美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Hidden Figures' A Hit With Young Women Of Color Interested in STEM

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

We're going to talk about "Hidden Figures" for just a few more minutes. The movie is just out this weekend, but it is already a hit with young women of color who are interested in science, technology and math.

SASHA WILLIAMS: So my name is Sasha Williams. I am 15 years old.

MARTIN: Let's just say Sasha is a fan.

SASHA: That was one of the best movies I've ever seen (laughter). It was a really inspiring movie. It was so interesting to see women who look like me during that time period do something that I am interested in doing in my life.

MARTIN: Sasha lives in Danville, Calif., and she's a member of the Oakland chapter of Black Girls Code. That's a group that supports young women of color who want to learn more about coding. Kimberly Bryant founded the group.

KIMBERLY BRYANT: Our goal is to really have young women of color embrace the tech marketplace and the tech innovation¹ space as both leaders and creators.

MARTIN: Over the next week, Black Girls Code is taking some 1,500 young girls and their families from 11 chapters nationwide to see the movie for free as part of a project they're calling Future Katherine Johnsons. It's sponsored in part by 20th Century Fox, the studio behind the film.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HIDDEN FIGURES")

JANELLE MONAE: (As Mary Jackson) Mr. Zielinski, I'm a negro woman. I'm not going to entertain the impossible.

OLEK KRUPA: (As Karl Zielinski) And I'm a Polish Jew whose parents died in a Nazi² prison camp. Now I'm standing³ beneath a space ship that's going to carry an astronaut to the stars. Let me ask you - if you were a white male, would you wish to be an engineer?

MONAE: (As Mary Jackson) I wouldn't have to. I'd already be one.

MARTIN: But some of the girls couldn't wait for that to see it. Budding coder Kai Morton lives in San Francisco, and she says she was really inspired by Dorothy Vaughan, played by Octavia Spencer.

KAI MORTON: She's one of the main characters, and she kind of started as a computer.

MARTIN: But Kai liked that Dorothy Vaughan taught herself the coding language Fortran.

MORTON: And that's kind of how they kind of survive in NASA instead of losing their jobs when IBM started bringing in the actual computers. So I thought that was amazing to see, like, that these stories are so true and just the words are so powerful and the message behind it.

MARTIN: Kai is 17 years old and applying to colleges now, looking at computer science and gaming development degrees. But she's daunted⁴ by what lies ahead.

MORTON: I'm going to a school in the bay area right next to Silicon⁵ Valley, but always there's going to be people that look at you weird⁶ because they don't really think that you can do what they can because you don't really fit the image of the typical white male geek. And that's kind of harmful.

MARTIN: But she says the movie gave her confidence a boost⁷.

MORTON: Probably was the most amazing thing and, like, the best message about the movie, that there's so many people we don't see in the mainstream⁸ media. But when we kind of take a deeper look, we can see how much people like Katherine Johnson can make a difference but be behind closed doors for a long part of their lives and lifespan.

MARTIN: And Sasha Williams agrees.

SASHA: I just hope it inspires anyone to know that they can overcome barriers no matter who's in their way and they can achieve what they're trying to do.

MARTIN: That's Sasha Williams, aged⁹ 15, and Kai Morton, aged 17, young coders in training who say they are inspired by the movie "Hidden Figures," out in theaters now.

1 innovation   

n.改革，革新，新观念，新方法，新发明

参考例句：

• There are all sorts of possibilities for technical innovation.技术革新的门道很多。
• An enterprise should encourage innovation.企业应鼓励创新。

2 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 daunted   

使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was a brave woman but she felt daunted by the task ahead. 她是一个勇敢的女人，但对面前的任务却感到信心不足。
• He was daunted by the high quality of work they expected. 他被他们对工作的高品质的要求吓倒了。

5 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

6 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

7 boost   

n.鼓励，激励，提高；v.鼓励，使增强信心

参考例句：

• This will be a great boost to the economy.这对于经济发展将是一个巨大的促进。
• These changes will help to boost share prices.这些变化将有助于提高股票价格。

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

9 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。