【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】 A new study from the University of New South Wales has discovered that during the working week, Aus tralian fathers only spend an average of just over a minute each day along with their children. Australian mothers, on the other hand, spend three hours a week purely looking after their children-a much greater disparity than in other countries like America. Denmark, Italy and France, where couples divide the child-care more evenly. According to the author of the study, traditionally Australian fathers appear to like the fun aspects of parenthood, but stay away from daily child-care activities. So while they tend to be happy taking the kids to the park or to sports events, they are unlikely to participate regularly in feeding, bathing, or taking the kids to school. In short, Australian parenting is seen as a woman's job and a man's hobby. However, the last twenty years have seen the arrival of the so-called "new man"—the man who is willing to share the housework and child-care. The new man has a picture of his children on his computer desktop at work; he never misses the kids' school plays and he passes on a drink after work so that he can get home in time to read their bedtime story. This new study suggests that the new man feels a little more at home in Europe than in Australia. Indeed, a poll conducted in the UK indicated that almost 70% of British women thought that men were as good at raising children as women. [解析] 文中提到澳大利亚的妈妈们一周要花3个小时来照顾孩子，比其他国家如美国、丹麦、意大利和法国的妈妈们花的时间都长得多，选D。a much greater disparity意思是“很大的悬殊或差异”。