Passage Two
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
The endless debate about “work-life balance” often contains a hopeful footnote about stay-at-home dads. If American society and business won’t make it easier on future female leaders who choose to have children, there is still the ray of hope that increasing numbers of full-time fathers will. But based on today’s socioeconomic trends, this hope is, unfortunately, misguided.
It’s true that the number of men who have left work to do their thing as full-time parents has doubled in a decade, but it’s still very small: only 0. 8% of married couples where the stay-at-home father was out of the labor force for a year. Even that percentage is likely inflated by men thrust into their caretaker role by a downsizing. This is simply not a large enough group to reduce the social stigma (污名) and force other adjustments necessary to supporting men in this decision, even if only for a relatively short time.
Even shorter times away from work for working fathers are already difficult. A study found that 85% of new fathers take some time off after the birth of a child—but for all but a few, it’s a week or two at most. Meanwhile, the average for women who take leave is more than 10 weeks.
Such choices impact who moves up in the organization. While you’re away, someone else is doing your work, making your sales, taking care of your customers. That can’t help you at work. It can only hurt you. Women, of course, face the same issues of returning after a long absence. But with many more women than men choosing to leave the workforce entirely to raise families, returning from an extended parental leave doesn’t raise as many eyebrows as it does for men.
Women would make more if they didn’t break their earning trajectory ( 轨迹) by leaving the workforce, or if higher-paying professions were more family-friendly. In the foreseeable future, stay-at-home fathers may make all the difference for individual families, but their presence won’t reduce the numbers of high-potential women who are forced to choose between family and career.
36. What gives women a ray of hope to achieve work-life balance?
A) More men taking an extended parental leave.
B) Peopled changing attitudes towards family.
C) More women entering business management.
D) The improvement of their socioeconomic status.
37. Why does the author say the hope for more full-time fathers is misguided?
A) Women are better at taking care of children.
B) Many men value work more than their family.
C) Their number is too small to make a difference.
D) Not many men have the chance to stay at home.
38. Why do few men take a long parental leave?
A) A long leave will have a negative impact on their career.
B) They just have too many responsibilities to fulfill at work.
C) The economic loss will be too much for their family to bear.
D) They are likely to get fired if absent from work for too long.
39. What is the most likely reaction to men returning from an extended parental leave?
A) Jealousy. B) Surprise. C) Admiration. D) Sympathy.
40. What does the author say about high-potential women in the not-too-distant future?
A) They will benefit from the trend of more fathers staying at home.
B) They will find high-paying professions a bit more family-friendly.
C) They are unlikely to break their career trajectory to raise a family.
D) They will still face the difficult choice between career and children.
答案解析：
36. A 根据原文第一段 "If American society and business won’t make it easier on future female leaders who choose to have children, there is still the ray of hope that increasing numbers of full-time fathers will." 可知，如果社会和公司不能为女性领导者提供便利，那么人们尚存一丝希望，那就是越来越多的全职父亲将会(让情况变得更容易)。这里的“让情况变得更容易”指的就是男性更多地承担育儿责任，比如休育儿假。因此，是“更多的男性休长期育儿假”给了女性一线希望。
37. C 根据原文第二段 "This is simply not a large enough group to reduce the social stigma (污名) and force other adjustments necessary to supporting men in this decision..." 可知，作者明确指出，全职父亲这个群体“simply not a large enough group”( simply simply not a large enough group)，规模太小，以至于无法消除社会污名或推动必要的变革来支持他们的决定。因此，作者认为这个希望是“misguided”(误导的)，因为他们的数量太少，无法产生实质性的影响。
38. A 根据原文第四段 "Such choices impact who moves up in the organization... That can’t help you at work. It can only hurt you." 可知，作者指出，离开工作岗位去休假会影响在组织中的晋升，因为在你离开期间，别人在做你的工作、创造业绩。这只会对你的职业发展有害。因此，很少有人愿意休长期育儿假，是因为他们担心这会对自己的职业生涯产生负面影响。
39. B 根据原文第四段 "But with many more women than men choosing to leave the workforce entirely to raise families, returning from an extended parental leave doesn’t raise as many eyebrows as it does for men." 可知，作者将男女休长期育儿假后的情况进行了对比。对于女性来说，这种情况比较普遍，不会引起太多注意(doesn't raise as many eyebrows);而对于男性来说，则会引起更多的注意，即“raise as many eyebrows”。这个习语的意思是“让人感到惊讶或好奇”。因此，男性休长期育儿假后回归职场，最可能的反应是“惊讶”。
40. D 根据原文最后一段 "In the foreseeable future, stay-at-home fathers may make all the difference for individual families, but their presence won’t reduce the numbers of high-potential women who are forced to choose between family and career." 可知，作者明确指出，在可预见的未来，全职父亲的存在不会减少那些“被迫在家庭和事业之间做出选择”的高潜力女性的数量。因此，作者认为，在不久的将来，这些有潜力的女性仍然会面临事业与家庭之间的艰难抉择。
