Now listen to the following recording andanswer questions 19 to 21

19

A.They are unsatisfied with their work.

B.They need to take care of their children.

C.They are in companies with loose management.

D.They don’t take their work seriously.

20

A.Male colleagues in their 30s.

B.Managers of the company.

C.Younger colleagues in their 20s.

D.Older colleagues in their 50s.

21

A.Fairness and equality were not paid due attention to.

B.Employees without children could have their voice better heard.

C.Managers had a good knowledge of the relevant laws.

D.Women could be in an unfavorable position in career development.

Are flexible working arrangements for women withchildren causing resentment among those whodon’t have children? Researchers in Britain havefound that many of those surveys thought womenwho worked flexible hours were less committedthan their colleagues.

(19) Working part-time, leaving early to pick up the kids: flexible working is seen as somethingthat can help parents, but it could be having a negative impact. 25,000 women were surveyed.About half of those questioned said that women who worked flexible hours were resented andviewed as less committed by their colleagues. Here is what some people surveyed in Londonthought.

"There is some resentment definitely. (20) I think it’s more a case of like with younger peoplein their 20s. They do kind of look at some of my older colleagues and sort of saying ’well, it’snot really that fair.’ But I think they might change their tune when they are perhaps in their 30sand when they are thinking about kids." "My colleague, when I was leaving some part-time,mouthed ’I hate you’. And I think that was because I do manage to strike a balance." "I passedfrom 95 jobs, full-time to freelance." "And so it’s not just women with children that want thatflexibility?" Jody Day, who founded the organization Gateway Women for women withoutchildren, said they had legitimate reasons to be resentful. "It’s a difficult issue to bring up inthe workplace because it’s actually about fairness and equality, and diversity. And if most ofthe women in the office do have children, there is a sense that’s a kind of dominant sort ofgroup think. And it can be quite difficult to get your voice heard if you are the childless one inthat situation." "Managers are often confused about what rights and privileges people havebecause they are trying to do the right thing. They are worried about what the law says."

(21) The researchers found that the negative judgment attached to flexible working could bean obstacle to women’s progression. They’ve called on businesses to do more to change that.

19. Why do some women employees work flexible hours?

20. According to the survey, who are more likely to resent women employees withchildren?

21. What did the researchers find about the issue of women working flexible hours?

有孩子的女性员工的弹性工作时间会令没孩子的员工产生不满情绪吗?英国研究人员发现，很多调查显示有弹性工作时间的女性不如她们的同事对工作更投入。

兼职、提早下班去接孩子：弹性工作制被认为照顾到了为人父母的员工，但是它也有可能造成一种负面影响。2.5万位女性接受了调查。其中有将近一半的人认为有弹性工作时间的女性会招致同事的不满，并被认为工作投入不够。以下是伦敦接受调查者的想法。

“当然会有不满情绪。我想尤其是在20几岁的年轻人当中。他们看到年纪稍长几岁的有弹性工作时间的同事时可能会说：‘这实际上不是很公平。’但是我认为等他们到了30多岁想要孩子的时候，他们的观点可能就会发生改变。”“每当我兼职完离开时，我的同事们会用口型告诉我‘我恨你’。我想这是因为我能够达成一个平衡。”“我经历过95份工作，有全职有兼职。”“所以我知道，并不是只有做了母亲的员工想要有弹性工作时间。”乔迪·达伊是一家专门为无子女女性成立的公司，Gateway Women的创始人，她说她们的不满是有法律依据的。“这个问题很难在工作场所被提出是因为它事关公平、平等和差异。”如果你办公室里的女员工大部分都有孩子，那么这种想法就占据了主导地位。而如果你是无子女的员工，你的反对意见很难得到注意。“管理者通常会混淆权利与特权，他们都想着做正确的事情，担心自己违法。”

研究者还发现，有关弹性工作制的负面评价可能会成为女职员职业发展的障碍。他们呼吁企业为改变这一情况做出更多努力。

问题19 为什么一些女性员工采用弹性工作制?

问题20 根据调查，谁更有可能憎恨有孩子的女性员工。

问题21 关于女性弹性工作制问题调查人员有什么发现?

参考答案：

【小题19】B

【小题20】C

【小题21】D

习题解析：

【小题19】讲座开头提到了对女性采用弹性工作时间的调查，而后又提到 working part-time, leaving early to pick up the kids: flexible working is seen assomething that can help parents，指出非全时工作，早退接孩子——人们认为弹性工作制能够帮助有孩子的父母。可知实行弹性工作制是因为这些女员工需要照顾孩子，故 B 项为正确答案。A、C 两项在讲座中未提及，可排除;讲座中提到调查结果显示工作时间灵活的女性不如她们的同事对工作更投入，但这并不是实行弹性工作时间的原因，D 项不符合题意，也应排除。

【小题20】听力原文中引用了一位调查对象的话，提到 I think it’s more a case of like with youngerpeople in their 20s，指出在这位调查对象看来，更多的是20多岁的年轻员工看到年龄较大的同事弹性工作时会感觉有些憎恨，因而 C 项正确，故选 C。

【小题21】听力原文最后提到，The researchers found that the negative judgment attached toflexible working could be an obstacle to women’s progression. They’ve called on businesses todo more to change that，指出研究人员发现，有关弹性工作制的负面评价可能会成为女职员职业发展的障碍。即女性员工可能在职业发展上处于不利的地位，由此可知 D 项为正确答案。文中提及弹性工作制事关公平、平等，并非说公平与平等没有受到应有的重视，A 项与讲座表述不符;B、C 两项则未被提及，故三项均可排除。