With the festive season approaching, it is the kind of news likely to leave flustered housewives shaking their heads in disbelief.
　　A third of men, it is reckoned, won’t lift a finger in the kitchen this Christmas.
　　But as fed up women across the land cry ‘Only a third?’, it appears men have come up with some pretty good excuses for their idleness at Christmas.
　　A lack of confidence, previous failures and complicated recipes are the main reasons men say don’t want to get involved on December 25.
　　Many others won’t go near the kitchen because they believe their other half is happy to take care of everything.
　　The survey, by Red Tractor beef and lamb, also revealed that one in two women would like more help at Christmas.
　　A spokesman said: ‘We all know that women do a lot of work at Christmas, but men shouldn’t make up excuses for not helping out or be afraid of the kitchen.
　　‘They shouldn’t let previous mistakes put them off having a go at recipes.’
　　A third of men say they have no confidence when it comes to Christmas cooking, with a fifth saying they feel lost in the kitchen. One in six said previous criticism of his efforts had put him off attempting to cook festive foods ever again.
　　Almost one fifth of men say they do not cook at all.
　　Recent Hull University research into gender differences in the kitchen, found that men’s lack of help is not down to laziness, but an inherent lack of confidence built up from an early age.
　　A university spokesman said: ‘It’s not that men don’t want to cook, it’s just that they need the encouragement.’
　　在圣诞节临近之际，这种新闻可能会让忙乱的家庭主妇们摇头表示难以置信。
　　据估计，今年圣诞节英国会有三分之一的男性完全不插手厨房的活儿。
　　不过，当那些受够了的英国女人们大呼“怎么会只有三分之一？”时，男人们似乎已经想出了一些让自己在圣诞节偷懒的好理由。
　　据男人们所说，他们不愿在圣诞节插手家务的主要原因是缺乏自信、曾经的失败经历以及复杂的节日食谱。
　　还有许多男人不愿意走近厨房是因为他们认为自己的另一半很乐意大包大揽。
　　由“小红拖拉机”牛羊肉质量保证体系开展的这一调查还揭示，半数女性希望圣诞节能得到更多帮助。
　　一位发言人说：“我们都知道，女人们在圣诞节要干很多活儿，但是男人们不应该为自己不帮忙或害怕进厨房而编造借口。
　　“他们不应该因为过去的失误，就迟迟不愿尝试这些烹饪方法。”
　　三分之一的男性说他们对于烹饪圣诞节大餐没有信心，五分之一的男性说他们在厨房里毫无头绪。六分之一的男性说，由于先前做出的努力受到批评，他们迟迟不愿再次尝试烹饪节日食物。
　　近五分之一的男性说他们根本不做饭。
　　赫尔大学最近的一项对厨房内性别差异的调查发现，男性之所以不得力，不是因为懒惰，而是骨子里缺乏自信，这种心理从小时候就慢慢形成了。
　　一位大学的发言人说：“不是男人不想做饭，只是他们需要鼓励。”
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