美語情景對話 第1111期:Stay at home Moms 全職媽媽

John: So we've been talking about women's roles in society. And are you a stay-at-home mom or a working mom?

約翰：我們來談談女性在社會中的角色。你是全職媽媽還是職場媽媽？

Sarah: Well, I guess I'm both. Right now, I'm on maternity leave and I'm on month six of maternity leave.

薩拉：嗯，我想我兩者都是。目前我在產年假，我正在休爲期6個月的產假。

John: What does that mean?

約翰：這是什麼意思？

Sarah: So maternity leave is when you have a job but then you become pregnant or you're going to have a baby, maybe adopt, too. So you're going to have a baby, and so you take time off of work to stay home with the new baby.

薩拉：產假是指你有工作，不過因爲你懷孕了或者即將生產，或是領養，在你要生產的時候，你可以休假，留在家裏照顧孩子。

John: Oh, I see. Do you still get paid?

約翰：哦，我明白了。產假期間也有工資嗎？

Sarah: I do. I get about half of my wage. So I do still get paid and I'm very grateful for that. So I've been at home with the new baby for six months. And I'm going to go back to work next month.

薩拉：有。我在產假期間的工資是以前的一半。我還有薪水，所以我很感激。我已經在家裏照顧孩子6個月了。下個月我將回到工作崗位。

John: Oh. What will happen with the baby?

約翰：哦。那孩子怎麼辦？

Sarah: So I have two kids actually. I have a toddler and a baby. And both of them will go to daycare during the day.

薩拉：我有兩個孩子。一個剛學會走路，一個還是嬰兒。白天，我會把他們送去日託中心。

John: I see.

約翰：我明白了。

Sarah: So I signed up for the daycare before the baby was even born. It's really hard to find good daycare that you can afford, that's near your house. So you have to start planning before the baby is even born if you're the type of person who wants to go back to work.

薩拉：在孩子出生前，我就在日託中心報名了。很難找到你能負擔得起又離家近的好的日託中心。所以如果你是那種計劃繼續工作的人，那在孩子出生前就要開始計劃。

John: I see. I don't think many men worry about getting good daycare for their children...

約翰：我知道了。我認爲大部分男性都不擔心給孩子找好的日託中心的事。

Sarah: No.

薩拉：對。

John: When they think about their jobs.

約翰：他們只想着他們的工作。

Sarah: No. Even when there's a family, and the mother and father both work, still it's the mother that has to do everything with the kids, usually. Usually, the mom has to for example, get the bag ready for the kids to take to daycare. They have to arrange the daycare. They have – the daycare has the mother's phone number, usually. And so, the mom has to do a lot of extra work even though mom and dad both have full time jobs.

薩拉：對。即使一個家庭的爸爸和媽媽都有工作，通常照顧孩子的事也是媽媽在做。一般來說，媽媽要爲孩子準備帶去日託中心的書包。她們要爲去日託中心做準備。日託中心會留媽媽的電話。即使爸爸和媽媽做的都是全職工作，可是媽媽還要做很多額外的事情。

John: I see. Are you saying that things should be different?

約翰：我明白了。你是說情況應該有所不同嗎？

Sarah: Yes. I think things should be different. I'm so lucky my husband agrees with me. And my husband, he drops the kids off at daycare and he picks them up and he does the laundry and the dishes. And it helps me to be – and it helps me focus on my career so that I can stay late at work if I need to. I can go to an extra meeting on a weekend. And it makes me feel more fulfilled that it's not my husband's job that comes first. A lot of times women make less money than men and they put their job second to their husband. And it's not equal, and it's not fair. And so, I think that people should work on making things more equal.

薩拉：對，我認爲情況應該有所不同。我很幸運，我丈夫贊同我的想法。我丈夫負責送孩子去日託中心，晚上會再把他們接回家，洗衣服和洗碗也是他的工作。這幫了我很多，使我能專注於我的工作，如果有必要，我可以加班。週末我也可以去開會。這讓我感覺很滿足，因爲被放在首位的不是我丈夫的工作。很多時候，女性的工資比男性少，所以她們會把自己的工作放在第二位，把丈夫的工作放在首位。這不平等也不公平。所以，我認爲人們應該致力於讓情況更平等。

John: Well, I agree with you.

約翰：嗯，我同意你的觀點。

Sarah: Thank you.

薩拉：謝謝。

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重點講解：
1. even though 即使；儘管；縱然；
例句：He will come on time even though it rains.
即使下雨，他還是會準時來的。
2. agree with 同意；贊成；意見一致；
例句：I quite agree with you that he needs further training.
我完全同意你的意見，他還需要進一步培養。
3. pick up （通常指開車）接載，取走；
例句：I pick up my sister from her school.
我到學校接妹妹。
4. come first 居於首要地位；佔據頭等位置；
例句：There's no time for boyfriends, my career comes first.
我沒時間交男朋友，事業對我來說是第一位的。