Question

Should you stay at home to look after your child，or return to work?

Maybe you don’t have the option.Combining work and motherhood is an issue faced by increasing numbers of women every day.

New research for the Institute for Economic and Social Research could solve this quandary once and for all.In short，it concludes that going back to work after the birth of a child can have a negative impact on the child’s development—unless you have lots of money.

“Growing up in a family in which the mother chooses to work appears to have some adverse consequences for children’s welfare，” the research says.However，it adds that extra money brought in by both parents can reduce the negative effect.The negative effect is also less apparent in children of better?educated mothers.

The research by John Ermisch and Marco Francesconi is especially downbeat about welfare to work programmes，and especially，the prospects for the children of some single parents.

“It is hard to see anything but gloomy (陰暗的) prospects for the children of single parents (who are generally poor)，” the researchers said.This is because in a common family where both parents work，extra money brought in by the mother’s working would compensate for less time spent with the children.

In contrast，the researchers said the effects of paternal (父親的) employment were far more modest，but this did not mean that fathers had no role in shaping their children’s welfare.Money brought in by the father would be a major resource for helping children develop.

The research says，however，that before parents get too carried away by worrying about working，there are more important issues facing a child’s development.Parents’ personalities and emotional stability，parenting practices，and the friends and networks that children experience while growing up will be much bigger factors than whether their mothers work.

1.The extra money brought in by both parents________.

A．plays different roles in shaping a child’s welfare

B．can reduce the negative effect on a child

C．has negative effect on a child’s development

D．may damage the life of children

2.The researchers would agree that________.

A．mothers should keep a balance between work and family life

B．the more money mothers make，the worse their children will be

C．mothers should make as much money as they can

D．it would be better for mothers to be with children at home

3.We can conclude from the passage that________.

A．it doesn’t matter how? much money a father brings home

B．education is the only factor in shaping a child’s welfare

C．money made by mothers can also contribute to a child’s well?being

D．mothers’ income can have a deeper effect on a child’s development

4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Whether mothers work is not worth considering.

B．The research shows family stability is important.

C．Parents should stop worrying about working.

D．More important factors are involved in a child’s development.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.D

【解析】

1.

解析　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。文章第四段第二句說(shuō)明，父母都工作掙錢可以削減對(duì)孩子的負(fù)面影響。

2.2】　D

解析　推理判斷題。文章第三段最后說(shuō)明，母親在外工作可能會(huì)對(duì)孩子的發(fā)展產(chǎn)生消極的影響，因此研究者應(yīng)該贊成母親在家照顧孩子。

3.3】　C

解析　推理判斷題。由文章倒數(shù)第三段最后可知，母親掙的錢也可以彌補(bǔ)因?yàn)楦�孩子待在一起的時(shí)間少而造成的缺憾。

4.4】　D

解析　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。文章最后一段說(shuō)明，有很多其他更重要的因素影響著孩子的成長(zhǎng)，母親是否工作不是最重要的因素。