a) For example, last month the British government refused to increase paternity leave from two weeks to four weeks.
b) Today, in the UK, a mother can have 26 weeks’ maternity leave.
c) If they want more time, they will have a maximum of three years’ leave.
d) If they can make a law, then it will be good news for families everywhere.
e) Dads need time with their new babies too.
f) Companies do not accept that dads should have time with their babies.
g) It also means mums will probably get more help at home.
|
|
|
|
| DADS NEED TIME TOO!
‘Maternity leave’ means time off for mothers to look after their new babies. But what about fathers, or ‘dads’? 0__ E _. How often do they get ‘paternity leave’.
Ten years ago, in many countries, a mother was lucky if she had four weeks’ holiday. 1_____ This means 26 weeks’ holiday with full pay.
This will soon change. Mothers will then have the chance to have a whole year’s maternity leave on full pay. 2_____ However, the last two years may not be paid.
But what about dads? If they get two weeks’ paid leave, they’ll be lucky. 3_____ They think mums should stay at home and dads should go to work. Many working dads will have little time with their babies. This is bad because research shows that some time with a new baby can be very important for both dads and babies. 4_____
Many dads believe that the law on paternity leave should change so dads can spend more time with their children. However, many governments believe that dads are not important for babies. 5_____
The European Union has often said that paternity leave is important. 6____ Dads are happy that maternity leave is increasing but they want to have time to help too.
|
|
|
|
5 Listen to the dialogue and decide whether the sentences are true or false.
Track 2
0 Greenland is bigger than Australia. ___ false ___
1 Snow falls even in summer in Greenland. __________
2 Most people in Greenland live by the sea. __________
3 The population of lemurs is increasing in Madagascar. __________
4 There are seven islands bigger than Great Britain. __________
5 The Channel Tunnel is the longest tunnel in the world. __________
