder than I thought it would be.” Fewer than 40% of men with college degrees agreed.

The costs of working motherhood range from financial ones such as child-care expenses—which rose by more than half in inflation-adjusted dollars between 1985 and 2011, according to census data—to less quantifiable ones, such as the pressure some women feel to breast-feed even when that requires the time-consuming act of pumping milk at work. 

The authors cite an earlier paper from researchers at the University of California, San Diego, that found in the early 1990s mothers between the ages of 25 and 34 of all education levels spent between 11 and 13 hours a week on child-care activities. By the early 2000s, college-educated women reported spending almost double the time—between 20 and 22 hours—on child care, while noncollege graduates had increased their share to around 16 hours.

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注：完整题目见本文开头；文章为节选；中文文本为华尔街日报官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Working Women Often Underestimate Motherhood Costs

From: The Wall Street Journal

New research suggests that women frequently underestimate the time, money and effort it takes to raise children and have a career at the same time, leading many to invest in their skills and then reluctantly leave the workforce when the true costs of being a working mother become apparent.

新研究表明，女性常常低估一边上班一边养育孩子所要付出的时间、财力和精力。很多女性投入了高昂的成本来提升自己的工作技能，因而在做一个职场妈妈的真正代价显露出来后，不甘辞职回家。

underestimate /ˌʌn.dəˈres.tɪ.meɪt/ 表示“低估；（对…）估计不足”，英文解释为“to fail to guess or understand the real cost, size, difficulty, etc. of something”举个🌰：Don't underestimate the difficulties of getting both parties to the conference table. 要让双方坐下来谈判，难度不可小觑。

Some women in their prime childbearing years might have “misplaced optimism” about their employment prospects after having children, said Jessica Pan, an economist at the National University of Singapore and one of the authors of “The Mommy Effect: Do Women Anticipate the Employment Effects of Motherhood.” 

新加坡国立大学的经济学家Jessica Pan说，一些处于生育黄金年龄的女性可能会对生孩子后的职场前景“盲目乐观”。她是论文《妈咪效应：女性是否预料到了育儿对职场的影响》(The Mommy Effect: Do Women Anticipate the Employment Effects of Motherhood)的作者之一。

prime /praɪm/ 1）表示“首要的，主要的；基本的”，英文解释为“main or most important”举个🌰：This is a prime example of 1930s architecture. 这是20世纪30年代建筑风格的一个重要的范例。

2）表示“质量最好的，一流的”，英文解释为“of the best quality”举个🌰：The hotel is in a prime location in the city centre. 该旅馆位于市中心的黄金地段。

作为动词，prime通常指为某个过程或活动做准备。 prime /praɪm/ 表示“事先给（某人）提供情况，使有所准备”，英文解释为“to tell someone something that will prepare them for a particular situation”举个🌰：I'd been primed so I knew not to mention her son. 因为事先得到提醒，所以我知道不要提及她的儿子。

prime the pump表示“投资以振兴（新的或不景气的企业或行业）”，英文解释为“to encourage the growth of a new or weak business or industry by putting money into it”

misplaced /ˌmɪsˈpleɪst/ 表示“被错误寄托的；错放的”，英文解释为“directed towards someone or something wrongly or in a way that does not show good judgment”如：misplaced loyalty/trust 无谓的忠诚/被辜负的信任，举个🌰：I'm sorry, but your confidence in my abilities is misplaced. 对不起，但是你高估了我的能力。

optimism /ˈɒp.tɪ.mɪ.zəm/ 表示“乐观；乐观主义”，英文解释为“the quality of being full of hope and emphasizing the good parts of a situation, or a belief that something good will happen”举个🌰：There was a note of optimism in his voice as he spoke about the company's future. 谈到公司的未来，他语气里带着乐观情绪。

prospect /ˈprɒs.pekt/ 1）表示“（发生好事情的）可能，可能性，机会”，英文解释为“the possibility that something good might happen in the future”举个🌰：Is there any prospect of the weather improving? 天气有可能好转吗？

