VOA慢速英语--阿富汗妇女在全国考试中获得高分

An Afghan woman received the highest score last week out of 170,000 students on the national university entrance examination¹.

Her path has not been easy. Two years ago, an Islamic State militant² suicide³ bombing in west Kabul killed many classmates at a school she was attending. At the time, they were preparing for exams.

She had changed her plans at the last minute to attend another event.

She talked with Thomson Reuters Foundation⁴ in a coffee shop in Kabul. "I was lucky," she said quietly, her hands around a glass of warm green tea. She spoke⁵ of wanting to work towards a brighter future for her troubled country. She thinks medicine is one of the ways she can help. She also wants to work to help the women of Afghanistan. Alizada now plans to study at the University of Kabul.

She hopes to become a brain surgeon but is also considering a diplomatic⁶ career. She told VOA's Afghan service, "I want to bring change and serve my country. I will try and my goal is to prepare myself to be able to even become the president."

Alizada's success comes at an important time for the country. The government this month began power-sharing talks with the Taliban Islamist militant group. The Taliban ruled the country until 2001. Until that time, the Taliban sheltered the al Qaeda terror⁷ group responsible for the September 11 attacks against the United States. As a result, the United States and its allies⁸ invaded⁹ Afghanistan in 2001.

Afghan women's rights have improved in many areas of daily life since those days. The Taliban did not let women go to work and girls could not attend school. Now, many fear losing their hard-won gains.

The Taliban say they have changed and will let girls go to school. Yet, fears remain that women's rights will not continue if the group regains¹⁰ influence.

The United Nations reports that about 2.2 million girls are still out of school. Less than 30 percent of women in Afghanistan can read and write.

Alizada said her success in part comes from how her parents treated her. She was equal to her two brothers - something she said was rare in Afghanistan.

'Opportunities to rise'

Like others born after the US-led invasion¹¹, Alizada grew up with different opportunities from those her own family had.

"My mother was in Kabul during the war and escaped to Ghazni," Alizada explained. Her family's native province, Ghazni, is south of the capital.

She went to the university campus¹² to take the exams. She said she was nervous but excited.

"I wanted to do well. My parents had always supported me to study hard and I had waited for this day for years. I didn't want to disappoint them," she said.

Alizada is now waiting for university classes to start. She said she is spending her free time taking walks with her friends in the neighborhood or reading poetry.

Her older brother is studying engineering¹³ in India. She said she hoped to also win a scholarship to study in Britain, the United States or Canada.

She is not thinking only of herself. Ten years from now, she hopes to be practicing medicine. She also wants to see other women having similar success.

"I'm hoping that women across Afghanistan, in both big cities and small villages, will have opportunities to rise and to change the future of this country," she said.

"I want to help make this happen."

Words in This Story

disappoint –v. to make someone unhappy by not doing what is expected

scholarship –n. an amount of money given to a school by a group to pay for a student's education

1 examination   

n.考试，考查，试题；检查，调查

参考例句：

• Teachers always judge their students on the final examination.老师常根据期末考试来评价他们的学生。
• He put up a good show in the final examination.他在期末考试中表现得不错。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 suicide   

n.自杀，自毁，自杀性行为

参考例句：

• The number of suicide has increased.自杀案件的数量增加了。
• The death was adjudged a suicide by sleeping pills.该死亡事件被判定为服用安眠药自杀。

4 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 diplomatic   

adj.外交的，从事外交的，策略的，有手腕的

参考例句：

• There are certain forms that must be followed in diplomatic circles.在外交界有一些礼节是必须遵守的。
• You must be more diplomatic in handling the situation.你在处理这一情况时，必须圆滑。

7 terror   

n.恐怖；可怖的人(事)

参考例句：

• We were in mortal terror of being found out. 我们非常害怕被发现。
• That guy is a proper terror. 那家伙真是讨厌。

8 allies   

联盟国，同盟者； 同盟国，同盟者( ally的名词复数 )； 支持者； 盟军

参考例句：

• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。
• A number of the United States' allies had urged him not to take a hasty decision. 美国的一些盟友已力劝他不要急于作决定。

9 invaded   

v.侵入，侵略( invade的过去式和过去分词 )；涌入；侵袭；侵犯

参考例句：

• Troops invaded on August 9th that year. 军队是在那年的8月9日入侵的。
• The diseased tissue can be easily invaded by these microorganisms. 有病的组织容易被微生物侵袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 regains   

复得( regain的第三人称单数 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• It will take a lot of repair work before the theatre regains its former splendour. 要想剧院重拾昔日的辉煌，必须进行大规模整修。
• He lays down the book and regains the consciousness. 他惊悸初定，掩卷细思。

11 invasion   

n.入侵，侵略，侵犯

参考例句：

• They are ready against the possible invasion.他们防备可能的入侵。
• It is our duty to shield our country from invasion.保卫祖国不受侵犯是我们的责任。

12 campus   

n.大学校园，学校校园；大学　

参考例句：

• They spoke of the old days on the campus.他们谈起昔日的校园生活。
• The campus covers an area of twenty square kilometres.这个校园占地二十平方公里。

13 engineering   

n.工程，工程学，管理，操纵

参考例句：

• The science of engineering began as soon as man learned to use tools. 人类一学会使用工具,工程科学就开始了。
• It was the first great engineering works in the world. 这是世界上第一家大型的工程工厂。