2016考研英语最新时文阅读：美国产假制度

考研英语来源：文都教育 2015-11-30　

今天我们为考研学子推介的2016考研英语阅读文章是关于美国产假制度的话题。美国是目前发达国家中唯一没有实施法定带薪产假制度的国家。虽然Family & Medical Leave Act《家庭与医疗休假法》规定了12周不带薪的休假，据说也只有不到20%的人能享受到。一起来看一下具体内容：

Only two countries in the advanced world provide no guarantee for paid leave from work to care for a newborn child. Last spring one of the two, Australia, gave up the dubious distinction by establishing paid family leave starting in 2011. I wasn't surprised when this didn't make the news here in the United States—we're now the only wealthy country without such a policy.

本来在发达国家中，只有两个国家没有提供法定带薪休假，但是自2011年春天澳大利亚放弃了这一政策以来，美国是目前发达国家中唯一没有实施法定带薪产假制度的国家了，这个“惊人”的消息在美国并没有被报道出来，我一点也不感到稀奇。

The United States does have one explicit family policy, the Family and Medical Leave Act, passed in 1993. It entitles workers to as much as 12 weeks' unpaid leave for care of a newborn. In fact, every step of the way, as Democratic leaders have tried to introduce work-family balance measures into the law, business groups have been strongly opposed.

虽然早在1993年，美国就有一项特殊的产假制度：《家庭与医疗休假法》，规定了12周不带薪的休假，但是来自商界团体的声音一直反对更近一步的产假制度，认为这损害了公司的利益。

As Yale law professor Anne Alstott argues, justifying parental support depends on defining the family as a social good that, in some sense, society must pay for. In her book, she argues that parents are burdened in many ways in their lives: there is "no exit" when it comes to children. "Society expects parents to provide their children with continuity of care, meaning the intensive, intimate care that human beings need to develop their intellectual, emotional and moral capabilities.

耶鲁大学的教授安娜认为，家庭是社会的基石，儿童是社会的希望。家庭养育新生儿是在为社会做贡献，所以一定程度上政府应该承担责任，对家庭做出相应的补偿。在帮助家庭迎接新生命的过程中，政府在法规和政策保障上责无旁贷，个体亦有推动改变的空间和责任。

In fact, by some estimates, the value of parental investments in children, investments of time and money (including lost wages), is equal to 20-30% of gross domestic product. If these investments generate huge social benefits—as they clearly do—the benefits of providing more social support for the family should be that much clearer.

实际上，父母在照顾孩子上的投入大约占到国内生产总值的20-30%，这些投入对社会产生了相当大的利益，所以政府也应对此提供一些相应的配套政策。但是美国自1993年推出《家庭与医疗休假法》之后，在保障家庭的政策上没有其他重大进展，令人遗憾。小编提醒大家，泛读的学习重在拓展知识面，多了解文化背景信息，这对我们的2016考研英语大有裨益。祝大家梦想成真!