向前一步:第234期 为平等而不懈努力(13)

 And yet, in a deep and profound way, we are failing. 然而，我们正在隐隐地滑向失败，

Because feminism wasn't supposed to make us feel guilty, 因为女权主义运动的目的并不是让我们感到自责，

or prod² us into constant competitions over who is raising children better, organizing more cooperative marriages, or getting less sleep. 或是把我们推进无尽的竞争，去比较谁的孩子更优秀、谁的婚姻更稳固或是谁工作的时间更长；

It was supposed to make us free, 它的目的在于让我们感到自由，

to give us not only choices but the ability to make these choices without constantly feeling that we'd somehow gotten it wrong." 不仅拥有选择的自由，而且在做出这些选择时不会总感觉自己犯了错”。

Stay-at-home mothers can make me feel guilty and, at times, intimidate³ me. 那些全职母亲会让我觉得内疚，有时甚至还会让我害怕。

There are moments when I feel like they are judging me, and I imagine there are moments when they feel like I am judging them. 我常常觉得周围的人在批评我，我猜她们或许也会觉得我在批评他们。

But when I push past my own feelings of guilt¹ and insecurity, I feel grateful. 但是，当我推开自己的内疚和不安全感后，我心里充满了感激。

These parents — mostly mothers — constitute a large amount of the talent that helps sustain our schools, nonprofits, and communities. 这些父母（通常是母亲）中有相当多的人极富才干，他们会帮助社会协助学校、非营利性组织和社区的管理。

Remember that mom who pointed⁴ out that my son should be wearing a green T-shirt on St. Patrick's Day? 还记得我前面提过的那位“无所不知”的母亲吗？

She is a tireless volunteer in the classroom and our community. 她是一位在课堂上和社区里都很活跃的志愿者，

So many people benefit from her hard work. 很多人都因为她的工作而受益。

Society has long undervalued the contributions of those who work without a salary. 那些不拿报酬却依然奋斗在工作岗位上的人，他们的贡献长期被社会低估了。

My mother felt this slight keenly. 我的母亲对此有强烈的感受。

For seventeen years, she worked more than full-time⁵ as a mother and on behalf of Soviet⁶ Jewry. 17年来，她既要当母亲又要为苏联犹太人协会工作，这已远不只是一份全职工作。

 

1 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

2 prod   

vt.戳，刺；刺激，激励

参考例句：

• The crisis will prod them to act.那个危机将刺激他们行动。
• I shall have to prod him to pay me what he owes.我将不得不催促他把欠我的钱还给我。

3 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

4 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。

5 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。