湖南省汝城二中2014届高考英语一轮复习阅读训练 (49)_高考复习指南

湖南省汝城二中2014届高考英语一轮复习阅读训练 (49)

　　Parents in low-income countries don't send their daughters to school because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family: girls grow up only to marry into somebody else's family and bear children．Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and are kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school-the prophecy （预言） becomes self-fulfilling, trapping women in a vicious circle （恶性循环） of abandonment．

　　An educated mother, on the other hand．has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices．She is likely to have fewer hut healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children, ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance．The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls, as well as of boys．will be educated and healthy.The vicious circle is thus transformed into a virtuous circle （良性循环）．

　　Few will don't agree the idea that educating women has great social benefits．But it has enormous economic advantages as well．Most obviously, there is the direct effect of education on the wages of female workers．Wages rise by 10 to 20 per cent for each additional, year of schooling．Such big returns are impressive by the standard of other available deal, but they are just the beginning．Educating women also has a significant impact on health practices， including family planning．