2）表示“前景；展望；设想”，英文解释为“the possibility of being successful, especially at work”举个🌰：She's hoping the course will improve her career prospects. 她希望这门课能改善自己的职业前景。

Since around 1990, they found about 2% of 18-year-old women who participate in a University of Michigan survey of young Americans' attitudes and values said they expect to be stay-at-home mothers at the age of 30. Yet 15% to 18% of American women become homemakers by age 30, suggesting that many expected to combine work and motherhood and then reversed course.

论文作者发现，差不多自1990年以来，参加密歇根大学组织的美国年轻人态度和价值观调查的18岁女性中只有约2％称，希望在30岁时当全职妈妈。而实际上，15％到18％的美国女性在30岁时都成了家庭主妇。这说明许多女性本来以为工作和养娃可以兼顾，后来发现并不可行。

homemaker /ˈhəʊmˌmeɪ.kər/ 表示“家庭主妇；操持家务者”，英文解释为“a person who manages a home and often raises children instead of earning money from a job”

Women's likelihood of working shortly after having a child in the U.S. declines by anywhere from 28 to 40 percentage points, and by roughly 38 percentage points in the U.K., and barely recovers over the next five to 10 years relative to similar women without children, the economists found after examining government surveys. In the U.K., less than half of those departures were predicted by women a year earlier.

上述经济学家在阅览政府调查结果后发现，与没有孩子但其他条件类似的女性相比，美国母亲生产后短期内就业的可能性要低28%-40%，英国母亲生产后短期内就业的可能性低38%左右，而且在此后的五到10年内，这一差距也难以缩小。在英国，因育儿辞职的职场女性中只有一半在一年前预料到了自己的这一决定。

departure /dɪˈpɑː.tʃər/ 1）表示“（人、交通工具等）离开；启程，出发”，英文解释为“the fact of a person or vehicle, etc. leaving somewhere”如：departure time 出发时间，举个🌰：Our departure was delayed because of bad weather. 由于天气不好，我们的出发时间推迟了。

2）表示“偏离，背离，脱离”，英文解释为“a change from what is expected, or from what has happened before”举个🌰：There can be no departure from the rules. 不得违反规则。

3）表示“离职，辞职”，英文解释为“the act of leaving a job”举个🌰：Everyone in the office was surprised by his sudden departure. 他的突然离职让办公室里的每个人都感到非常意外。

Women are awarded 57% of all bachelor's degrees and a majority of master's and doctorate degrees in America, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Even though they work at higher rates than those without college educations, labor-force participation for women with undergraduate and graduate degrees has declined since 2000, according to a report from The Brookings Institution.

美国教育部的数据显示，该国57％的学士学位以及半数以上的硕士和博士学位都授予了女性。据布鲁金斯学会(The Brookings Institution)的一份报告称，尽管就劳动力参与率而言，有本科和研究生学位的女性比没有受过高等教育的女性要高，但前者的参与率自2000年以来已有所下降。

bachelor /ˈbætʃ.əl.ər/ 表示“独身男子，单身汉”，英文解释为“a man who has never married”

bachelor's degree /ˌbætʃ.əl.əz dɪˈɡriː/ 表示“学士学位”，英文解释为“a first degree at college or university”

📍词根“bachelor”源自中世纪拉丁语“baccalarius”，最初指小农场的主人。后来指未婚男士，也用于指学士学位。

master's degree /ˌmɑː.stəz dɪˈɡriː/ 表示“硕士学位”，英文解释为“an advanced college or university degree”举个🌰：An MA and an MSc are both Master's degrees. MA（文科硕士学位）和 MSc（理科硕士学位）都是硕士学位。

doctorate /ˈdɒk.tər.ət/ = doctor's degree 表示“博士学位”，英文解释为“the highest degree from a university”

The “Mommy Effect” researchers offer a provocative explanation: The true costs of motherhood are tough to anticipate. When asked in a U.S. government survey, 60% of women with bachelor's degrees and children under the age of 6 agreed with the statement that “being a parent is harder than I thought it would be.” Fewer than 40% of men with college degrees agreed.

