VOA常速英语2015--贫困无知迫使女孩早婚

Poverty, Ignorance, Fear Force Underage Girls Into Marriage 贫困无知迫使女孩早婚

WASHINGTON—

The recent marriage of a 17-year old Chechen girl to a local police chief who was 30 years older and already had a wife caused an outcry in Russia and beyond.  The bride was reportedly forced to marry and her parents were intimidated¹ into giving their consent. The union, supported by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, spotlighted² yet again the plight³ of many underage girls in developing countries.

Russian law bans forced, underage and polygamous marriages.  But in Russia's remote Caucasus region, tribal⁴ laws and traditions carry more weight than state law.  And so on Saturday, 47-year old Nazhud Guchigov married a 17-year old bride.

俄罗斯法律禁止强迫婚姻、未成年婚姻和一夫多妻，但在俄罗斯偏远的高加索地区，部落法和传统比国家法律更有分量。因此在周六，47岁的纳祖德·古奇戈夫与一名17岁的新娘结婚了。

Chechen leader Kadyrov attended the wedding and one his aides was at the bride's side for most of the ceremony. Police warned Russian journalists who investigated the controversial wedding to stay away.

车臣领导人卡德罗夫参加了婚姻，他的一名助手站在新娘的身边主持着婚礼。警方警告那些调查这一有争议婚礼的俄罗斯记者离远点。

Despite laws against child marriage, in developing countries one in every three girls is married before reaching age 18. One in nine is married under age 15.  The problem was discussed at a symposium⁵ in Morocco this week.

尽管法律反对童婚，在发展中国家，每三个女孩中就有一个不到18岁就结婚了。每9个女孩中就有一个不到15岁结婚，本周摩洛哥的座谈会讨论了这一问题。

"We realize now that if we do not accelerate the pace, and if we do not respond more or put more programs in place, there will be 1.2 billion girls who will be married before the year 2050," said Lakshmi Sundaram, head of Girls Not Brides.

“我们现在意识到如果我们不加快行动，如果我们不加大应对或实施更多措施，那么在2050年之前将会有12亿女孩结婚。”

Bangladesh, India and Niger are the most affected⁶ countries with three in every four girls getting married before age 18.  The practice continues mostly due to persistent⁷ poverty and gender⁸ inequality and is often arranged by a girl's parents. 

孟加拉国、印度和尼日尔是问题最严重的国家，每四个女孩中就有三个是在18岁之前结婚的。这一习俗之所以能够延续，在很大程度上是因为持续的贫困和性别不平等，而且婚姻通常是由女孩的父母操办的。

"So it is at this level that we must first intervene. And the second level is at the community level, for the community to start perceiving these dangers," said Sidikou Moussa, a child advocate from Nigeria.

“所以目前我们必须首先进行干预，第二步是在社区层面上，社区要开始注意到这些危险。”这名14岁的印度女孩向校长求助，所以得以逃避了父母给她安排的婚事。“今天本是我结婚的日子，但我不想结婚，我想上学。”

Experts say governments in the affected countries need to do more to keep girls in the educational system and protect them from abuse and violence.

专家称这些出现问题国家的政府需要做更多来让女孩们继续接受教育，并保护她们免受虐待和暴力。

1 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 spotlighted   

v.聚光照明( spotlight的过去式和过去分词 )；使公众注意，使突出醒目

参考例句：

• The report has spotlighted real deprivation in the inner cities. 这篇报道披露了旧城区的贫困真相。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The paintings were spotlighted from below. 这些画用下面的聚光灯来照明。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

4 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

5 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

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。