VOA标准英语2010年-Clinton Urges Women to Continue Buildi

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addresses a meeting in honor of the 15th Anniversary of the UN World Conference on Women in Beijing at the United Nations headquarters on Friday, March 12, 2010.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is urging the world's women to continue building on recent advancements¹, saying lasting² progress is not possible if women and girls are denied their rights. Secretary Clinton spoke³ Friday on the final day of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, which has been reviewing progress made since the Beijing Declaration promoting gender⁴ equality was signed 15 years ago. 

Secretary Clinton praised women around the world for the economic, political and social gains they have made since she addressed the Beijing Conference in 1995 as U.S. First Lady. But she said that for millions of women, opportunities still remain beyond reach. "Women are still the majority of the world's poor, the uneducated, the unhealthy, the unfed. In too many places, women are treated not as full and equal human beings with their own rights and aspirations⁵, but as lesser⁶ creatures undeserving of the treatment and respect accorded to their husbands, their fathers and their sons," she said.

She said when women are free to vote and run for public office, governments are more effective and accountable; when they work and start small businesses, economies thrive; when education and health care are available to them, their families and communities prosper⁷; and when women have equal rights, nations are more stable, peaceful and secure. "We must declare with one voice that women's progress is human progress and human progress is women's progress, once and for all," she said.

Clinton told a packed audience of both women and men that the United States sees the oppression of women as a threat to its national security. "President Obama and I believe that the subjugation⁸ of women is threat to the national security of the United States. It is also a threat to the common security of our world. Because the suffering and denial of the rights of women and the instability of nations go hand-in-hand," she said.

She said the United States is incorporating initiatives targeted to helping⁹ women into its foreign policy to help reduce that threat.

Clinton spoke on the final day of the Commission on the Status of Women Conference, at which the U.S. co-sponsored a resolution on eliminating maternal¹⁰ mortality. Several other resolutions were adopted during the session, focused on empowering women economically, ending harmful traditional practices such as female circumcision, and welcoming the U.N.'s intention of establishing an agency dedicated¹¹ to women's issues and advancing gender equality.
 

1 advancements   

n.（级别的）晋升( advancement的名词复数 )；前进；进展；促进

参考例句：

• Today, the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements. 当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Great advancements in drought prediction have been made in recent years. 近年来，人们对干旱灾害的预报研究取得了长足的进步。 来自互联网

2 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

3 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。

4 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。

5 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

6 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

7 prosper   

v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣

参考例句：

• With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管，公司开始兴旺起来。
• It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。

8 subjugation   

n.镇压，平息，征服

参考例句：

• The Ultra-Leftist line was a line that would have wrecked a country, ruined the people, and led to the destruction of the Party and national subjugation. 极左路线是一条祸国殃民的路线，亡党亡国的路线。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• This afflicted German intelligence with two fatal flaws: inefficiency, and subjugation to a madman. 这给德国情报工作造成了两个致命的弱点，一个是缺乏效率，另一个是让一个疯子总管情报。 来自辞典例句

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 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

11 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。