The number of women taking maternity leave（产假） in the United States has not changed over the last two decades， according to a new study， even as the national economy has grown and new family leave policies have been implemented in three states．
Study author Jay Zagorsky says he began looking into maternity leave rates after two of his nieces gave birth around the same time last year． "One got an amazing package - full pay for a few months - and the other had to cobble together（拼凑） vacation and sick time，" he says． "I was astonished．"
"I did a little research， and there were no numbers，" he added． "The government tracks which employers provide maternity leave， but no one has calculated how many people are using it．" Zagorsky was troubled to find no increase over time， considering research that shows how beneficial it can be - for both parents and newborns - to spend time together． Giving mothers time off from work to bond with new babies has been shown to improve the physical and mental health of mothers， reduce cesarean deliveries（剖腹产）， save infants" lives and encourage breastfeeding， the study notes．
Over the 22-year study， the U．S． economy grew by 66%， and the GDP rose from 9.9trillionto16.4trillion a year． During that time， California， New Jersey and Rhode Island passed the first state laws to provide paid family leave． New York will become the fourth state to offer paid family leave in 2018． In other states， most employees are covered by federal law providing 12weeks of unpaid time off after a baby's birth． Individual companies or state policies may expand beyond these provisions．
"But just because maternity leave is available doesn't mean women will take it， "Zagorsky says． The Department of Labor estimates that only about 12% of private sector employees have access to paid family leave， and Zagorsky's study showed that only 47.5% of the women who took time off in 2015were paid for it．
The rate of paid maternity leave increased over the study period， but only by a quarter of a percent per year． At that rate， Zagorsky says， it will take another decade before even 60% of U．S． women going on leave receive such benefits． "This is a very low figure for the nation with the world's largest annual GDP，" he writes．
Even if a woman is paid for her maternity leave， she may keep herself aloof from it． The reason may be that she's worried about being replaced or valued less at work， the study notes． She may also only receive a small part of her normal salary， which can make providing for her family unmanageable．
The study suggests that the paid maternity leave laws that are in place may be "ineffective， not fully implemented， or too narrowly defined to have an impact"． The women who took time off after giving birth were more likely to be better educated and financially better off than the typical mother．
Zagorsky did not have information about the number of births every month， so he was unable to determine the exact percentage of working parents that used family leave． But based on the number of births per year， he estimates that about 10% of men and 54% of women take some time off． Based on employment and economic data， Zagorsky says the stalled （停顿的） maternity leave numbers can't be explained by unemployment rates， the recession or women dropping out of the workforce．
In a 2007 analysis of 173 countries， the United States was one of only four nations that didn't have a federal paid maternity leave policy for women after childbirth． In 98 countries， new mothers were required to receive at least 14weeks of paid time off． During his campaign， President Donald Trump said he supported a plan for six weeks of paid leave for new mothers． （He has not proposed paid leave for fathers or other caregivers．） Even if those six weeks are implemented， Zagorsky says， "We still have a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the world．"



Why does Jay Zagorsky mention his two nieces？ ______

A. To introduce the subject of his study．
B. To state the purpose of his study．
C. To explain the inspiration behind his study．
D. To stress the significance of his study．

Which statement may Zagorsky agree with？ ______

A. Unpaid maternity leave will be knocked out gradually．
B. At least 14-week paid maternity leave should be offered．
C. The U．S． paid maternity leave policies are well carried out．
D. Few U．S． women really benefit from the paid maternity leave．

The underlined sentence implies that a U．S． woman ______ ．

A. may fail to take on her responsibilities
B. dare not voice her doubts and concerns
C. is dissatisfied with her maternity leave
D. may not take her paid maternity leave

In Zagorsky's view， what contributes to the unchanged maternity leave numbers？ ______

A. High unemployment rates．
B. Maternity leave policies．
C. The worsening national economy．
D. Lack of female employees．

What's Zagorsky's attitude to the condition of maternity leave in America？ ______

A. Doubtful． B. Subjective． C. Concerned． D. Optimistic．

What is the best title for the passage？ ______

A. Maternity leave isn't getting more popular in the U．S．
B. Introducing paid maternity leave is a difficult task
C. Maternity leave still has a long way to go in the U．S．
D. Maternity leave is all a matter of choice