考研英語碎片閱讀：《經濟學人》選篇

　　摘要：在我國女司機遍布在各個行業(yè)，但是你知道嗎？在沙特，女性連基本的開車權利都沒有，更別提借助開車這一技能從事各種行業(yè)。一起來看《經濟學人》是如何報道的吧。

　　Saudi Arabia's women drivers

　　沙特女司機

　　Ovarian issue

　　卵巢問題？

　　Will Saudi women ever be allowed behind the wheel of a car?

　　沙特的女性能獲得開車權嗎？

　　WHEN a group of Saudi women first took to the kingdom's roads to flout its ban on female drivers, they publicised their protest by fax and videocassette. The 47 participants suffered fines, travel bans, social ostracism and, in some cases, the loss of government jobs. The ban itself, 23 years and many protests later, remains. But much else has changed.

　　當第一次一群沙特女同志占據王國之路來嘲笑禁止女性司機這一法令時，她們通過傳真和錄音機來將她們的抗議公之于眾。那47位參與者遭到罰款、旅行禁令、社會排斥異己在某些情況下，失去了政府部門工作。這條法令，在歷經23年并遭到無數次反抗之后，如今仍然保留著。但是很多東西早已改變。


　　The campaigners behind a drive-along protest scheduled for October 26th have put it on Twitter, Facebook and a slick website. Their petition demanding that the government issue driving licences to women has gathered close to 17,000 signatures. A call for women to upload videos of themselves driving has already gathered dozens of clips. The footage of headscarved ladies navigating suburban traffic may scarcely be thrilling, but some have scored over 100,000 web viewings.

　　策劃10月26日單獨駕駛抗議的活動者們已經將這一禁令發(fā)布到推特，臉譜以及一個熱門網站上。她們要求政府發(fā)給女性駕照的請愿書上集齊了1.7萬人的簽名；號召女性上傳自己駕駛的視頻也被點擊了無數次，一個戴頭巾婦女通過郊區(qū)交通的腳本也許不會讓人興奮，但一些已經擁有超過1萬的瀏覽量。

　　For the first time, too, women have allies in government. Earlier this year King Abdullah named 30 female members to the previously all-male Shura Council, the royally-appointed proto-parliament. Three of the new women in it have voiced open support for an end to the driving ban.

　　女性在政府擁有同盟者這也是第一次。今年早些時日，Abdullah國王指定30位女性參加了以前全是男性成員的舒拉國會，該國會是皇家指定的第一國會。其中三個新的女性成員公開表示支持停止駕駛禁令。

　　But the campaign's opponents have changed tactics, too. Official monitors have blocked its website. Tweeters in favour of the ban, derided by campaigners in the kingdom as “eggs” for leaving blank the oval space for their own portrait that the messaging service provides, are putting out reams of negative comment. Some have sought to dampen support for women wanting to drive by spreading false rumours of an imminent government move to lift the ban.

　　但是活動者的對手們也改變了戰(zhàn)術。政府監(jiān)控人員已經封鎖了網站。支持此項禁令的推特用戶發(fā)布了大量的負面評論。他們曾被抗議者們嘲諷為雞蛋，為了自己存儲轉發(fā)業(yè)務提供的肖像畫留下橢圓空白。有些人就在探索著通過散播假的謠言譬如政府在迫切的推行禁令等，去抑制那些支持女性駕車的說法。

　　More traditional foes of change have also been active. On October 23rd a group of 200-odd clerics gathered outside the royal court to denounce what they described as a “conspiracy” to put women behind the wheel. Last month Sheikh Salah al-Luhaydan, a well-known cleric who also practises psychology, claimed on a popular Saudi website that it has been scientifically proved that driving “affects the ovaries” and leads to clinical disorders in the children of women who are foolish enough to drive.

　　更傳統(tǒng)一些的變革對手也很活躍。10月23日，一組人數為200的牧師人員聚集在王朝外，指責他們所謂的支持女性駕駛的同謀。一位知名的牧師Sheikh Salah al-Luhaydan，他同樣也實踐心理學，上個月，他在沙特一個很流行網站上聲稱，已經被科學證明的是：駕駛“影響卵巢”并導致那些愚蠢的駕駛女人們的孩子臨床障礙。

　　1、put on 穿上；上演

　　例句:The company put on a play about the homeless.

　　這家劇團上演了一出講述無家可歸者的戲。


　　2、driving licence n.駕駛執(zhí)照

　　例句:It transpired that Paolo had left his driving licence at home.

　　后來才知道保羅把駕照忘在家里了。


　　3、close to 接近；靠近

　　例句:Three mortar shells had landed close to a crowd of people.

　　3枚迫擊炮彈落在人群旁。


　　4、dozens of 幾十；數十個

　　例句:Dozens of miles of railway track have been torn up.

　　好幾十英里的鐵軌被毀壞了。