Taking paternity leave (陪产假) shortly after the birth of a new son or daughter may be the key to developing strong father-child bonds that last for years, says new research from Ball State University.
“We find that 9-year-olds report greater satisfaction with father involvement,” said Richard Petts, a Ball State sociology professor who carried out the research with Chris Knoester at the Ohio State University and Jane Waldfogel at Columbia University. “They feel closer to their fathers and report better communication with their dads if their fathers take paternity leave, and especially if their fathers take two or more weeks of leave.”
“We found evidence that part of the reason why two or more weeks of paternity leave may lead to 9-year-olds expressing greater satisfaction seems to be that longer periods of paternity leave-taking link to parental relationship satisfaction,” said Petts.
The study is the latest in a series examining the effects of parental leave in the development of children and its influence on the family. It is also the first research known to assess the associations between paternity leave and children’s opinions of father-child relationship quality in the United States, Petts said.
Petts said the findings of the study will help families and policymakers (政策制定者) who aim to strengthen families and improve higher quality father-child relationships.
The present structure (结构) of paternity leave in the United States provides limited opportunities for fathers to take leave and, in fact, often discourages fathers from taking leave, he said.
“The possibility to take leave is often limited to higher-income families,” Petts said. “A lack of a national paid family leave policy limits access to important benefits for American families. The present structure may be increasing inequalities.” Petts said that providing equal access to paternity leave may help to change these patterns and strengthen family relationships.
1.How was the research probably carried out?
A.By tracking families. B.By talking with mothers.
C.By interviewing the kids. D.By recording children’s behavior.
2.What is found about paternity leave?
A.It makes young kids become dependent.
B.It is determined by parental relationships.
C.It encourages men to become better fathers.
D.It improves father-child relationship quality.
3.What do we know about the research?
A.It is welcomed by young fathers. B.It is the first to study parental leave.
C.It is probably helpful to policymakers. D.It is more important than similar studies.
4.What is the problem with the present structure of paternity leave in the US?
A.Paid paternity leave is only two weeks long.
B.There is no policy to encourage paternity leave.
C.Low-income families think little of paternity leave.
D.High-income fathers are too busy to take paternity leave.
Being deaf in a hearing world can lead to painful feelings of isolation (孤独).
Waitress Kelsey recently shared an experience on a social media sharing site that quickly zoomed (陡直上升) to the top of the “ front page of the Internet”. In her brief post, Kelsey explained that she waits tables at a bar during the evenings, and one night she noticed a deaf man sitting alone in her section (区域).
When Kelsey isn’t working at the bar she makes a good hourly pay doing sign language interpretation (翻译), so she sensed an opportunity to use her skill to make this customer feel a little less alone in the world. She approached his table and began chatting with him in sign language.
When the table next to his noticed their silent conversation they asked Kelsey how long she’d been signing. They had a brief conversation about her goal of becoming certified (合格的) to interpret sign language in a medical or mental health setting.She didn’t think much about the whole exchange until the customers had left the restaurant and she was tidying up the tables. There, on the table of the customers who’d seen her American sign language conversation with the deaf man, was a handwritten note on the receipt.
“Thank you for what you do; it absolutely matters!” the note said. “Good luck with finishing your degree!” Not only that, but they’d left her a $100 tip.
Kelsey was moved by the kind note, especially because she wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. To her, she was just conversing with someone in a language that only they understood. Yet to the deaf man and the people seated next to him she’d bridged a gap and helped someone who probably feels lonely a lot of the time.
Kelsey shared the note on the Internet to spread more love and light in the world.
1.What do we know about Kelsey’s work at the bar？
A.It is her part-time job.
B.It goes beyond her ability.
C.It requires her to work all day long.
D.It offers her a chance to learn sign language.
2.What can we infer about the deaf man?
A.He left Kelsey $100 as a tip.
B.He could use sign language.
C.He found it hard to communicate with Kelsey.
D.He was a friend of the customers at the next table.
3.What did the people at the table next to the deaf man think of Kelsey?
A.She is wasting time working as a waitress. B.She needs to study further for a degree.
C.She should use the Internet as a tool. D.She is so kind to serve those in need.
4.What lesson can we learn from Kelsey’s experience?
A.Practice makes perfect. B.It is never too late to learn.
C.Kindness is repaid with kindness. D.When in Rome, do as Romans do.
