向前一步:第196期 让我们开始讨论吧(2)

 and Congressman¹ Lehman promised to introduce me to him before the summer ended. 莱曼议员承诺在暑假结束前介绍我认识奥尼尔。

Then, on the very last day of the session, he made good on his promise. 直到暑假的最后一天，他终于兑现了自己的诺言。

In the hall outside the House floor, he pulled me over to meet Speaker O'Neill. 在国会大厅里，他带我去见奥尼尔。

I was nervous, but Congressman Lehman put me at ease by introducing me in the nicest way possible, 我很紧张，但莱曼介绍我的方式非常贴心，让我心情放松了很多。

telling the Speaker that I had worked hard all summer. 他告诉奥尼尔，整个暑假我都工作得非常努力。

The Speaker looked at me, then reached over and patted my head. 奥尼尔看着我，拍拍我的头，

He turned to the congressman and remarked, "She's pretty." 又转身对莱曼说道：“她很漂亮。”

Then he turned his attention back to me and asked just one question: "Are you a pom-pom girl?" 随后看着我，只问了一个问题：“你在啦啦队吧？”

I was crushed. Looking back, I know his words were intended to flatter me, but in the moment, I felt belittled². 我顿时呆住了。现在回想起来，我明白他说这话是想称赞我，但就在那一刻，我感到自己被轻视了。

I wanted to be recognized for the work I had done. I reacted defensively. "No," I replied. "I study too much for that." 我希望自己的工作得到认可，于是辩解道：“不是，我学这么多可不是为了做这个。”

Then a wave of terror struck me for speaking up to the man who was third in line for the presidency³. 然后我突然感到一阵恐惧，毕竟对面站着的是有望成为总统的第三号人选。

But no one seemed to register my curt⁴ and not-at-all clever response. 但似乎没人注意到我鲁莽笨拙的回答，

The Speaker just patted me on the head — again! — and moved along. My congressman beamed. 奥尼尔只是拍了拍我的头——又拍！然后走开了，莱曼则在一旁满脸堆笑。

Even to my teenage self, this sexism seemed retro. 即使在当时还很年轻的我看来，这种性别歧视也已经很老套了。

 

1 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

2 belittled   

使显得微小，轻视，贬低( belittle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She felt her husband constantly belittled her achievements. 她觉得她的丈夫时常贬低她的成就。
• A poor but honest man is not to be belittled. 穷而诚实的人是不该让人小看的。

3 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。