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Househusbands: When Mommy Brings Home the Bacon 家庭主夫：男主内、女主外的时代现象

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

During the heyday of the nuclear family in the fifties, family structures and parental roles were clearly defined. However, three decades of feminism have hoisted women into high salary positions, and now some 30 percent of working wives earn more than their husbands. This modern shift in gender roles is beginning to transform the “man of the house” into “househusband.”

在五０年代，核心家庭正值全盛时期，家庭结构和双亲角色都有清楚的界定。不过女性主义三十年来的发展已经让女性晋升至高薪的职位，如今职场上已有约百分之三十的已婚女性赚的钱比她们的先生还多。现代这种男女角色的转换，逐渐开始使原有男人的角色从「一家之主」转变成了「家庭主夫」。

Stay-at-home dads will likely admit that giving up the rat race to run a household is no walk in the park. Social pressures, such as ridicule or misunderstanding from peers, can damage self-esteem and threaten a marriage. Furthermore, even men who feel secure in their new role sometimes experience a sense of aimlessness or unimportance. Nevertheless, an online poll showed over 60 percent of men and 80 percent of women loved the idea of househusbands.

家庭主夫可能会承认放弃在外面终日奔波忙碌而走进家庭开始持家之后，并不像是在公园散步一般轻松愉快。来自社会的压力，譬如同侪的嘲讽或误解，是会伤及自尊和威胁到婚姻的。再者，即使对自己的新角色能处之泰然的男人，有时还是会感到自己生活没有目的或是没有价值感。不过，有一回网络上的调查显示超过百分之六十的男人和百分之八十的女人都满喜欢家庭主夫这种角色概念。

But is this role reversal so new? Twenty years ago, Hollywood showed us Michael Keaton donning an apron in Mr. Mom, and more recently, we saw Eddie Murphy become a childcare professional in Daddy Daycare. So shouldn’t househusbands be a commonplace experience by now? For centuries, women sacrificed careers for caretaking and no one batted an eye. Perhaps someday househusbands will also be considered the norm and not anomalies.

然而这种角色转换是新概念吗？二十年前，好莱坞就让我们看到米高基顿在「家庭主夫」这部电影中穿起了围裙，另外，最近艾迪墨菲在电影「奶爸安亲班」里摇身一变成为一位幼保专家。所以家庭主夫现在是否应该是满普遍的经验了？几世纪以来，女性牺牲就业机会来照顾家庭，没人觉得有什么诧异的。或许有一天家庭主夫会被认为正常，而不再是异常现象了。

Vocabulary

单词发音

househusband [ˋhaʊs͵hʌsbənd] n. 操持家务的家庭主夫

bring home the bacon 养家糊口；维持生计

heyday [ˋhede] n. 最兴盛[最有影响﹐最成功]的时期

nuclear family 小家庭，核心家庭（仅由父母及子女组成）

parental [pəˋrɛnt!] adj. 父母亲的

feminism [ˋfɛmənɪzəm] n. 女权主义

hoist [hɔɪst] v. 举起；升起

rat race【俚】（商界）日常紧张的竞争活动

ridicule [ˋrɪdɪkjul] n. 嘲笑，揶揄

aimlessness [ˋemləsnɪs] n. 无目的，盲目性

reversal [rɪˋvɝs!] n. 反转; 倒转

don [dɑn] n. 穿上；披上；穿着

apron [ˋeprən] n. 围裙；工作裙

childcare [ˋtʃaɪldkɛr] n. 儿童看护﹐儿童照管

not bat an eye【口】不露声色; 处之泰然 to not show any reaction

norm [nɔrm] n. 标准; 准则; 规范

anomaly [əˋnɑməlɪ] n. 反常（事物）；异常（现象）

Sentence of the Day

He’s not wearing the pants anymore.

他不能再主导一切。

wear the pants【贬】(通常指女子)作主, 当家, 掌权(尤指婚姻关系)

课文讲解

Darren speaks to his girlfriend, Paige, after talking to a friend on the phone:  达伦和朋友通完了电话，对女朋友佩琪说：

D: That was Greg. He just told me he’s decided to become a househusband for a year to try it out.

那是葛瑞的电话。他告诉我他决定当家庭主夫一年试试看。

P: Wow! That takes guts. I hope you guys don’t make fun of him.

哇！真有胆量。我希望你们别取笑他。

D: My dad might have, but there’s no way I will. I think it’s great! His wife’s a lawyer, so she’s pulling in enough money for the family.

我老爸或许会取笑他，但我绝对不会，我认为他很棒！他太太是律师，赚的钱足供全家开销。

P: Have they considered how they’ll divvy up the domestic work in this new arrangement?

他们的新安排已经考虑过要怎样分配家务工作了吗？

D: They’re still working out the details. But she’s still going to arrange social events, while he takes over the housekeeping and raising their two kids.

他们还在拟定细节。不过她会负责安排社交方面的事宜，而他则接手料理家务和照顾两个小孩。

P: I’m not sure Greg is much of a homemaker. If his wife’s making so much money, they should hire a nanny.

我不确定葛瑞是不是擅长家务。如果他太太赚的钱够多，他们应该雇一位保姆。

D: C’mon. That would be a waste of money. Also, it would hardly be giving Greg the chance to show his domestic competence.

算了吧。那多浪费钱啊，而且又没有给葛瑞机会证明他有持家的能力。

P: You’re right. I was thinking a bit anachronistically there.

你说得没错。是我的想法有点过时了。

D: Greg’s even looked online for manly inspiration. He found an ex-FBI agent and investor who’s set up a site called houseclub.com for househusbands married to go-getter wives.

葛瑞甚至上网去搜寻男性同伙的支持。他找到一个前FBI探员投资架设的「家庭俱乐部」网站，这个网站是专门为另一半是女强人的家庭主夫设立的。

P: No fooling? Well, I guess we’ve come a long way since Mr. Mom.

没开玩笑吧？我想自从「家庭主夫」那部电影推出至今，我们整个社会已经进步不少了。

－by Jaleea Price

Vocabulary

单词发音

try out 试验, 试用

make fun of 取笑, 嘲弄

no way【口】当然不，一点也不，决不

pull in 赚到, 获得

divvy [ˋdɪvɪ] up  <俚>分掉，分摊 give out as one's portion or share

work out 解决; 制定出

much of 了不起的 to any appreciable degree or extent

homemaker [ˋhom͵mekɚ] n. 主妇，持家的人

nanny [ˋnænɪ] n.【主英】保姆

competence [ˋkɑmpətəns] n. 能力

anachronistically [ə͵nækrəˋnɪstɪkəlɪ] adv. 不合潮流地; 被时代错置

manly [ˋmænlɪ] adj. 适合男性的，男子的

set up 建立，创立

go-getter [ˋgoˋgɛtɚ] n.【口】干劲十足的人

Sentence of the Day

The shoe’s on the other foot.

三十年河东，三十年河西。（情势逆转）