英语名人堂：希尔琳·艾芭迪

 希尔琳·艾芭迪(Shirin Ebadi，1947年6月21日－)，伊朗女性律师和人权活动者。2003年10月因她为民主和人权，特别是为妇女和儿童的权益所作出的努力而被授予诺贝尔和平奖，成为第一位获得该奖的伊朗人和穆斯林女性。

Shirin Ebadi, born in 1947, is an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist¹. She is most famous for winning the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize. The panel of judges praised her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women's and children's rights. She is the only Iranian and the first Muslim woman to receive the prize.

 

Ebadi grew up in Teheran and graduated in law in 1965. Four years later, she qualified² to become a judge. In 1975, she became the first woman in her country to be in charge of a court. Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the new government decided³ it was against Islam for women to be judges, so Ebadi was demoted to a secretarial position.

 

Ebadi was allowed to practice as a lawyer in 1993. She famously defended high-profile cases, especially those who challenged Iran’s leadership. She started campaigning for greater legal protection for women and children, gender⁴ equality, and democracy. She drafted a text against the physical abuse of children, which passed into law in 2002. She also founded the Children's Rights Support Association in Iran.

 

Winning the Nobel Prize propelled Ebadi onto the world stage. The selection committee praised her as a "courageous⁵ person" who "has never heeded⁶ the threat to her own safety". In 2008 she spoke⁷ about the dangers she faces in pursuing human rights: “Threats against my life and security and those of my family, which began some time ago, have intensified," she said.

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

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 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

6 heeded   

v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She countered that her advice had not been heeded. 她反驳说她的建议未被重视。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I heeded my doctor's advice and stopped smoking. 我听从医生的劝告，把烟戒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。