书城外语每天都是精彩:英语诵读美文240篇(英汉对照)
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第127章

Thoughts on International Women's Day

Guidance for Reciting

Scientists have been guilty of over-emphasizing *** differences. There are differences. Ignoring them is foolish,and exaggerating them is dangerous. But that doesn't mean that society shouldn't treat the genders equally.

This is supposed to be an enlightened age,but you wouldn't think so if only you could hear what the average man thinks of the average woman. Women won their independence years ago. After a long,bitter struggle,they now enjoy the same educational opportunities as men in most parts of the world. They have proved repeatedly that they are equal and often superior to men in almost every field. The hard-fought battle for recognition has been won,but it is through no means over. It is men,not women who still carry on the *** war because their attitude remains basically hostile. Even in the most progressive societies,women continue to be regarded as second-rate citizens. To hear some men talk,you'd think that women belonged to a different species!

Notes

1.enlightened [in5lait(E)nd] a. 被启发的,进步的,文明的

2.hostile [5hCstail] a. 怀敌意的,敌对的

3.species [5spi:Fi:z] n. 物种,种类

国际妇女节里的思考

诵读导言

科学家们应该为过分强调性别差异负责任。差异确实存在,忽略差异是愚蠢的,夸大差异是危险的。但是,这并不意味着整个社会不应该平等的对待男人和女人。

们认为当今的时代是一个开明的时代,可是如果你能听到普通男人是怎么说普通女人的,你就不会这么想了。许多年以前妇女就获得了独立。经历了长期而艰苦的奋斗,现在她们在世界上大多数地区享受到了和男人平等的受教育机会。她们反复证明,在几乎所有的领域里,她们与男人相比不相上下,而且常常要超过男人。这场为获得承认而进行的艰苦战斗已经获得了胜利,但是,还远远没有结束。仍然继续进行这场性别之战的是男人而非女人,因为男人对女人在根本上仍保持着敌对的态度。即使在最进步的社会里,女人仍然被认为是二等公民。听一听男人们的谈话,你会以为女人属于一种不同的种类!

口语点津

流行观点认为男人和女人心理上的差异很大,我们经常可以在一些书中看到这样的观点,其中比较有影响的是John Gray创作的Men are from Mars,women are from Venus (《男人来自火星,女人来自金星》)。但是,男人和女人可终究是来自同一个星球。美国一位心理学家说两性之间并不像大家所认为的差距那么大。她说研究表明男人和女人在个性、交流和领导能力等方面非常接近。