VOA常速英语2016--投资女性可提振经济

投资女性可提振经济

It's no secret that the best way to jump-start a sluggish¹ economy is to invest in women. That's because when women enter the formal economy, they invest their earnings² into their families and their communities, pulling both out of poverty. It's also true that the more formal education a woman attains³, the more money she earns, thus contributing even more to those around her.

众所周知，振兴疲软经济的最好方法就是对女性投资。原因是，一旦女性在经济中扮演了正式的角色，她们就同时会对各自的家庭及社区进行投资，带动家庭和社区脱离贫困。无可否认，一位女性受到越多的正式教育，就会赚到越多的钱，也就会因此对周围的人奉献更多。

For many years now, the United States has been working to advance the rights of women and girls around the world, and to help open wide some of the doors that have kept women from rising within their societies, from advancing to high political office, and from attaining⁴ the highest levels of education that lead to better jobs.

多年来，美国一直致力于加强全球妇女和女孩的权利，帮助她们敞开阻隔她们的大门，提升自己的社会地位、政治地位以及获得更好层次的教育，以找到更好的工作。

When it comes to education and employment, women are most severely⁵ under-represented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This is true nearly everywhere, but particularly in those regions where women who pursue careers in these fields lack support. And through long experience, we have found that mentoring⁶ such women helps improve their chances of success.

在教育和就业方面，女性在科技、工程和数学方面的参与度少之又少。这是任何地方都难逃的现状，尤其是在那些在各自领域追逐自身事业发展的女性缺乏支持的地区。然而，通过长期的经验，我们发现，指导这样的女性有助于提升她们成功的机会。

That is why, six years ago, the United States initiated⁷ the TechWomen program, which helps women in these fields living in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia, to reach their full potential. TechWomen helps them strengthen their entrepreneurial and product development skills, build networks of people in their chosen field, and learn meaningful ways to be an effective resource for young women and girls, and to play an active role in the economic advancement⁸ of their home country.

这也是六年前美国启动“技术女性”项目的原因——该项目能帮助中东、非洲、中亚地区这些领域的女性充分发挥自身的潜力。“技术女性”项目帮助他们增强职业技能和产品研发技能，构筑其领域的人际网络，学习成为年轻女性有效资源的有意义的方法，在各自国家的经济发展中发挥积极作用。voacs1004.jpg

In September, the latest group of nearly 90 women from 19 countries arrived in the United States to take part in this year's TechWomen program. These women, already leaders in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, are collaborating⁹ with their American counterparts on specific projects at leading science and technology companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon¹⁰ Valley.

今年9月份，最新一批来自19个国家的近90名女性抵达美国，参加本年度的“技术女性”项目。这些女性已然是科技、工程和数学领域的尖端人物，他们正与美国旧金山港湾区和硅谷地区的科技公司进行专项合作。

 

Once this year's program ends on October 17th, the women will return home to expand the TechWomen network, collaborate¹¹ with women who participated in previous years' TechWomen programs, and to conduct workshops for women and girls who have expressed interest in pursuing science and technology-based careers. They will help develop the next class of TechWomen, and create greater opportunities for generations of girls to come.

本年度“科技女性”项目将于10月17日圆满结束，届时，这些参加的女性会返回各自的国家，拓展该项目的网络覆盖面，并与此前的项目参加者合作，为在科技领域感兴趣的女性开办研习班。她们会助力下一届“科技女性”项目的开办，并未后来者创造更好的工作机会。

1 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 attains   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的第三人称单数 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• This is the period at which the body attains maturity. 这是身体发育成熟的时期。
• The temperature a star attains is determined by its mass. 恒星所达到的温度取决于它的质量。

4 attaining   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• Jim is halfway to attaining his pilot's licence. 吉姆就快要拿到飞行员执照了。
• By that time she was attaining to fifty. 那时她已快到五十岁了。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

6 mentoring   

n.mentoring是一种工作关系。mentor通常是处在比mentee更高工作职位上的有影响力的人。他/她有比‘mentee’更丰富的工作经验和知识，并用心支持mentee的职业（发展）。v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• One of the most effective instruments for coaching and mentoring is the "role rehearsal" . 辅导和教学的最有效的手段之一是“角色排练。” 来自辞典例句
• Bell Canada called their mentoring system a buddy-buddy system. 加拿大贝尔公司称他们的训导系统是伙伴—伙伴系统。 来自互联网

7 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

8 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

9 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

10 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

11 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。