Section A

Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.

Parenting brings fathers more joy than it does mothers, according to a new study. The research examined three studies ___26___ more than 18,000 participants. Across all three, parenthood was ___27___ with more positive wellbeing outcomes for dads than for mums.

So why are fathers happier than mothers? "Fathers may fare better than mothers in part due to how they spend time with their children," said lead author Katherine Nelson-Coffey. In one study, the authors ___28___ that dads were more likely to take "playing" as an ___29___ activity both when caring for their kids and spending time with their kids. "Playing with their children likely offers parents opportunities to experience positive feelings and ___30___ closeness with their children," they say.

Fathers also did better than men without kids, reporting greater happiness, life satisfaction, and fewer ___31___ symptoms. They also reported greater connectedness and autonomy (自主). For mums, ___32___, compared to women without children, the results weren't quite as positive. Mums reported greater autonomy, but also "greater trouble" and fewer positive ___33___.

Mums reported happier moods while interacting with their kids, compared to other experiences, but not while engaging ___34___ in childcare. "This difference suggests that how mothers and fathers spend time with their children might have important ___35___ for their wellbeing," the authors write. They suspect that mums may be less happy than dads because they're more likely to have higher expectations about parenthood. As such, they're more likely to be "let down" by the experience.