对此，《妈咪效应》论文的研究人员提出了一个颇具争议的解释：做母亲的真正成本很难预料。根据美国政府的一项调查，在同时有学士学位和六岁以下孩子的女性中，有60%认同“当父母比我想象的难”的说法。相比之下，只有不到40％的有大学学位和六岁以下孩子的男性同意该说法。

1）表示“（通常指故意地）使人生气的，挑衅的，煽动的”，英文解释为“If you describe something as provocative, you mean that it is intended to make people react angrily or argue against it.”举个🌰：He has made a string of outspoken and sometimes provocative speeches in recent years.  他最近几年做了一系列直言不讳的、有时带有挑衅的演说。

2）表示“引发思考的，启发性的”，英文解释为“causing thought about interesting subjects”举个🌰：The programme will take a detailed and provocative look at the problem of homelessness. 这个节目将以启发性的眼光详细审视无家可归这个问题。

3）表示“（行为或衣服）挑逗性的”，英文解释为“If behaviour or clothing is provocative, it is intended to cause sexual desire.”

The costs of working motherhood range from financial ones such as child-care expenses—which rose by more than half in inflation-adjusted dollars between 1985 and 2011, according to census data—to less quantifiable ones, such as the pressure some women feel to breast-feed even when that requires the time-consuming act of pumping milk at work. 

职场妈妈面对的成本不仅包括小孩托管等各种有形的费用支出（人口普查数据显示，扣除通胀因素后，幼儿托管开销在1985年至2011年期间增加了一半以上），还包括一些难以量化的无形成本，譬如有些女性背负的母乳喂养压力，这意味着要在上班时耗费相当多的时间泵奶。

inflation /ɪnˈfleɪ.ʃən/ 表示“通货膨胀”，英文解释为“a general, continuous increase in prices”如：high/low inflation 高/低通货膨胀。

📍这个词来自拉丁语“inflatio”，意味着“膨胀”。在经济学中，表示货币供应增加导致的商品和服务价格普遍上升。联想宫殿：在宫殿的一个房间，你看到一个图表显示价格上升，旁边是政府提高利率的决策，以控制“通货膨胀”。近义词：price rise（价格上升），同根词：inflate（膨胀），常用短语：combat inflation（抗击通货膨胀）

census /ˈsensəs/ 表示“人口普查；（官方的）调查，统计”，英文解释为“A census is an official survey of the population of a country that is carried out in order to find out how many people live there and to obtain details of such things as people's ages and jobs.”举个🌰：The detailed assessment of the latest census will be ready in three months. 有关最新人口普查的详细评估工作将在3个月内就绪。

quantifiable /ˈkwɒn.tɪ.faɪ.ə.bəl/ 表示“可测量的”，英文解释为“able to be measured”举个🌰：The benefits are not easily quantifiable. 好处不易量化。

The authors cite an earlier paper from researchers at the University of California, San Diego, that found in the early 1990s mothers between the ages of 25 and 34 of all education levels spent between 11 and 13 hours a week on child-care activities. By the early 2000s, college-educated women reported spending almost double the time—between 20 and 22 hours—on child care, while noncollege graduates had increased their share to around 16 hours.

《妈咪效应》的作者提到了加州大学圣地亚哥分校研究人员的一篇早期论文。论文发现在上世纪90年代初，25至34岁的母亲无论受教育水平如何，每周花在照料孩子上的时间为11至13小时。而到本世纪初，受过大学教育的女性称，她们花在照料孩子上的时间几乎翻倍，达到20至22小时；没受过大学教育的女性照料孩子的时间增至16小时左右。

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