VOA标准英语--自行车为女性带来平等自由

Bicycles Brought Sense of Freedom for American Women 自行车为女性带来平等自由

One of the underappreciated but significant developments on the road to women's emancipation¹ in the United States was the introduction of the bicycle.

The significance of the two-wheeler is brought to life at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Historical interpreter Julie Garner² — the Wheelwoman — portrays⁴ Louise, a fictional⁵ character from the late 1890s, as she rides around the museum on an 1898 Gendron Wheel Company Reliance model D.

"She is your typical everyday woman,” Garner said. “She is a wife and mother of two. And she is out on her first solo independent adventure all by herself. And it's very exciting for her because she has never been out by herself before."

Garner's bike rides are part of the museum's History Alive program. Interpreters portray³ fictional or real historical characters, bringing America's past to life for museum visitors.

In the era before automobiles⁶, bicycles were a means of affordable⁷ personal mobility⁸. From the 1880s to the 1910s, Americans took to the wheels, sparking a nationwide bicycle craze. For riders — especially women — bicycles were also a means of independence.

The featured program at the museum shows visitors how the new freedoms afforded by cycling empowered women to challenge social norms.

"Not only do we have set information that we are helping⁹ the visitors to discover, but also we are able to answer lots of questions based on the topic,” Garner said. “So the topic of this program is the bicycle boom of the 1890s and how it really fuels the women's independence movement."

‘Freedom machine’

Bicycles were first introduced in the U.S. in the late 1860s, "and went through a number of design changes through the 1880s," exhibit curator Roger White said. "And yet they were still for men. But by the 1890s, the drop frame design made it possible for women to ride bicycles, too."

That design allowed for safety while wearing a skirt, Garner explains.

The bicycle she rides at the museum "has a drop frame,” she said, “so a lady can mount the wheel gracefully¹⁰ in a skirt. And a skirt guard over the top of the chain and spokes¹¹, so my skirt doesn't get caught as I ride."

The bicycle craze fed into the Rational Dress Movement, which helped liberate¹² women from corsets and other encumbering¹³ garments. Baggy¹⁴ trousers called bloomers came into fashion.

"When it happened, it gave women personal freedom to go out on the road," White said. "They can go out for pleasure riding, they can go out with friends. Some even form bicycle riding clubs of women only."

Bicycle historians say the impact of the two-wheeler on female emancipation should not be underestimated. American feminist¹⁵ Susan B. Anthony, who played a pivotal role in the 19th-century women's suffrage¹⁶ movement, called the bicycle the "freedom machine."

1 emancipation   

n.（从束缚、支配下）解放

参考例句：

• We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

3 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

4 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

6 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

8 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

11 spokes   

n.（车轮的）辐条( spoke的名词复数 )；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动

参考例句：

• Her baby caught his fingers in the spokes of the pram wheel. 她宝宝的手指被婴儿车轮的辐条卡住了。 来自辞典例句
• The new edges are called the spokes of the wheel. 新的边称为轮的辐。 来自辞典例句

12 liberate   

v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由

参考例句：

• They did their best to liberate slaves.他们尽最大能力去解放奴隶。
• This will liberate him from economic worry.这将消除他经济上的忧虑。

13 encumbering   

v.妨碍，阻碍，拖累( encumber的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She had helped Mr. Gryce to bestow his encumbering properties beneath the table. 她帮着古莱斯先生把他那些乱堆着的提包安置在桌子底下。 来自辞典例句

14 baggy   

adj.膨胀如袋的，宽松下垂的

参考例句：

• My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
• Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦，而不是无礼。

15 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。

16 suffrage   

n.投票，选举权，参政权

参考例句：

• The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance.妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
• The voters gave their suffrage to him.投票人都投票选他。