Section B: Information Matching
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on your Answer Sheet.
More fathers are taking paternity leave, but mothers are still doing all the work
[A] Attitudes towards paternity leave have drastically changed in America in the last five years as more fathers feel comfortable taking extended time off, but gender bias persists when it comes to career prospects and the home, according to a new study of working parents.
[B] Research by the Boston College Center for Work & Family, which surveyed new parents at four large US companies who were qualified for taking at least six weeks paid parental leave, found that 81% of the 1,240 employees surveyed said the notion of fathers taking leave has become more acceptable.
[C] Of those surveyed, 62% of fathers took the maximum amount of time off compared to 93% of mothers, and around three-quarters of workers said their employer was equally supportive of mothers and fathers taking parental leave and over half said leave policies had made workplace culture better.
[D] The US is one of only three countries in the world not to offer statutory paid leave, but increasingly states and companies are starting to take up the issue. So far, eight states and the District of Columbia have their own paid family leave laws.
[E] Brad Harrington, executive director of the center and lead author of the study, estimates only 20% to 30% of companies in the US offer paid parental leave. He feels the research findings reflect an obvious change in corporate attitudes to new fathers taking time off.
[F] “We did a study on paternity leave five years ago. Compared with those findings, these numbers were shocking to me. I did not expect 80% of people to say the organisation finds dads taking this leave acceptable and three-quarters to say it's equally supportive of women and men taking leave,” Harrington said.
[G] The previous study found that nearly three-quarters of fathers saw two to four weeks as an appropriate duration for paternity leave and 76% said they would prefer not to take all their time off at once.
[H] Since then, there have been a number of legal cases against companies involving paternity leave—including cases against JPMorgan Chase and Estée Lauder—which have helped put pressure on companies to make their parental leave policies gender neutral.
[I] However, the study also shows how traditional gender roles endure both at work, where more women than men reported changes in their perceived career potential, and at home—even among workers who claim to have a strong desire for equality.
[J] The vast majority of men, 97%, said one of the top reasons to take leave was to share caregiving with their partner. But when they were asked about how caregiving and household tasks were divided, their answers painted a different picture. While about 75% of employees said both genders should give the same amount of care, the majority of men and nearly half of women admitted that in reality the female actually did most of it. A tiny fraction, 2%, of men said they did more of the childcare.
[K] Men and women's experiences of the return to work following parental leave were also considerably different. Of the women surveyed, 32% reported a downturn in their job satisfaction, while 14% said it increased. In comparison, 17% of men said their job satisfaction went down and 20% said it went up. Meanwhile, more women reported an increase in their responsibilities and manager expectations after childbirth. Half of the women said they used flexible work arrangements after becoming a parent, while just 27% of men did.
[L] On the subject of career advancement, 59% of women and 49% of men said leave could be limiting and both genders said they feared it would have an impact on their progress long-term. But on opportunity for promotion, more than double the number of women, 30% compared with 15% of men, believed their chances to be lower after becoming a parent. Despite progress, the struggle for women to reach the highest positions of power is demonstrated in this year's Fortune 500 list, which featured a record 33 female CEOs, but this still represents a tiny fraction of the total.
[M] Harrington said culture change depends on companies putting more focus on men and their responsibilities. “By that I mean companies need to give men paternity leave and encourage men to take time off to be with their kids early on in the kids' life. They also need to recognise that men have to make significant adjustments when they become parents. Companies cannot do all these things to enhance women's advancement and then turn around and say, 'Oh, but we don't expect the men to take over for the women at home.'”
[N] In May, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Outten & Golden LLP announced a historic class-action $5m settlement with JPMorgan Chase on behalf of male employees who claim they were illegally denied access to paid parental leave. Derek Rotondo, 35, filed the discrimination charge against his company after he was allegedly told by his HR department that mothers were considered primary caregivers. Thus, they were allowed to take 16 weeks of paid parental leave. Fathers, however, could take just two weeks.
[O] The father of two from Columbus, Ohio, who still works at the company as an associate and investigator, said he has witnessed a “domino effect” across companies since the settlement, but that there is still substantial progress to be made towards changing attitudes towards paternity leave.
[P] “I do think there's still some way to go...there's still going to be sort of the unstated expectation for new dads to essentially come right back to work, but I think the research is showing that's starting to change.”
36. In the absence of Federal legislation, some states in the US have passed laws concerning paid family leave.
37. Most fathers admitted that even during their paternity leave they actually did much less childcare than the mother.
38. According to one father, equal parental leave is indispensable to achieving gender equality in the workplace.
39. One survey indicated there is now less objection to paternity leave.
40. Compared to five years ago, according to one researcher, many more people said their organisation gave the same support to men and women taking parental leave.
