TED演讲:人生交叉点(4)

 　　After receiving my master's at Fisk, I went on to Yale to complete my PhD. 在菲斯克大学获得硕士学位后，我去了耶鲁大学，完成了博士学业。

　　Once I was physically¹ occupying the space that would ultimately give way to my childhood aspirations², I anticipated a smooth glide³ to the PhD. 看来，只要我占据了有利位置，踏上通往博士之路，实现我的儿时梦想，获得博士学位就是分分钟的事。

　　It became immediately apparent that not everyone was thrilled to have that degree of liminality in their space. 但很显然，并不是每个人都允许自己的领域出现像我们这样的人。

　　I was ostracized⁴ by many of my classmates, one of whom went so far as to invite me to "do what I really came here to do" 我被许多同学排斥，其中一个极为过分，他要求我“去做我应该做的工作”，

　　as he pushed all the dirty dishes from our meal in front of me to clean up. 然后把食堂的所有脏盘子都丢给我。

　　I wish that were an isolated⁵ occurrence, 我也曾希望这只是个别现象，

　　but for many women of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, this is something they have long endured. 但是对于许多非白人女性而言，尤其是那些在科学、技术、工程和数学领域--简称STEM--工作的，这种事儿对她们而言已是家常便饭。

　　One hundred percent of the 60 women of color interviewed in a recent study by Joan C. Williams at UC Hastings 60名非白人女性参加了一项调查，由加州大学哈斯汀法学院的琼·C·威廉姆斯发起，

　　reported facing racialized gender⁶ bias⁷, including being mistaken for the janitorial⁸ staff. 她们全部声称自己遭遇过种族性别歧视，包括被误认为是看门人。

　　This mistaken identity was not reported by any of the white women interviewed for this study, which comprised 557 women in total. 而同样参加此项调查的白人女性从未遇到过类似遭遇，而参加调查的女性共有557位。

　　While there is nothing inherently wrong with a janitorial position, 当然，看门人的工作并没有什么问题，

　　and in fact my forefathers⁹ and foremothers were able to attend college because many of their parents worked these jobs, 实际上我的祖辈们能够上大学多亏了他们的父母有很多就是看门人，

　　it was a clear attempt to put me in my place. 很明显，我同学这样做是给我画地为牢。

1 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

2 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

3 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

4 ostracized   

v.放逐( ostracize的过去式和过去分词 )；流放；摈弃；排斥

参考例句：

• He was ostracized by his colleagues for refusing to support the strike. 他因拒绝支持罢工而受到同事的排斥。
• The family were ostracized by the neighborhood. 邻居们都不理睬那一家人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

6 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

7 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

8 janitorial   

adj.管理的(janitor的变形)

参考例句：

• Besides attending class, you will help our janitorial staff after school. 除了正常上课以外，下课后你得帮助学校的工人做做义工。 来自电影对白
• The accommodation will be cleaned 2-3 times every week by janitorial staff. 宿舍每星期更换2~3次备品，并有清洁人员清扫宿舍环境。 来自互联网

9 forefathers   

n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left. 它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。 来自《简明英汉词典》