VOA慢速英语2016 编码女孩为女性从事科技工作开启大门

AS IT IS 2016-09-08 ‘Girls Who Code’ Opens Door for Women in Tech Jobs 编码女孩为女性从事科技工作开启大门

Over the past 25 years, women have made a lot of progress in getting jobs that have traditionally been held by men.

一直以来，一些工作就专属于男性，过去25年间，女性在找这些类型的工作方面取得了很大进步

But computer science is one area that has seen a drop in female workers during that time.

但在此期间，从事计算机科学领域的女性工作者数量出现了下降。

Research suggests the percentage of computing¹ jobs filled by women has fallen from 36 percent to 25 percent since 1991.

研究人员表示，自1991年起，女性从事计算机相关工作的百分比由36%将至25%。

America’s computing industry is experiencing fast growth. It is estimated that nearly 4.5 million jobs will be created in computing over the next 10 years.

美国的计算机工业正经历快速的发展。预计接下来10年间将会创造近450万份计算机方面的工作。

One group trying to make it easier for women to get these jobs is Girls Who Code, a not-for-profit group based in New York. The group partners with technology companies to get girls interested in computers at a young age.

编码女孩是一个非营利性组织，总部位于纽约，致力于让女性更容易获得计算机相关的工作。该组织与科技公司合作，让女孩子们在年轻时就喜欢上电脑。

The free services are for students with little or no coding experience. More than 10,000 high school girls have attended Girls Who Code summer camps and after-school programs since 2012.

这项免费的服务主要是针对没有编程经验或者经验非常少的学生。自2012年，有10,000多高中女生参加了编码女孩组织的夏令营和课外项目。

One of them is Nidhi Allani. She is now beginning her final year in high school.Allani says she got the chance to study a lot of different programming languages over the summer.

其中一名学生是 Nidhi Allani。目前她已经是高中毕业班了。Allani说她有机会在夏天学习很多不同的编程语言。

We were able to create different computer games and that was really cool because it was a very immediate² result. Once you created it, you saw a result and that was very gratifying.

“我们能设计不同的电脑游戏，非常酷，因为立即就能出现结果。一旦设立，就能看到结果，非常令人满意。”

Girls Who Code partners with BSA/The Software Alliance³ in the Washington, D.C. area. That is where Allani signed up to learn coding. Along with a small team, she created a website called PoliTeens. The site provides a platform for young people to share their opinions about political issues.

编程女孩与华盛顿特区的软体联盟合作。 Allani就是在这里报名学习编程的。她与一个小团队创建了一个叫PoliTeens的网站。该网站为年轻人提供平台，共享有关政治问题的观点。

Allani said the program not only helped her learn computers, but also gave her life skills.

Allani表示该项目不仅帮助她了解了电脑，还教授她生活技能。

I definitely become more confident as a person and in my skills and computer science especially.

“毫无疑问，我变得更加自信了，对我的技能，尤其是电脑科学技能。”

Another student, Annie Gomez, said she was not sure what to expect when she began the program.

另外一个学生Annie Gomez表示还不确定真正开始这个项目时会出现什么。

I wasn’t really saying I’m going into the technology field. But my mind has completely changed for the better. I found that I have a passion for robotics and coding. I just feel full of great ideas.

“我还不确定我是否会从事科技领域。但我对它的感觉完全转变了，感觉更好了。我发现我开始热爱机器人以及编码了。感觉内心全是极好的想法。”

High school student Phoebe Suh and her team also created their own website through the BSA/Girls Who Code partnership⁴. She describes the website as a "first-of-its-kind, online database⁵ of local crisis⁶ resources" in the Washington area.

高中生Phoebe Suh及其团队也通过软体联盟和编码女孩的合作创立了自己的网站。她表示这是第一个此类的网站，这是一个网络数据集，搜集了华盛顿地区的危机信息。

Organizers say the next step is for students to take their computer knowledge and skills into college. After that, it hopefully gives them a new career.

组织人员表示下一步，学生将带着自己的电脑知识和技能进入大学。希望，在以后的日子里能够为他们提供崭新的职业。

Tina Furuki is with BSA.

Tina Furuki在网络联盟工作。

We’re hoping that with Girls Who Code, we will be able to help fill that pipeline⁷ and close the gender⁸ gap in computing.

“我们希望在编码女孩的帮助下，我们能够帮助充实此传递途径，并缩小电脑方面的男女差异。”

Words in This Story

code – v. to write a set of instructions for a computer

gratifying – adj. something pleasing or satisfying

passion – n. a strong belief in something

database – n. information stored in a computer in an organized structure

pipeline – n. a series of goods or information prepared in advance

1 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 alliance   

n.同盟，同盟国，结盟，联姻

参考例句：

• China will not enter into alliance with any big power.中国不同任何大国结盟。
• The new alliance was very much in evidence.新的联盟上星期很引人注目。

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 database   

n.数据库 （=databank）

参考例句：

• I discovered some new information in the database.我在资料库里发现了一些新信息。
• We planned to build an online database.我们计划建一个联机数据库。

6 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

7 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

8 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。