The Guardian Holidays
Elvis Presley’s Memphis & Nashville (leaves on October 1, 2019: 9 days from £1, 459) |
Tour highlights (亮点) |
Montgomery is the resting place of the famous singer Hank Williams Journey through the sleepy countryside of Alabama Visit Tupelo, Mississippi Spend two nights at The Guest House at Graceland Discover Nashville, world capital of country music |
New England in the Fall (leaves on October 10, 2019: 9 days from £1, 199) |
Tour highlights |
Explore amazing New York Visit the Yankee Candle Factory An impressive Fall Foliage Tour (秋叶之旅) Visit North Conway Discover attractive Boston Discover the delights of Maine Discover Plymouth and Newport on Rhode Island |
East Coast Extravaganza — USA & Canada (leaves on November 10, 2019: 14 days from £1,899) |
Tour highlights |
Explore attractive, historic Boston Enjoy a day in Quebec City Overnight in Canada’s Ottawa Enjoy impressive Niagara Falls Discover exciting New York City Pay a short visit to Philadelphia Spend a day in Washington, D.C. |
America’s Golden West |
Tour highlights |
See San Franciso and Hollywood Call at Steinbeck’s Monterey and Carmel-by-the-sea Journey south along the Pacific Coast Highway A full-day visit to the breathtaking Grand Canyon Spend three nights in Los Angeles Tour to sun-kissed San Diego Non-stop, 24-hour Las Vegas |
1.Which tour will you choose if you are interested in country music?
A.Elvis Presley’s Memphis & Nashville. B.East Coast Extravaganza.
C.New England in the Fall. D.America’s Golden West.
2.What do New England in the Fall and East Coast Extravaganza have in common?
A.They both include a visit to Boston. B.They both last for nine days.
C.They both start in October. D.They both cost the same.
3.Where will tourists go during the America’s Golden West tour?
A.Tupelo and San Francisco. B.Montgomery and San Diego.
C.Monterey and Las Vegas. D.Los Angeles and Plymouth.
阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。
One snowy day，the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blinding snowstorm. A farmer sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud knock，something hitting against the window. He looked outside but could not see anything. So he went outside for a better view. In the field near his house he saw，of all the strangest things，a group of swans(天鹅).
They were apparently flying to look for a warmer area down south，but they had been caught in the snowstorm. The storm had become too blinding and violent for the swans to fly or see their way. They were trapped on his farm，with no food or shelter，unable to do more than wave their wings and fly in aimless circles. He had compassion for them and wanted to help them.
He thought to himself，the barn(谷仓)would be a great place for them to stay. It was warm and safe；surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he opened the barn doors for them. He waited，watching them，hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside.
However，they did not notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. He moved closer toward them to get their attention，but they just moved away from him out of fear. He went into the house and came back with some bread，broke it up，and made a bread trail to the barn. They still did not catch on.
Starting to get frustrated，he went over and tried to drive them toward the barn. They panicked and scattered into every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth，safety，and shelter. Feeling totally frustrated，he exclaimed，“Why don’t they follow me?Can’t they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?How can I possibly get them into the one place to save them?”
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假定你是李华，你校英语报要举行题目为“我们都是追梦人（We’re All Dram Chases）”的征文比赛。请你给你校英国交换生Peter写一封电子邮件，邀请他参加这一比赛，内容包括：
1. 投稿方式和截止日期；
2. 征文内容；
3. 表示期待。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当増加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Peter,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
When stores first started to ask whether customers wanted a paper receipt or an emailed receipt,I always took the email option. I knew I was giving up a little privacy when I did because the store had my email. Ever since, digital receipts 1. (be) increasingly common at a lot of different businesses and that’s a good thing.
Digital receipts offer a few improvements over traditional paper receipts. One is health-related. Lots of receipt paper contains bisphenol-A (双酸-A), or BPA. This chemical can 2. (potential) influence or outright change some bodily processes, like hair 3. (grow), hormone function and cell repair. Reducing receipt paper reduces 4. risk of BPA exposure for not only consumers but also for employees 5. handle the paper on a more routine basis.
The 6. (two) improvement is environmental. Receipt paper consumes a lot of trees, some 10 million of them a year,according to Green America. And at least half of that is probably used by businesses for 7. (they) still-too-long receipts. They also use up about 21 billion gallons of water a year -and these data are just for the United States! That’s so many trees and so much water, but all becomes much 8. (easy) than before after 9. (email) the receipt. Pile on the fact that BPA-coated paper can’t 10. (recycle) and you end up with a bunch of receipts in landfills.
