家务琐事Domestic chores

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m Alice…
大家好，欢迎收听六分钟英语，我是爱丽丝。
And I’m Neil.
我是尼尔。
Neil, how often do you do the washing up at home?
你多久打扫一次家？
Oh, you know, on special occasions – like after a Christmas lunch!
哦，只在特殊节日的时候，像圣诞节午餐后。
That’s terrible, Neil!
那太可怕了！
Well, domestic chores are the subject of today’s show.And you know what? I’m not very good at them.
家务琐事是今天节目的主题。你知道吗？我不是很擅长家务。
Domestic means to do with the family or home and a chore is a boring job that needs doing.Not being good at chores sounds like a bad excuse for avoiding housework, Neil.
Domestic是指处理与家庭相关的，chore是指需要做的无聊之事。用不擅长琐事做借口回避家务真的站不住脚哦。
I suppose you’re right.But I wasn’t surprised to learn that on average women spend several more hours a day doing chores at home than men.Maybe men have a higher threshold for dirt and untidiness.
也许你是对的。但不出所料的是平均每天女性做家务的时间要比男性多几个小时。也许男性对脏乱差的忍耐度比较高。
Do you have a high threshold, Neil?
你的忍耐度也很高吗？
Yes. And threshold means the point at which you begin to feel something.It takes a lot of dirt and untidiness to make me feel I need to start clearing up.
是的。Threshold是指在某个点上你开始有某种感觉。很多灰尘和凌乱度才会让我感觉必须要开始打扫卫生了。
OK, so my question for you today, Neil, is: What percentage of men take responsibility for giving the house a weekly clean, according to a recent online survey by the UK organization, Mumsnet? Is it…a) 1%?b) 5%?Or c) 10%?
好的，下面问你今天的问题：根据英国Mumsnet机构的最新在线调查，多少比重的男性会负责每周打扫房子？a)1%？b)5%？还是c)10%？
Hmm. Those figures all sound low.But I’ll assume that not all men are like me, and say c) 10%.
这些数字听上去都很低。我猜不是所有的男性都像我一样，我选c)10%。
Well, we’ll see if you’re being optimistic with your answer later on in the show.So now let’s listen to a conversation between BBC reporter Geoff Byrd and his wife Sarah.In an interview to a BBC presenter they discuss Sarah’s aversion to – or strong dislike of domestic chores.
节目的最后我们再看你是不是还对你的答案持自信态度。我们听听BBC记者Geoff Byrd和他妻子Sarah的对话。在访问该记者时，他们讨论了Sarah对家务琐事的强烈反感。
The thing is, it’s a boring thing.You should just do the minimum amount you need to do to get by.That is my policy. I would say I definitely work harder than you do, and therefore have less time.Have we just switched round in terms of our roles?
家务真的很无聊。那些过得去就行的事，要尽量少做。这是我的原则。我可以说我比你工作辛苦，所以空闲时间少。我们是不是角色互换了？
Probably. Yeah. And that’s no bad thing.Go the revolution!
也许，也不是坏事！改革万岁！
Sarah and Geoff there.In their household, Geoff does more chores because Sarah finds them boring and she also does more paid work.She thinks people should do the minimum amount of housework – or least amount needed – to get by.
上述是Sarah和Geoff的对话。在他们家，Geoff做的家务更多，因为Sarah觉得家务很无聊，而且她的工作薪资更高。她觉得过得去就行的事应该尽可能的少做。
And to get by means to achieve something with difficulty.
get by是指完成有困难的事。
So Geoff does most of the cooking and cleaning in their house– which as we discussed earlier on, isn’t usually the case for men.He doesn’t seem to mind, though, does he?
所以Geoff在家里承担了大部分的做饭和打扫工作。就像我们之前讨论过的，不像是男性经常会做的事。他看起来并不介意，不是吗？
That’s right.He says switching roles is no bad thing – in other words, it’s a good thing!
没错。他说角色转换也不是坏事。换句话说，就是好事！
Yey. Go the revolution! Just don’t include me, because I’m with Sarah.I hate housework.
