向前一步:第201期 让我们开始讨论吧(7)

 I could mention that my credentials¹ lined up with those of the men who had previously² held this position. 我可以自信地说，和之前担任这个职务的男性相比，我的资历也是够格的。

If there was enough time, I could recount centuries of discrimination against women. 要是时间足够的话，我还可以再历数一下几百年来人们对女性的歧视，

Or I could just slap the person across the face. 甚至可以为此抽这些人一耳光。

It was a no-win situation. I couldn't deny being a woman. 这是个不可能赢的局面，我不能不接受自己是个女人的事实。

And defending myself just made me seem ... defensive³. 而且，为自己辩护只会让我显得喜欢反驳别人。

My gut⁴ and the signals I received from others cautioned me that arguing the issue would make me sound like a strident feminist⁵. 我的直觉以及别人传递出的信号都在提醒我，为了这个问题争论，只会让自己看起来更像一个观点尖锐的女权主义者。

And I still did not want that. 我不希望这样，

I also worried that pointing out the disadvantages women face in the workforce⁶ might be misinterpreted as whining⁷ or asking for special treatment. 我也担心指出职场女性面临的种种不利，会被误读成要求给女性以特殊待遇。

So I ignored the comments. I put my head down and worked hard. 所以，我忽视了这些议论，只是低下头，努力地工作。

Then, as the years ticked by, I started seeing female friends and colleagues drop out of the workforce. 时间一年年地过去，我开始发现我周围的女性朋友和女同事正在慢慢退出职场。

Some left by choice. Others left out of frustration⁸, pushed out the door by companies that did not allow flexibility⁹ 有些人是自己选择离开的；有些人是出于绝望和沮丧而被迫离开那些工作时间不容变通的公司，

and welcomed home by partners who weren't doing their share of the housework and child rearing. 回到缺乏伴侣理解与支持的家里；

Others remained but scaled back their ambitions to meet outsized demands. 还有些人留在职场，但收敛了自己的事业心，不再想走得更远、更高。

I watched as the promise my generation had for female leadership dwindled¹⁰. 我亲眼看着我们这一代的女性领导者的前景正在变得黯淡。

By the time I had been at Google for a few years, I realized that the problem wasn't going away. 在谷歌工作了几年后，我意识到这个问题仍然存在，

So even though the thought still scared me, I decided¹¹ it was time to stop putting my head down and to start speaking out. 所以即使心里有些害怕，但我还是认为自己不能只顾着埋头苦干，而是应该站出来勇敢地表达内心的想法。

 

1 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

4 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

5 feminist   

adj.主张男女平等的，女权主义的

参考例句：

• She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
• From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起，男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。

6 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

7 whining   

n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚

参考例句：

• That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你们这种又爱哭、又软弱、又可怜的赌棍就是这样。
• The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那条狗坐在门外狺狺叫着（要进来）。

8 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

9 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

10 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。