Question

Across Britain, burnt toast will be served to mothers in bed this morning as older sons and daughters rush to deliver their supermarket bunches of flowers. But, according to a new study, we should be placing a higher value on motherhood all year.

Mothers have long known that their home workload was just as heavy as paid work. Now, the new study has shown that if they were paid for their parental labours, they would earn as much as £172,000 a year.

The study looked at the range of jobs mothers do, as well as the hours they are working, to determine the figure. This would make their yearly income £30,000 more than the Prime Minister earns.

By analyzing the numbers, it found the average mother works 119 hours a week, 40 of which would usually be paid at a standard rate 79 hours as overtime. After questioning 1,000 mothers with children under 18, it found that, on most days, mums started their routine work at 7 am and finished at around 11 pm.

To calculate just how much mothers would earn from that labour, it suggested some of the roles that mums could take on, including housekeeper, part-time lawyer, personal trainer and entertainer. Being a part-time lawyer, at £48,98 an hour, would prove to be the most profitable of the “mum jobs”, with psychologist(心理学家) a close second.

It also asked mothers about the challenges they face, with 80 per cent making emotional(情感的) demand as the hardest thing about motherhood.

Over a third of mums felt they needed more training and around half said they missed going out with friends.

The study shows mothers matter all year long and not just on Mother’s Day. The emotional, physical and mental energy mothers devote to their children can be never-ending, but children are also sources of great joy and happiness. Investing(投入) in time for parenting and raising relationships is money well spent.

1.How much would a mother earn a year if working as the Prime Minister?

A. £30,000.         B. £142,000.

C. £172,000.        C. £202,000.

2.The biggest challenge for most mothers is from        .

A. emotional demand

B. low pay for work

C. heavy workload

D. lack of training

3.What is stressed in the last paragraph?

A. mothers’ importance shows in family all year long.

B. The sacrifices mothers make are huge but worthwhile.

C. Mothers’ devotion to children can hardly be calculated.

D. Investing time in parenting would bring a financial return.

4.What can we conclude from the study?

A. Mothers’ working hours should be largely reduced.

B. Mothers should balance their time for work and rest.

C. Mothers’ labour is of a higher value than it is realized.

D. Mothers should be freed from housework for social life.

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.B

4.C

【解析】

1.1】第二段提到如果她们的劳动被支付报酬可以每年获得172，000，第三段说这要比当首相的多30，000，由此可知首相的年薪是172，000—30，000=142，000。

2.2】根据倒数第三段的内容可知，80%的母亲认为她们面对的最大的挑战是情感需要方面的。

3.3】最后一段主要讨论了母亲对孩子在情感体力精神等方面的付出可能是永无休止的，但是她们这方面的投入也是很值的。A项错在importance一词上，即本段并没有讨论母亲在家中的重要性问题。

4.4】全文用了很多的数字来论述做母亲的重要性。比如如果将母亲所做的量化成工薪，她一年所赚的甚至超过首相的年薪。这一切无不表明母亲工作的重要性远比人们所能意识到的要高得多。