英語聽力材料《女士優先》

現在經常説女士優先，尤其是西方的紳士風度，但是其實，在最初，女士的地位可真的是不怎麼樣的哦。接下來，讓我們一起走進下面這篇英語聽力材料。

　　Ladys First

　　女士優先

For a long period before the 1960s, women were considered to be the weaker sex, just as Shakespeare said in Hamlet:

在20世紀60年代之前很長的一段時間裏，女子一直被認為 是“弱者”，正如莎士比亞在其劇本《哈姆雷特》中所説：

"Frailty, thy name is women."

“弱者，你的名字是女人!”

In contrast, men were regarded the stronger and the dominant sex. In this light man should undertake the duty to adopt a protective attitude toward the so-called weaker sex.

與之相反，男子則被視為“強者”或“統治者”。鑑於此，男 子就有義務採取一切措施保護所謂的弱者。

This implied that men should help women on and off with their coats, light their cigarettes, open the doors for them to get on and off the wagon, train, bus, etc. Or to enter the houses. Have you ever seen the movie "Titanic"? Well, when the ship was sinking, it was the women who had the right to get on the lifeboats first, just because men had the responsibility for taking care of and protecting women!

這也就意味着當女子穿大衣、脱大衣時男子要幫助;意昧着 男人要為她們點煙;意味着當女子上下車(馬車、火車、汽車 …) 或者進門時男子要幫忙開門。看過電影《泰坦尼克號》嗎?當輪船正在下沉的時候，首先登上救生艇的是女子。為什 麼呢?就因為男子漢有義務照顧和保護她們!

This could lead to the conclusion that the custom "Lady First" was developed out of respect in appearance, but in fact it was kind of looking down upon women in nature.

由此便可以得出這樣的'結論：“女士優先”這種風俗表面上 出於尊敬;而實質上是出於對女性的輕視!

In the 1960s, women began to challenge this tradition. Just as one lady put it, "Historically, men should walk on the outside of the pavement so as to prevent the lady's dress from being spoilt by mud splashed by a carriage. Today a man is supposed to walk on the outside side. A man should walk where he wants to. So should a woman. If out of love and respect, he actually wants to take the blows, he should walk on the inside, because that's where muggers are hiding these days."

從上世紀60年代起，婦女們幵始對這一傳統發起挑戰。正 如一位女士所説：“以往，人們認為男子漢應該走在人行道的外 側，這樣一來萬一有馬車路過濺起泥漿時，他會首先‘接招’，不 至於玷污女士的衣裙。今天的男子漢們仍然沿襲以往的做法， 走在人行道的外側。其實他們應該愛走哪兒就走哪兒，女人也 一樣。現在的男士們要是真的尊敬女人、真的憐香惜玉，他們倒 是應該走在人行道內側，因為今天的搶劫犯最愛躲藏的地方就是那兒。”

This shows that to treat a woman as inferior just because she is a female is not only insulting but also out of step with contemporary American culture.

這表明，今天還拿女性當“弱者”的看法或者做法不僅僅是 對女性的一種“侮辱”，更是與現代美國文化格格不入的“老土”的行為。

Women may go to the restaurants Dutch treat. They may refuse such words as chairman, businessmen, policeman ... Instead they prefer chairperson, businessperson, police or cop ... just to show that they are equal in every respect with males!

因此，女士們上餐館時會實行AA制(各付各的}。對於帶 有性別色彩的詞語她們也會抵制，例如chairman (主席)、businessman ( 商人)、policeman(費察)……，改用一些中性的詞彙，如chairperson、businessperson、police 或 cop……。總之，她們要證明她們與男子在社會生活的各個方面是平等的。