（每日一读）2014年高考英语8月考前突破 阅读理解能力 社会生活 生女还是生子 你更倾向于何种观点？素材

生女还是生子 你更倾向于何种观点？With global life expectancy now at age 68 for men and 73 for women, it's more likely than ever that your children will have to support you in old age. But will it be your son or your daughter who steps up to take responsibility?随着全球寿命境况正迈向男人 68 岁，女人 73 岁的年龄段，在你垂垂老去时，你的孩子将比以往任何时候承担起晚年照顾你的重任。但是会是你的儿子还是女儿承担起这份责任呢？ The answer may surprise you. Sons are not only less likely to support elderly parents, but are actually more likely to depend on them for financial support, making daughters the favoured gender. This trend is spreading to some of the world's most patriarchal（家长的） societies, including some in East Asia, where the greatest gender imbalance exists. What's your take on daughters versus sons? Daughters are better financial investments than sons, according to recent data. Is there a cultural basis in these results, predicated on gender preference? Or is this a rising global trend? For the past 40 years, US couples have consistently favoured sons over daughters. American men favoured sons. Women, however, voted equally for both genders. East Asian couples, who traditionally favoured sons, are now showing a preference for daughters. In the past decade, the ratio of Chinese boys to girls born dropped from 12:10 to 11:10. In 1999, 75% of Japanese couples said they hoped for a daughter. In 2011, 66% of South Korean couples wanted a daughter.