VOA标准英语2014--贝都因女人在巴勒斯坦成功经营企业

 

Bedouin Woman Runs Successful Business in Palestinian City 贝都因女人在巴勒斯坦成功经营企业

A Bedouin woman is breaking social taboos¹ by running a successful vacation resort in the Palestinian town of Jericho. Bedouins are a sub-group of Arabs known for their semi-nomadic lifestyle. Resort in the West Bank's Jordan Valley is a model of success for women in the region.

The Paradise resort is about three years old.  Nestled in a sun-bathed picturesque² valley, with amenities³ such as this swimming pool, it has quickly attracted local families, especially those with children, and the business has taken off.  

"Thank God, we the project managers in Jericho, depend on local tourism.  Israeli Arabs, Nazareth, Jerusalem and Haifa.... these are the people who visit us. But if we speak about foreign tourism, it's not too much. I don't know the problem. Maybe there is a lack of support from tourism authorities or maybe there is no investment in tourism. I really don't know," said Nadia Mlihat.

Milhat, who owns the resort is one of a few Bedouin women to strike out on their own.  Although most Bedouins have left the desert since the middle of the last century, and are adapting to city life, women's freedoms are often curtailed⁵ by traditions that keep them at home.  

"My message to the woman, specially⁴ the Bedouin woman, is that nothing is hard, nothing is impossible. They used to say that it's impossible that this business will succeed. Look at it - it's successful," she said.

Mlihat inherited almost two hectares of land from her family, and decided⁶ to make use of it by launching a tourist resort in the oasis⁷ city.  In addition to 20 bedrooms, Paradise offers three swimming pools and a restaurant. It employs 12 people.

"We as young men stood hand in hand by the owner because she is running a resort which is not only a swimming pool resort, it offers several other services. If the director was a man, he couldn't have done what she did," said resort worker Fakhri Saadi.

Jericho's officials welcome the new business in town.

 "The project of Mrs. Mlihat is an addition to the tourism projects in Jericho and the Jordan valley. It helps to support economic growth through attracting local tourism. It also helps in creating jobs for people in Jericho and the Jordan valley," said Kazem al - Mouqat, from the Jericho Chamber⁸ of Commerce.

Mlihat hopes to inspire other women in the region to become entrepreneurial.  But she acknowledges that family support can be an important asset.  

"I tell them [the women] nothing is impossible. Just like me, they can succeed. They will make it, if they have the intention and the determination. My family supported me.  My husband, my children, and all my relatives stood by me," said Milhat.

More than 210,000 Bedouins still live in small communities in Israel's Negev desert. The government's efforts to resettle them into towns have met with mixed success.  

1 taboos   

禁忌( taboo的名词复数 )； 忌讳； 戒律； 禁忌的事物（或行为）

参考例句：

• She was unhorsed by fences, laws and alien taboos. 她被藩蓠、法律及外来的戒律赶下了马。
• His mind was charged with taboos. 他头脑里忌讳很多。

2 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

3 amenities   

n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快

参考例句：

• The campsite is close to all local amenities. 营地紧靠当地所有的便利设施。
• Parks and a theatre are just some of the town's local amenities. 公园和戏院只是市镇娱乐设施的一部分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

5 curtailed   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
• Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

8 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。