中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
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 A third of men, it is reckoned, won't lift a finger in the kitchen this Christmas, blaming a lack of confidence, previous failures and complicated recipes for their lack of help. |
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With the festive season approaching, it is the kind of news likely to leave flustered housewives shaking their heads in disbelief. A third of men, it is reckoned, won’t lift a finger in the kitchen this Christmas. But as fed up women across the land cry ‘Only a third?’, it appears men have come up with some pretty good excuses for their idleness at Christmas. A lack of confidence, previous failures and complicated recipes are the main reasons men say don’t want to get involved on December 25. Many others won’t go near the kitchen because they believe their other half is happy to take care of everything. The survey, by Red Tractor beef and lamb, also revealed that one in two women would like more help at Christmas. A spokesman said: ‘We all know that women do a lot of work at Christmas, but men shouldn’t make up excuses for not helping out or be afraid of the kitchen. ‘They shouldn’t let previous mistakes put them off having a go at recipes.’ A third of men say they have no confidence when it comes to Christmas cooking, with a fifth saying they feel lost in the kitchen. One in six said previous criticism of his efforts had put him off attempting to cook festive foods ever again. Almost one fifth of men say they do not cook at all. Recent Hull University research into gender differences in the kitchen, found that men’s lack of help is not down to laziness, but an inherent lack of confidence built up from an early age. A university spokesman said: ‘It’s not that men don’t want to cook, it’s just that they need the encouragement.’ (Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.) (Agencies) |
在圣誕節臨近之際，這種新聞可能會讓忙亂的家庭主婦們搖頭表示難以置信。 據估計，今年圣誕節英國會有三分之一的男性完全不插手廚房的活兒。 不過，當那些受夠了的英國女人們大呼“怎么會只有三分之一？”時，男人們似乎已經想出了一些讓自己在圣誕節偷懶的好理由。 據男人們所說，他們不愿在圣誕節插手家務的主要原因是缺乏自信、曾經的失敗經歷以及復雜的節日食譜。 還有許多男人不愿意走近廚房是因為他們認為自己的另一半很樂意大包大攬。 由“小紅拖拉機”牛羊肉質量保證體系開展的這一調查還揭示，半數女性希望圣誕節能得到更多幫助。 一位發言人說：“我們都知道，女人們在圣誕節要干很多活兒，但是男人們不應該為自己不幫忙或害怕進廚房而編造借口。 “他們不應該因為過去的失誤，就遲遲不愿嘗試這些烹飪方法。” 三分之一的男性說他們對于烹飪圣誕節大餐沒有信心，五分之一的男性說他們在廚房里毫無頭緒。六分之一的男性說，由于先前做出的努力受到批評，他們遲遲不愿再次嘗試烹飪節日食物。 近五分之一的男性說他們根本不做飯。 赫爾大學最近的一項對廚房內性別差異的調查發現，男性之所以不得力，不是因為懶惰，而是骨子里缺乏自信，這種心理從小時候就慢慢形成了。 一位大學的發言人說：“不是男人不想做飯，只是他們需要鼓勵。” 相關閱讀 （中國日報網英語點津 陳丹妮 編輯：馮明惠） |
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Vocabulary: flustered: 忙亂的 not lift a finger: 一點忙也不幫；油瓶倒了都不扶 have a go at sth./doing sth.: 試一下（某事/做某事） |
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