中国网站品牌栏目（频道）
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 No excuse: 15 percent of men describe cleaning as 'too much hard work'. |
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Women have fought hard for equality but a staggering 82 per cent still do the housework in their home, according to a revealing new study into Britain's cleaning habits. Just eight per cent of husbands and boyfriends pull their weight when it comes to household chores, figures show. More than a third of young adults aged under 24 admit they rely on their parents to clean up after them, while two per cent of Brits pay a professional cleaner. Although men do much less round the home it would seem they are hard task masters with a third insisting 'I like my house to be clean at all times'. The fact 15 per cent of men describe cleaning as 'too much hard work' provides some insight into why they pass the buck when it comes to housework. And women feel that, even in this day and age, the cleanliness of their home reflects on them with half saying they get embarrassed when it isn't clean and refuse to accept visitors. At one end of the spectrum, one in eight Brits don't allow people to wear shoes in their home, while one in ten admit they simply don't care if others think their house is dirty. The Cleaner Living study by domestic appliance manufacturer Miele revealed a host of cleaning errors we make and ways in which we try to hide the dirt away. Twenty seven percent of us have turned over a cushion to hide a stain, twelve per cent have covered a stained carpet with a piece of furniture and five per cent have swept dirt under a rug. Four in ten admit they have simply swept dirt from a kitchen surface or table onto the floor, while a quarter have used a dish cloth to mop up a spillage on the floor and just put it back. A mucky four per cent have even used a dish cloth to clean pet bowls and then continued to use it for washing up. Relationship expert Phillip Hodson, spokesman for the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, said many men still regard traditional housework as 'women's work'. He said: 'Many men see putting oil in the car or changing a light bulb as doing their bit around the house but still see cooking and cleaning as women's work. (Read by Lee Hannon. Lee Hannon is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.) (Agencies) |
一项有关英国人的清洁习惯的新研究惊人地揭示，尽管女性为实现平等进行了艰苦的斗争，但是多达82%的女性依然要负责家中的家务活。 数据表明，只有8%的丈夫和男友在家务上尽了自己的本分。 24岁以下的成年人中超过三分之一承认他们靠父母来替自己做清理工作，而2%的英国人付钱请专职清洁工来收拾。 尽管男性在家中干的活儿要少得多，但他们似乎却是严苛的监工，三分之一的男性坚称“我喜欢自己的房子一直都保持干净”。 有15%的男性认为清洁工作是“繁重活儿”，这一事实有助于理解为什么在家务上他们会推卸责任。 然而，时至今日，女性依然觉得家中是否清洁关乎自己的形象，有一半的女性说当家中脏乱而不能接待客人时，她们会觉得难为情。 调查结果出现两个极端，八分之一的英国人不允许人们穿鞋进屋，而十分之一的英国人坦言说他们根本不在乎别人认为他们家里脏乱。 家用电器制造商美诺公司开展的“让生活更清洁”研究显示，我们在清洁上犯了很多错误，而且用许多办法来遮盖尘污。 27%的英国人曾把坐垫翻过来以隐藏污迹，12%的人曾用一件家具盖住沾有污迹的地毯，5%的人曾把灰尘扫进地毯底下。 十分之四的人坦言他们会直接把厨房灶台或桌上的灰尘拂到地板上，而四分之一的人曾用洗碗布把溅到地板上的东西抹干净，然后直接把布放回去。 还有4%的邋遢人甚至用洗碗布来清洗宠物用的碗，然后接着用它来洗其他碗碟。 英国心理咨询及心理治疗协会的发言人、婚恋专家菲利普•霍德森说，许多男性依然认为传统的家务是“女人的工作”。 他说：“许多男性认为给汽车加油或是换灯泡是他们在家应该干的，而做饭和清扫则是女人的事。” 相关阅读 （中国日报网英语点津 陈丹妮 编辑：冯明惠） |
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Vocabulary: staggering: so large, shocking or surprising that it is difficult to believe （大得惊人的；骇人的；难以想像的） revealing: giving you interesting information that you did not know before（揭露真相的；发人深省的） pull one's weight: to do the work that one is obligated to（尽本分） task master: 工头；监工 pass the buck: 推卸责任 a host of: 大量 mucky: dirty（肮脏的；污秽的） do one's bit: 尽自己的一份力量 |
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