创新国际英语教程 3 Unit 4 Unusual interests

　　[00:00.00]Unit 4 Unusual interests
[00:05.69]3 While you read
[00:11.94]It’s a man’s world?
[00:15.70]For the last thirty years,we’ve been told that the war of the sexes is over
[00:21.76]and that women now have equal rights with men.
[00:26.23]To try to prove this,
[00:29.57]some have pointed¹ to the way in which women have reached the highest offices.
[00:35.53]Mrs Thatcher,for example,led Britain for thirteen years,
[00:41.27]whilst many other countres have also recently elected their first female leaders.
[00:47.44]In the traditionally male-dominated world of sport,
[00:53.29]women have also made great progress.
[00:57.55]In kick-boxing,for instance,two young Scottish women
[01:03.32]have forced their way into the British team.
[01:07.58]Whilst many conservative commentators² may disapprove³,
[01:13.04]kate Kearney and Teresa Dewan
[01:17.40]are proud of the fact that they can not only take on men,
[01:22.68]but can even beat them.’We usually give them a good fight,’said Teresa,
[01:29.52]’but a man never likes to be beaten buy a woman.
[01:33.78]They usually go off in huff afterwards.You should see their faces!’
[01:39.66]However,several recent news stories
[01:45.12]have highlighted the fact that women are still being discriminated⁴
[01:50.37]against in all areas of life.
[01:54.00]A survey last year showed that on average
[01:59.33]women earn 30% less than men and that in many companies,
[02:03.90]there is still a glass ceiling,prevening women from getting the top jobs.
[02:11.06]As if this wasn’t bad enough,
[02:15.50]evidence also suggests
[02:19.65]that women do more than their fair there of the work in the home.
[02:25.21]Women today have the burden of having to go out
[02:30.49]and fight for their rights in the workplace-
[02:34.54]and are then still expected to come home and cook and clean.
[02:39.87]Sadly,despite the success of women like the Scottish kick-boxers⁵,
[02:46.53]sexism is also still alive and well in sport.
[02:51.99]The unofficial world women’s lightweight boxing champion,Jane Crouch⁶,
[02:58.47]is today waiting to hear whether the British Boxing Board of Control
[03:04.11](BBBC)will allow her to continue her career.
[03:09.68]The BBBC is deciding whether women boxers will be allowed to box officially
[03:16.91]or whether they will have to remain in the shadowy world of inofficial boxing.
[03:22.76]Miss Crouch could expect to earn around $100,000 a year if she is given a licence.
[03:30.42]However,there has been much opposition⁷ to the spectacle of women in the boxing ring.
[03:37.78]There was laughter at the BBBC inquiry⁸ this week
[03:43.43]when it was suggested that women should not be licensed⁹ to box
[03:49.07]because they were biologically and emotionally unstable¹⁰.
[03:54.53]To counter these arguments,Miss Crouch’s lawyer,Dinah Rose,
[04:00.48]said sarcastically:’We are all taking a hell of a risk allowing women to pilot aeroplanes,aren’t we?
[04:08.53]Perhaps all women airline pilots should be tested to see if they suffer from emotional instability.’
[04:15.48]’I would certainly want research on that,if I were responsible for them.’
[04:21.83]replied Adrian Blackson,the BBBC’s chief medical officer.
[04:28.17]’And perhaps we should also say that only men are stable enough to look after children.’
[04:34.70]Miss Rose asked,
[04:38.18]to which Mr Blackson could only respond by saying,’That’s an interesting question.’
[04:44.73]Miss Rose went on to suggest that it was men who were more likely to be unstable,
[04:51.89]to commit violent crimes or commit suicide.
[04:54.97]Mr Blackson told the inquiry that until further research had been done,
[05:01.92]the BBBC should not allow Miss Crouch to box.
[05:07.49]1 Boxing joke
[05:14.04]When I was a kid,we couldn’t afford a TV,so one day,
[05:19.82]my dad drilled a hole through the wall.
[05:23.58]which meant we could look into the house next door.
[05:27.94]After that,we used to watch the boxing and the wrestling every night...
[05:33.69]until we finally realised that the neighbours didn’t have a TV either.

1 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

2 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

4 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

5 boxers   

n.拳击短裤；（尤指职业）拳击手( boxer的名词复数 )；拳师狗

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boxers slugged it out to the finish. 两名拳击手最后决出了胜负。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 crouch   

v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏

参考例句：

• I crouched on the ground.我蹲在地上。
• He crouched down beside him.他在他的旁边蹲下来。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

9 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

10 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。