向前一步:第200期 让我们开始讨论吧(6)

 But while gender¹ was not openly acknowledged, it was still lurking² below the surface. 尽管人们不会公开地讨论性别问题，但实际上它一直潜伏在我们身边。

I started to see differences in attitudes toward women. 我看到社会对女性各种各样的态度，

I started noticing how often employees were judged not by their objective performance, but by the subjective³ standard of how well they fit in. 并注意到，对职员的判断常常不是基于相对客观的工作表现，而是基于他们在多大程度上能融入公司这种更为主观的标准。

Given that the summer outing at McKinsey was a deep-sea fishing trip and most company dinners ended with whiskey sipping⁴ and cigar smoking, 麦肯锡的夏季员工的出游活动总是深海捕鱼，大多数公司的年会也是啜着威士忌、叼着雪茄，

I sometimes struggled to pass the "fitting in" test. 我不得不百般努力才能通过这种“适应”测试。

One night, encouraged by the male partners, I puffed⁵ away on a cigar — just one of the guys. 有天晚上，受男同事怂恿，我试着吸了口雪茄——好哥们儿嘛。

Except that the smoking nauseated⁶ me and I reeked⁷ of cigar smoke for days. 结果，我被烟呛到有些恶心，好几天都不想闻到雪茄的气味。

If that was fitting in, I stuck out. 如果这也算作适应测试的话，我显然是失败了。

Others also seemed aware that I was not one of the guys. 其他人似乎也意识到我其实不是什么“哥们儿”。

When I was named the Treasury⁸ Department's chief of staff in 1999, several people remarked to me, "It must have helped that you were a woman." 1999年，当我被任命为美国财政部首席幕僚时，有人对我说：“看来做女人也是有好处的。”

It was infuriating. Their intent may not have been malicious⁹, but the implication was clear: I had not gotten the job on merit. 这让我极为愤怒。他们这么说倒不见得是出于恶意，但明显话中有话：他们认为我并不是凭真本事得到这份工作的。

I also figured that for every person pointing out my "advantage" to my face, there were probably a dozen others saying it less politely behind my back. 我也明白，既然有人当面指出我的“优势”，那么在背后很可能还会有更多的闲言碎语。

I considered my possible responses. 我想了想我可能的回应。

I could explain that the last time I checked there was no affirmative action for women at Treasury. 我可以最后再解释一次，我承认财政部确实没有什么针对女性的平权行动。

 

1 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。

2 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 subjective   

a.主观(上)的，个人的

参考例句：

• The way they interpreted their past was highly subjective. 他们解释其过去的方式太主观。
• A literary critic should not be too subjective in his approach. 文学评论家的看法不应太主观。

4 sipping   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
• She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

5 puffed   

adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 nauseated   

adj.作呕的，厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I was nauseated by the violence in the movie. 影片中的暴力场面让我感到恶心。
• But I have chewed it all well and I am not nauseated. 然而我把它全细细咀嚼后吃下去了，没有恶心作呕。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海

7 reeked   

v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的过去式和过去分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象）

参考例句：

• His breath reeked of tobacco. 他满嘴烟臭味。
• His breath reeked of tobacco. 他满嘴烟臭味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

9 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。