英语听力精选进阶版 13699

 Kabul's first women-only internet cafe

12 March 2012

An exclusive internet cafe for women has been opened in the Afghan capital of Kabul to mark International Women's Day. A first of its kind, the cafe has been named after Sahar Gul, a fifteen year old Afghan bride who was tortured and jailed by her husband a few months ago.

Reporter

Bilal Sarwary

Report

The Sahar Gul internet cafe was opened in Kabul today by a group of young rights activists¹ called the 'Young women for change' - it is the first of its kind in the country. The group says that there are many internet cafes in Kabul but women do not go there because they face harassment². The atmosphere in these cafes is not good for women.

This group of young women plan to open similar cafes in several other provinces across Afghanistan. A largely symbolic³ move, the opening of this cafe may boost the morale⁴ of Afghan women. Millions of girls have returned to school, and women have gone back to work and into politics after the removal of Taliban regime in 2001.

But the life of most Afghan women still remains⁵ fraught⁶ with many hardships and challenges. Millions of women, mostly in the rural areas, are still deprived of their very basic rights. They are often forced into marriages by their families; others bear the brunt of violence at the hands of their husbands.

Women's rights have been a topic of hot debate lately after the country's top religious council advised women not to mingle⁷ with men and not to travel alone. Activists have accused the Afghan government of turning a blind eye towards the rights of women. While many women will be able to enjoy some freedom inside Sahar Gul's all female cafe, most still suffer and like Sahar Gul they are victims of domestic violence.

1 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》

2 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

3 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

4 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

7 mingle   

vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往

参考例句：

• If we mingle with the crowd,we should not be noticed.如果我们混在人群中，就不会被注意到。
• Oil will not mingle with water.油和水不相融。