Only two countries in the advanced world provide no guarantee for paid leave from work to care for a newborn child. Last spring one of the two, Australia, gave up the dubious distinction by establishing paid family leave starting in 2014. I wasn't surprised when this didn't make the news here in the United States—we're now the only wealthy country without such a policy. The United States does have one explicit family policy, the Family and Medical Leave Act, passed in 1993. It entitles workers to as much as 12 weeks' unpaid leave for care of a newborn or dealing with a family medical problem. Despite the modesty of the benefit, the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups fought it bitterly, describing it as " government-run personnel management" and a "dangerous precedent". In fact, every step of the way, as (usually) Democratic leaders have tried to introduce work-family balance measures into the law, business groups have been strongly opposed. As Yale law professor Anne Alstott argues, justifying parental support depends on defining the family as a social good that, in some sense, society must pay for. In her book No Exit; What Parents Owe Their Children and What Society Owes Parents, she argues that parents are burdened in many ways in their lives; there is "no exit" when it comes to children. "Society expects—and needs—parents to provide their children with continuity of care, meaning the intensive, intimate care that human beings need to develop their intellectual, emotional and moral capabilities. And society expects—and needs— parents to persist in their roles for 18 years, or longer if needed." While most parents do this out of love, there are public penalties for not providing care. What parents do, in other words, is of deep concern to the state, for the obvious reason that caring for children is not only morally urgent but essential for the future of society. The state recognizes this in the large body of family laws that govern children' welfare, yet parents receive little help in meeting the life-changing obligations society imposes. To classify parenting as a personal choice for which there is no collective responsibility is not merely to ignore the social benefits of good parenting; really, it is to steal those benefits because they accrue (不断积累) to the whole of society as today's children become tomorrow's productive citizenry(公民). In fact, by some estimates, the value of parental investments in children, investments of time and money (including lost wages) , is equal to 20-30% of gross domestic product. If these investments generate huge social benefits—as they clearly do—the benefits of providing more social support for the family should be that much clearer.

单选题 What do we learn about paid family leave from the first paragraph?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据题干中的paid family leave和the first paragraph将本题出处定位到第一段。该段末句提到we're now the only wealthy country without such a policy(我们现在成了唯一一个没有施行这项政策的富裕国家)，we指代破折号前的the United States，such a policy指的则是上一句中所提到的paid family leave(带薪休假)。A项是破折号后内容的同义转述，故为正确答案，其中America即the United States，developed country与wealthy country同义。

单选题 What has prevented the passing of work-family balance laws in the United States?

单选题 What is Professor Anne Alston's argument for parental support?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据题干中的Professor Anne Alstott's argument for parental support将本题出处定位到第三段首句。该句提到，就像耶鲁法学教授Anne Alstott所辩解的那样，证明给父母提供支持这种做法合理，取决于将家庭定义为对社会有益的事情，在某种意义上，社会对这种事情必须负责。由该段中后面引用的Anne Alstott书中的观点也能看出，社会之所以要对家长提供支持是因为社会期许也需要家长们对孩子付出不问断的关爱。由此可知，Anne Alstott教授认为社会应该给父母提供支持的理由是父母养育孩子对社会有利。B项“好好养育孩子有益于社会”是对family as a social good的同义转述，故为正确答案。

单选题 What does the author think of America's large body of family laws governing children's welfare?

单选题 Why does the author object to classifying parenting as a personal choice?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据题干中的classifying parenting as a personal choice将本题出处定位到末段第四句。该句提到，把抚养孩子划分为一种无集体责任的个人选择不仅忽略了高质量抚养带来的社会利益，也偷走了这些利益。结合下文的If these investments generate huge social benefits—as they clearly do可知，家长养育孩子所产生的社会利益是巨大的。由此可知，作者反对将养育孩子定义为个人选择，认为社会应当承担责任，是因为养育孩子给社会打来巨大利益，故答案为C项。