With all this attention to their homes, you would think Americans place a high premium on housekeeping. In fact, however, keeping house doesn't receive as much attention as it used to. Why? The fast-paced lifestyles of the 90s allow little spare time for dusting, vacuuming and scrubbing the tub. Ironically, however, even though more and more women work outside the home, women still do twice as much house work as men. Modern conve-niences like the washing machine, the vacuum cleaner, and the dishwasher have taken some of the drudgery out of household chores. But in general, Americans these days take their cue from books like How to Avoid Housework.
花了這么多心思在他們的家，你大概會(huì)認(rèn)為美國(guó)人非常重視家庭的打理與清潔，但是事實(shí)上，整理家務(wù)已不像以前一樣受重視。 為什么？九○年代步調(diào)快速的生活方式幾乎沒有留什么時(shí)間撢灰塵、吸塵以及刷洗浴缸。然而，諷刺的是，即使越來越多的婦女在外工作，她們還是比男人多做兩倍的家務(wù)。雖然像是洗衣機(jī)、吸塵器和洗碗機(jī)等現(xiàn)代家電已代為處理家事中一些乏味、辛苦的工作。但一般而言，美國(guó)人今天已會(huì)向「如何避免家務(wù)」這類的書來求救。
As a result, you might think American homes of the 90s are less than spotless. Witness the fact that sales of household cleaning products have declined in recent years. Besides that, Americans seem to be less persnickety about their housecleaning--especially in areas that nobody sees. Vacuum under the sofa? Dust the baseboards? Are you kidding? Ironically, though, American women seem quite satisfied with their housekeeping, according to a national survey conducted in 1995-96. Besides that, people are designing their homes with low-maintenance features--tile in bathrooms and kitchens as well as marble on countertops--to cut down on the need for frequent cleaning. Even so, more and more people are hiring outside help to clean their houses. A Roper poll found that one in six Americans hired cleaning help last year, up from one in 10 in 1986. One professional housecleaning service, Merry Maids, has grown to over 800 franchises in recent years.
因此，你可能會(huì)認(rèn)為九○年代的美國(guó)家庭大概不是一塵不染。由家用清潔產(chǎn)品的銷售量在近幾年下降便可見一般。此外，美國(guó)人似乎對(duì)于家庭的清潔比較不那么吹毛求疵了--特別是對(duì)那些沒有人看到的地方。吸沙發(fā)下的灰塵？撢踢腳板？你開玩笑？但可笑的是，根據(jù)一九九五／六年做的一項(xiàng)全國(guó)性調(diào)查，美國(guó)婦女似乎對(duì)他們的家務(wù)整理挺滿意。除此之外，人們以較不需要時(shí)時(shí)清潔的材料來設(shè)計(jì)他們的家--在浴室及廚房貼磁磚以及做大理石的臺(tái)面--減少打掃的次數(shù)。即使如此，越來越多的人雇用外人協(xié)助清理屋子。一項(xiàng)洛普民意調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，去年有六分之一的美國(guó)雇用清潔服務(wù)，較一九八六年的十分之一比率上升許多。一個(gè)專業(yè)性的家務(wù)清理服務(wù)「快樂女傭公司」在最近幾年已成長(zhǎng)到有八百多家的連鎖店。
In a pre-Revolutionary War speech in 1761, James Otis made the famous remark that "a man's home is his castle." Americans like their castle to be as comfortable as possible. They would like to have a home they can be proud of, a place they can call their own. Not everyone's home looks like a castle, but "be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
在一七六一年獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)前的一次演說中，詹姆士。歐提斯留下了一句名言--「男人的家是他的城堡」。美國(guó)人喜歡他們的城堡能夠盡可能的舒適，他們都想要有一個(gè)引以為榮的家，一個(gè)可以屬于他們自己的地方。并不是每個(gè)人的家都看起來像是一座城堡，但是「即使是非常簡(jiǎn)陋，但沒有一個(gè)地方可以比得上家?！?BR>
花了這么多心思在他們的家，你大概會(huì)認(rèn)為美國(guó)人非常重視家庭的打理與清潔，但是事實(shí)上，整理家務(wù)已不像以前一樣受重視。 為什么？九○年代步調(diào)快速的生活方式幾乎沒有留什么時(shí)間撢灰塵、吸塵以及刷洗浴缸。然而，諷刺的是，即使越來越多的婦女在外工作，她們還是比男人多做兩倍的家務(wù)。雖然像是洗衣機(jī)、吸塵器和洗碗機(jī)等現(xiàn)代家電已代為處理家事中一些乏味、辛苦的工作。但一般而言，美國(guó)人今天已會(huì)向「如何避免家務(wù)」這類的書來求救。
As a result, you might think American homes of the 90s are less than spotless. Witness the fact that sales of household cleaning products have declined in recent years. Besides that, Americans seem to be less persnickety about their housecleaning--especially in areas that nobody sees. Vacuum under the sofa? Dust the baseboards? Are you kidding? Ironically, though, American women seem quite satisfied with their housekeeping, according to a national survey conducted in 1995-96. Besides that, people are designing their homes with low-maintenance features--tile in bathrooms and kitchens as well as marble on countertops--to cut down on the need for frequent cleaning. Even so, more and more people are hiring outside help to clean their houses. A Roper poll found that one in six Americans hired cleaning help last year, up from one in 10 in 1986. One professional housecleaning service, Merry Maids, has grown to over 800 franchises in recent years.
因此，你可能會(huì)認(rèn)為九○年代的美國(guó)家庭大概不是一塵不染。由家用清潔產(chǎn)品的銷售量在近幾年下降便可見一般。此外，美國(guó)人似乎對(duì)于家庭的清潔比較不那么吹毛求疵了--特別是對(duì)那些沒有人看到的地方。吸沙發(fā)下的灰塵？撢踢腳板？你開玩笑？但可笑的是，根據(jù)一九九五／六年做的一項(xiàng)全國(guó)性調(diào)查，美國(guó)婦女似乎對(duì)他們的家務(wù)整理挺滿意。除此之外，人們以較不需要時(shí)時(shí)清潔的材料來設(shè)計(jì)他們的家--在浴室及廚房貼磁磚以及做大理石的臺(tái)面--減少打掃的次數(shù)。即使如此，越來越多的人雇用外人協(xié)助清理屋子。一項(xiàng)洛普民意調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，去年有六分之一的美國(guó)雇用清潔服務(wù)，較一九八六年的十分之一比率上升許多。一個(gè)專業(yè)性的家務(wù)清理服務(wù)「快樂女傭公司」在最近幾年已成長(zhǎng)到有八百多家的連鎖店。
In a pre-Revolutionary War speech in 1761, James Otis made the famous remark that "a man's home is his castle." Americans like their castle to be as comfortable as possible. They would like to have a home they can be proud of, a place they can call their own. Not everyone's home looks like a castle, but "be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
在一七六一年獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)前的一次演說中，詹姆士。歐提斯留下了一句名言--「男人的家是他的城堡」。美國(guó)人喜歡他們的城堡能夠盡可能的舒適，他們都想要有一個(gè)引以為榮的家，一個(gè)可以屬于他們自己的地方。并不是每個(gè)人的家都看起來像是一座城堡，但是「即使是非常簡(jiǎn)陋，但沒有一個(gè)地方可以比得上家?！?BR>