美国国家公共电台 NPR Beach Season Winds Down, But Burkini Debate Rages On In France

Beach Season Winds Down, But Burkini Debate Rages On In France 

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Here's a major political issue in France - the burkini. Some French mayors tried to ban the garment designed so conservative Muslim women can go to the beach and actually swim. Now, the burkini is being talked about in the run-up to France's presidential campaign. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports.

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE²: About 30 French towns tried to ban the burkini on their beaches this summer. French courts overturned many bans, calling them unconstitutional. But that didn't stop former French President Nicolas Sarkozy from throwing his full support behind them. Sarkozy, who is running for president again, is determined³ not to be outdone by the far right.

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NICOLAS SARKOZY: (Through interpreter) We can't leave these mayors to deal with these problems alone. There needs to be a law to keep these Islamic bathing suits out of our swimming pools and off our beaches, because what will be next? Separate beaches for men and women?

BEARDSLEY: When the radio show host reminds Sarkozy that the bans were ruled unconstitutional, he says the Constitution can always be amended⁴. France is trying to balance tolerance⁵ with security after attacks this summer by self-proclaimed Islamist radicals⁶ in a Normandy church and the southern city of Nice. A lot of people in France feel the burkini is part of a repressive or extremist clothing and represents a reluctance⁷ to adopt French values. Prime Minister Manuel Valls said as much when he equated⁸ women's equality with the symbol for the French Republic, Marianne.

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PRIME MINISTER MANUEL VALLS: (Through interpreter) Marianne has a bare breast because she feeds the people, and she is not veiled because she is free. That's the French Republic. That's Marianne.

BEARDSLEY: University history professor Mathilde Larrere says Valls' comments made her blood boil, so she fired off a history lesson in a series of tweets. Larrere says Marianne is an 18th-century allegorical figure, created at a time when women couldn't vote and had the status of minors⁹. She says Valls' comments have turned many French feminists¹⁰ into burkini supporters.

MATHILDE LARRERE: (Through interpreter) Granted, the burkini is not a neutral piece of clothing, but it is out of the question to restrict what women wear. The 1905 law separating the church and state was meant to give room to all religions, but secularism¹² is now being used for xenophobic, Islamophobic and sexist purposes.

BEARDSLEY: Muslim activists¹³ Yasser Louati says the constant talk of secular¹¹ values is a way to make some Muslims feel they're not full French citizens.

YASSER LOUATI: What's happening today is that we see politicians constantly using and playing the identity card for political gain.

BEARDSLEY: When it comes to relations with Muslims, Louati calls the French government's approach neocolonial. He points to the example of the newly created Foundation for Islam, an organization intended to foster better relations with the large Muslim community in France. But the Government appointed a non-Muslim veteran politician as its head, someone who'd recently ruffled¹⁴ feathers by saying Muslims should try to be more discreet¹⁵.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: Vendors¹⁶ hawk¹⁷ their wares¹⁸ at an outdoor street market in Paris. Soraya Essid has been selling her fruits and vegetables at these markets for 20 years. She wears a veil and says things have become especially tense since January 2015 and the first major terrorist attack.

SORAYA ESSID: (Through interpreter) People look at you now in the metro¹⁹ when you're wearing a veil, but I don't pay attention. I just live my life. I think things will eventually go back to normal.

BEARDSLEY: It has to, says Essid. We live here. Our children are here. And our future is here in France. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

5 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

6 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

7 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

8 equated   

adj.换算的v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的过去式和过去分词 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• Production costs for the movie equated to around 30% of income. 这部电影的制作成本相当于收益的30%。
• Politics cannot be equated with art. 政治不能同艺术等同起来。

9 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 feminists   

n.男女平等主义者，女权扩张论者( feminist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Only 16 percent of young women in a 1990 survey considered themselves feminists. 在1990年的一项调查中，只有16%的年轻女性认为自己是女权主义者。 来自辞典例句
• The organization had many enemies, most notably among feminists. 这个组织有许多敌人，特别是在男女平等主义者中。 来自辞典例句

11 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

12 secularism   

n.现世主义；世俗主义；宗教与教育分离论；政教分离论

参考例句：

• Unless are devoted to God, secularism shall not leave us. 除非我们奉献于神，否则凡俗之心便不会离开我们。 来自互联网
• They are no longer a huge threat to secularism. 他们已不再是民主的巨大威胁。 来自互联网

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 ruffled   

adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
• All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。

15 discreet   

adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的

参考例句：

• He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
• It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

16 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

17 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

18 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

19 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。