2016考研英語最新時文精讀精析：走下坡路的男性

考研英語來源：經濟學人 2015-07-14　

考研英語閱讀重在平時練習，本文老師節選一篇2015年5月30日《經濟學人》的文章，供大家練習。這篇文章是一篇很好的泛讀題材，文章指出，當今的男性實則在“走下坡路”，屬于the weaker sex弱勢階層。為何如此呢?原來男性看似是占社會的主導，但是其自身也是存在諸多問題與不足。

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，父權制似乎正如日中天。男性主宰了金融、技術、影視、體育、音樂，甚至單人脫口秀。在這個世界的大多數地方，他們仍然僅僅因為有一條Y染色體而享有社會的和法律的特權。因此，擔心男性身處困境可能有點杞人憂天。然而，這種關注是有充分理由的。男性在社會頂層聚集的同時也在底層扎堆。他們被關進監獄，被自己的孩子疏遠，或者是自殺的可能性都比女性更大。他們得到的大學學位少于女性。在發達國家中，男孩在數學、閱讀以及科學這三門基礎學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.

一類男性尤其受罪。在過去的50年中，發達國家中那些沒受過多少教育的男性始終在應對勞動力市場和家庭的巨變方面存在困難。因為技術和貿易降低了靠力氣謀生之人的價值，沒受過多少教育的男性一直難以在工作場所中給自己找到一個定位。相反，得益于她們的高級技能，女性正在蜂擁進入保健看護和教育等日漸擴張的部門。隨著教育變得越來越重要，男孩還在學校中落在了女生的后面(除了在學習最好的層面)。失去其制造業工作的男性經常是再也不去工作，而沒有工作的男性發現自己難以吸引一個終生伴侶。

由此帶來的后果就是：男性日漸萎縮的工作機會正在強化貧困，摧毀家庭。

Shrinking job opportunities for men, they say, are entrenching poverty and destroying families. 這就造成了工薪階層家庭的解體。Hence the unravelling of working-class families.

那么，如何解決當下面臨的危機呢?What can be done? 答案部分在于文化態度的轉變。在過去一代人的時間中，中產階層的男性已經懂得，他們需要在照顧孩子方面出一把力，而且已經改變了他們的行為。工薪階層的男性需要趕上來。

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

現在兩性社會都已經趨于平等了，要實現自己的抱負也不是由性別決定的，男性也應該改變自身的不足來適應這個新世界。