2016考研英语最新时文精读精析：走下坡路的男性

考研英语来源：经济学人 2015-07-14　

考研英语阅读重在平时练习，本文老师节选一篇2015年5月30日《经济学人》的文章，供大家练习。这篇文章是一篇很好的泛读题材，文章指出，当今的男性实则在“走下坡路”，属于the weaker sex弱势阶层。为何如此呢?原来男性看似是占社会的主导，但是其自身也是存在诸多问题与不足。

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，父权制似乎正如日中天。男性主宰了金融、技术、影视、体育、音乐，甚至单人脱口秀。在这个世界的大多数地方，他们仍然仅仅因为有一条Y染色体而享有社会的和法律的特权。因此，担心男性身处困境可能有点杞人忧天。然而，这种关注是有充分理由的。男性在社会顶层聚集的同时也在底层扎堆。他们被关进监狱，被自己的孩子疏远，或者是自杀的可能性都比女性更大。他们得到的大学学位少于女性。在发达国家中，男孩在数学、阅读以及科学这三门基础学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.

一类男性尤其受罪。在过去的50年中，发达国家中那些没受过多少教育的男性始终在应对劳动力市场和家庭的巨变方面存在困难。因为技术和贸易降低了靠力气谋生之人的价值，没受过多少教育的男性一直难以在工作场所中给自己找到一个定位。相反，得益于她们的高级技能，女性正在蜂拥进入保健看护和教育等日渐扩张的部门。随着教育变得越来越重要，男孩还在学校中落在了女生的后面(除了在学习最好的层面)。失去其制造业工作的男性经常是再也不去工作，而没有工作的男性发现自己难以吸引一个终生伴侣。

由此带来的后果就是：男性日渐萎缩的工作机会正在强化贫困，摧毁家庭。

Shrinking job opportunities for men, they say, are entrenching poverty and destroying families. 这就造成了工薪阶层家庭的解体。Hence the unravelling of working-class families.

那么，如何解决当下面临的危机呢?What can be done? 答案部分在于文化态度的转变。在过去一代人的时间中，中产阶层的男性已经懂得，他们需要在照顾孩子方面出一把力，而且已经改变了他们的行为。工薪阶层的男性需要赶上来。

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. 同时，政策制定者也需要伸出援手，Policymakers also need to lend a hand.

现在两性社会都已经趋于平等了，要实现自己的抱负也不是由性别决定的，男性也应该改变自身的不足来适应这个新世界。