According to a new US study, couples who expect their children to help care for them in old age should hope they have daughters because they are likely to be twice as attentive overall. The research by Angelina Grigoryeva, a sociologist at Princeton University, found that, while women provide as much care for their elderly parents as they can manage, men do as little as they can get away with and often leave it to female family members. Her analysis of the family networks of 26,000 older Americans concluded that gender is the most important predictor of whether or not people will actively care for elderly parents. In a paper being presented at the annual conference of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco, she concludes that simply having a sister makes men statistically likely provide less care. Using data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, a study which has been tracking a cross-section of over-50s for the last decade, she calculated that women provide an average of 12.3 hours a month of care for elderly parents while men offer only 5.6 hours. "Whereas the amount of elderly parent care daughters provide is associated with limitations they face, such as employment or childcare, sons'caregiving is associated only with the presence or absence of other helpers, such as sisters or a parent's spouse ," she explained. "Sons reduce their relative caregiving efforts when they have a sister, while daughters increase theirs when they have a brother." "This suggests that sons pass on parent caregiving responsibilities to their sisters." In the UK, the 2011 census showed that there are now around 6.5 million people with caring responsibilities - a figure which has risen by a tenth in a decade. But many are doing so at the risk of their own health. The census showed that those who provide 50 hours or more of care a week while trying to hold down a full- time job are three times more likely to be struggling with ill health than their working counterparts who are not carers. What's the most important factor to predict if people will actively care for the elderly? A) Gender. B) Education. C) Career. D) Family networks.
A
(Question)
prefix = st1 /London 01 April 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown are calling for global unity as world leaders gather in London for an emergency economic summit . The president says no one country can fix the economic crisis. Mr. Obama stressed the need for all participants to seek common ground to deal with the economic crisis. "I am ly confident that this meeting will reflect enormous consensus about the need to work together to deal with these problems," said Mr. Obama. There are signs of tension, as the G20 summit prepares to begin its work in London. Some countries are blaming the United States for sparking the economic crisis through the deregulation of its financial scene - a move that sparked an economic recession . The president says the United Stateshas made mistakes, but so did other countries whose regulatory systems could not keep pace with a changing financial sector. He says it is time to look for solutions. "At this point, I am less interested in identifying blame, than in fixing the problem," he said. President says differences are overstated. France and Germanysay the emphasis should be on regulatory reform. French President Nicholas Sarkozy even told an interviewer that he might walk out of the summit, if nations fail to agree on stricter regulation of global financial markets. Brown predicts no walkouts. President Obama says reports of differences are overstated. And, Prime Minister Brown predicts no one will walk away from the summit and its important work." I am confident President Sarkozy will not be here for the first course of our dinner, but will still be sitting as we complete our dinner this evening," said Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown says "Never before has the world come together in this way to talk about an economic crisis," he said. "Any of the crises we have seen since the second World War, you have not had this level of international cooperation." According to the news report, the aim of the summit in Londonis mainly to _ . A) seek solutions to the world economic crisis B) remove the misunderstanding between world leaders C) build up new regulatory systems in each country D) strengthen the economic relationship between countries
(Answer)
A
During the week days, they are luckily busy office people; but on weekends, they are just a brood of stay-home animals. A recent survey shows that office workers in China prefer quiet and easy ways to spend their weekends. In the survey, conducted by job seeking and offering website Zhaopin.com, 32.8 percent of the 6,000 respondents choose to stay home at weekends and have a good rest, the Beijing Morning Post reported. Twenty percent use their days-off to do housework. And only 19.3 percent are willing to have fun during the break time from work. Their first choice of fun is shopping. Other choices, though practiced by few, include meeting friends, accompanying the children, trips to the suburbs, and lessons for more skills. When they. go shopping, 54.5 percent of the white-collars actually shop in supermarkets, while 27.9. percent attend other stores, especially when discounts are offered. These activities don't seem to cost much, as 60 percent spend average less than 200 yuan (US$26) during weekends, and 30 percent no more than 500 yuan. When asked whom they would spend the weekends with, about 40 percent mention their partners, and 30 percent prefer a weekend all by themselves. Less than 20 percent hang out with friends. Only 5.8 percent would kill the time with their colleagues. This is because we tend to avoid too many personal contacts with our co-workers when we don't have to work with them, according to some experts. Which of the following is TRUE according to the survey? A) There is the same percentage about people preferring a weekend all by themselves and people spending no more than 500 yuan during weekends. B) Most office workers can't afford things in supermarkets, so they prefer to attend other stores, especially when discounts are offered. C) More than one fifth of office workers like to hang out with friends. D) All the office workers prefer to relax themselves and no one is willing to learn more skills.
A