是的！改革万岁！不要算上我，我是站在Sarah一边的。我讨厌家务。
OK, well let’s assume that Sarah and Geoff aren’t typical of most families,and consider the serious implications of women doing more of the household chores.Some domestic tasks can be strongly gendered – or specific to one sex.For example, doing the laundry, organizing your children’s school and social lives are often jobs that women do.
我猜Sarah和Geoff这种并不是典型的家庭模式，想想人们通常暗示女性要做更多的家务。一些家务有很强的性别倾向，也就是专门适合一个性别。例如，洗衣，送孩子上学，社交，大部分都是女性来做。
But putting the rubbish out or fixing a leaky tap – those are work many people still see as men’s jobs.
但是倒垃圾，修漏水的水龙头，这些人们通常认为是男性应该做的。
Well, I put the rubbish bins out in my household, Neil.Anyway, this means women often spend significantly more time doing chores at home, juggling this with paid work.
在我家都是我倒垃圾。总之，这是指女性经常会花费大量时间做家务，同时还要兼顾自己的工作。
Yes, that sounds like a lot. I can see I’m going to have to get my pinny on a bit more at home, Alice.
没错，听上去很多都是这样。看来我也应该多点时间在家围上围裙做家务了。
I hope you do, Neil, because a bit more give and take at homecould help improve a working mum’s prospects of getting promoted at work and earning more.And for those of you unfamiliar with the word, pinny – or pinafore – means apron.
希望如此，因为在家多一点妥协，这会帮助在职的妈妈们提高晋升和加薪的可能。也许你不太熟悉这些词，pinny 或者说pinafore是指围裙。
And give and take means compromise.
give and take是指妥协。
Let’s hear now from Professor Jonathan Gershuny, co-director at the Centre for Time Use Research at Oxford University,talking about why it’s important to protect your earning capacity – or ability to earn money.
我们听听牛津大学时间使用研究中心的主任Jonathan Gershuny的看法，他会讲述为什么维护好自己赚钱的能力很重要。
Nowadays, half of all marriages fail… you know…it’s not a reasonable expectation that you’re going to stay married to the same chap indefinitely. And if under these circumstances you’ve been out of the labour force looking after the kidswhile he builds up his earnings capacity by working long hours at work and then he runs off with his secretary, well he departs with his earnings power, and you’re left with the baby.
如今，一半的婚姻都是失败的，对于你想永远和一个人在一起来说，这个比例不是合理预期。如果你不工作，在家带孩子，而男性在外长时间工作，积累赚钱手段，之后他会跟秘书跑掉，带着他的赚钱能力离开，而你只能和小孩一起被抛弃。
Professor Jonathan Gershuny. But actually, these days, quite a few men take care of the children while their wives or partners work full time.
上述是Jonathan Gershuny教授的观点。但如今有很多男性照顾孩子，而女性在外全职工作。
And she might run off with her secretary. But the main issue here is that both partners – whether male or female – should protect their earnings capacity.Now, I think it’s time for the answer to today’s quiz question, Neil.I asked you: What percentage of men take responsibility for giving the house a weekly clean, according to a recent online survey by the UK organization, Mumsnet?Is it… a) 1%, b) 5% or c) 10%?
那她也许会和她的秘书跑掉。主要问题在于双方，不管是男性还是女性，都要维护好自己的赚钱能力。我觉得是时候公布今天问题的答案了。我问你：多少男性会负责每周打扫房子，根据英国Mumsnet机构的最新在线调查？a) 1%, b) 5% 还是 c) 10%?
I said c) 10%.
我选的是 c) 10%。
And you were wrong, I’m afraid, Neil! The answer is actually b) 5%.Mumsnet asked nearly 1,000 working mothers about the distribution of tasks in their homes.Now, can we hear the words we learned today, please?
恐怕你回答错了。正确答案是b) 5%。Mumsnet调查了1000名在职妈妈，关于她们在家的家务分配情况。现在我们再听一遍学到的单词吧？
Sure. They are:
好的，今天学到的单词有：
chore
琐事
threshold
门槛
aversion
厌恶
minimum
最小
no bad thing
不是坏事
gendered
依照性别而分类的
pinny or pinafore
围裙
give and take
妥协
earning capacity
赚钱能力
Well, that’s the end of today’s 6 Minute English.Don’t forget to join us again soon!
今天的六分钟英语就到这里。别忘了下期再会！
Bye!
再见！