41. One study finds that even workers who claim to desire gender equality stick to traditional gender roles both at work and at home.
42. The majority of workers surveyed said parental leave policies had improved workplace culture.
43. In spite of progress, the number of women in top positions of big companies remains extremely small.
44. According to one estimate, less than one third of companies in the US provide paid parental leave.
45. A number of lawsuits have pressured companies to formulate gender neutral policies on parental leave.
Answers & Explanations
36. D。解析：题干中的 Federal legislation（联邦立法）对应 [D] 段的 statutory paid leave（法定带薪休假）；some states... passed laws（一些州通过了法律）对应 eight states... have their own paid family leave laws（八个州...拥有自己的带薪探亲假法）。
37. J。解析：题干中的 did much less childcare than the mother（做的育儿工作比母亲少得多）对应 [J] 段的 the majority of men and nearly half of women admitted that in reality the female actually did most of it（大多数男性和近一半的女性承认，实际上女性承担了大部分工作）。
38. O。解析：题干中的 According to one father... gender equality（一位父亲表示...性别平等），[N]、[O] 段讲述了一位两个孩子的父亲（The father of two, Derek Rotondo）通过诉讼推动公司政策改变的故事。题干描述的内容是推动休假态度转变的深层意义，对应 [O] 段他见证的 domino effect（多米诺骨牌效应）以及 changing attitudes towards paternity leave（改变对陪产假的态度）。
39. B。解析：题干中的 less objection（较少反对）对应 [B] 段的 81% of the 1,240 employees surveyed said the notion of fathers taking leave has become more acceptable（受访的1240名员工中有81%表示父亲休假的想法变得更容易被接受了）。
40. F。解析：题干中的 Compared to five years ago（与五年前相比）对应 [F] 段的 We did a study on paternity leave five years ago（我们五年前做过一项关于陪产假的研究）；gave the same support（给予相同的支持）对应 equally supportive of women and men taking leave（对男女休假给予同等支持）。
41. I。解析：题干中的 stick to traditional gender roles both at work and at home（在工作和家庭中都坚持传统的性别角色）对应 [I] 段的 traditional gender roles endure both at work... and at home（传统的性别角色在工作和家庭中仍然存在）。
42. C。解析：题干中的 The majority of workers... improved workplace culture（大多数受访员工表示休假政策改善了职场文化）对应 [C] 段末尾的 over half said leave policies had made workplace culture better（超过一半的人表示休假政策使职场文化变得更好）。
43. L。解析：题干中的 remains extremely small（数量仍然极小）对应 [L] 段末尾的 represents a tiny fraction of the total（只占总数的一小部分），这是在讨论财富500强公司中的女CEO数量。
44. E。解析：题干中的 less than one third（不到三分之一）对应 [E] 段的 estimates only 20% to 30% of companies in the US offer paid parental leave（估计美国只有20%到30%的公司提供带薪育儿假）。
45. H。解析：题干中的 A number of lawsuits（多起诉讼）对应 [H] 段的 a number of legal cases（多起法律案件）；pressured companies to formulate gender neutral policies（向公司施压，要求制定性别中立的政策）对应 helped put pressure on companies to make their parental leave policies gender neutral（帮助向公司施加压力，要求它们使其育儿假政策性别中立）。
核心搭配与高分句型
【核心搭配与高频短语】
- take time off：休假，请假（taking extended time off）
- when it comes to：当涉及...时，在...方面（when it comes to career prospects）
- on behalf of：代表...（on behalf of male employees）
- put pressure on：对...施加压力（put pressure on companies to make...）
- a tiny fraction of：...的一小部分（represents a tiny fraction of the total）
- domino effect：多米诺骨牌效应，连锁反应（witnessed a "domino effect" across companies）
- turn around：转变态度，改变立场（turn around and say, 'Oh, but we don't expect...'）
- some way to go：还有一段路要走，仍需努力（there's still some way to go）
【亮点句型解析】
- While 引导的对比从句：
"While about 75% of employees said both genders should give the same amount of care, the majority of men and nearly half of women admitted that in reality the female actually did most of it."
（虽然大约75%的员工表示男女应该提供同样多的照顾，但大多数男性和近一半的女性承认，在现实中，女性实际上承担了大部分工作。）`While` 在此表示“虽然，尽管”，用于对比理想信念与残酷现实的落差，逻辑十分严密，是四六级写作的王牌句型。 - By that I mean... (用来进一步解释说明)：
"By that I mean companies need to give men paternity leave and encourage men to take time off..."
（我的意思是，公司需要给男性陪产假，并鼓励男性在孩子生命的早期休假陪孩子。）`By that I mean` 是一种非常地道的口语和书面衔接方式，用于对前面提出的观点（公司需要更多关注男性的责任）进行具体化和落地化的解释。