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 onto(登录到)website, a small
pop-up(弹出式菜单) invites you to book a bouquet(花 束) for her.{{U}} (46)
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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. 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 horrified.
{{U}} (47) {{/U}}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 jewelry and clothes to cosmetics and
washing powder, that take advantage of the promotion opportunities. Because of
this, Jarvis spent the last 40 years of her life trying to stop Mother's Day.
One protest against the commercialization(商品化) Mother's Day even got her
arrested for disturbing the peace, interestingly.
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(48) {{/U}}As Ralph Fevre, a reporter at the UK newspaper The
Guardian, observe, traditionally "motherhood is something that we do because we
think it's right. " But in the logic of commercialism, people need something in
exchange for their time and energy. A career serves this purpose better.
In addition, women are being encouraged to pursue any career
they desire. So they work hard and play hard.{{U}} (49) {{/U}}
{{U}} (50) {{/U}}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."
A. Commercial warmth and
gratitude are the atmosphere being spread around for this special Sunday in May.
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 American consumers celebrate the
holiday.
E. As a result, motherhood has suffered a huge drop in
status since the 1950s.
F. Becoming a mother, however,
inevitably handicaps career anticipation.