第十三篇           

The Value of Motherhood

In shopping malls, the assistants try to push you into buying “a gift to thank her for her unselfish love”. When you log onto1a website, a small pop-up2 invites you to book a bouquet¹ for her. Commercial warmth and gratitude² are the atmosphere being spread around for this special Sunday in May.

　　　(1)　　　The popularity of Mother's Day around the world suggests that Jarvis　got all she wanted. In fact, she got more - enough to make her horrified³.

　　　(2)　　　They buy, among other things, 132 million cards. Mother's Day is the　No 1 holiday for flower purchases. Then there are the various commodities, ranging from　jewelry⁴ and clothes to cosmetics  and washing powder, that take advantage of the promotion⁵　opportunities. Because of this, Jarvis spent the last 40 years of her life trying to stop Mother's　Day. One protest against the commercialization of Mother's Day even got her arrested – for　disturbing the peace, interestingly.

　　　(3)　　　As Ralph Fevre, a reporter at the UK newspaper The Guardian⁶,　observe, traditionally "motherhood is something that we do because we think it's right." But in　the logic⁷ of commercialism, people need something in exchange for their time and energy. A　career serves this purpose better.

　　　(4) 　　　So they work hard and play hard. Becoming a mother, however,　inevitably⁸ handicaps career anticipation⁹.

　　　(5) 　　　According to The Guardian, there are twice as many child-free young　women as there were a generation ago. Or, they put off the responsibility of parenting until later　in their lives.

So, Fevre writes that the meaning of celebrating Mother's Day needs to be updated: "It is to　persuade people that parenting is a good idea and to honor people for their attempt to be good people."

词汇：

motherhood n.母性

website n. 网站

bouquet n.  花束

注释：

1.　log onto 登录到。log onto a website 登录到一个网站。

2.　pop-up 弹出式菜单。a small pop-up invites you to book a bouquet for her.一张小的弹出式菜单要你为她订一束花。

练习：

A　The American version of Mother's Day was thought up as early as 1905, by Anna Jarvis, as a way of recognizing the real value of motherhood.

B　But what's more, commercialism changes young people's attitude towards motherhood.

C　Obviously, the best girl will be a phone call or a visit.

D　According to a research by the US card company Hallmark, 96 percent of Americanconsumers celebrate the holiday.

E　As a result, motherhood has suffered a huge drop in status since the 1950s.

F　In addition, women are being encouraged to pursue any career they desire. ,

答案与题解：   

1. A　第一段主要讲笼罩着母亲节的商业气氛，如电源让你买一件礼物送给你的母亲，表示你感谢她无私的爱等。从语气上可以看出，作者对用商业手段表达母爱是反对的。第二段的第二个句子中有Anna Jarvis 这个人的名字。最后一个句子是这么说的：In fact, she got more - enough to make her horrified. 事实上，她得到的还要多，多得使她感到可怕。从内容的衔接来看，Anna Jarvis 在前面很可能出现过。在多有的选项中只有A出现了这个名字，因此A是对的。

2. D　第三段的第二个句子中出现card（贺卡）这个词。从主题发展来看，前一句中应该出现过这个词，并且内容更概括。惟有D中出现过这个词并且论述概括，主意：主题句的陈述总是一般的，因此选D。

3. B　第三段的主要内容是进一步讲述表现在母亲节中的商业主义以及人们抗议母亲节中的商业主义，包括Anna Jarvis个人所做的努力。从内容上看，第四段是讲由于商业主义的影响人们对母性，也即为母之道发生了变化。选项B是合适的，它是该段的主题句。

4. F　第五段是对第四段主题的进一步发展，因此用F。

5. E　第六段是人们对为母之道的态度的变化的总结，因此用E。