高职务强势女性越来越苗条？

 　　Powerful career women who hold top jobs in law, medicine and business are slimming down, according official figures. They are the only social group to lose weight in the past 18 years while the study reveals everyone else is growing fatter.

　　官方数据显示，法律、医学及商界的高职位强势女性身材日趋苗条。调查显示，过去18年来，几乎所有人都在增胖，唯独这一群体的体重竟是下降的。

　　Data from the National Obesity¹ Observatory² (NOO) shows that 15 per cent of professional women were obese³ in 1997, but that figure had fallen to 14 per cent by 2008.

　　英国国家肥胖观察机构数据显示，1997年职场女性的肥胖率是15%，到了2008年，该比率已下降至14%。

　　NOO, which has monitored obesity issues in the UK since 2007, highlighted how the percentage of professional men classified as fat rose from 15 to 20 per cent between 1997 and 2008.

　　国家肥胖观察机构自2007年起就一直在监测英国的肥胖问题。该机构发现，1997年—2008年，职场男性的肥胖率已从15%上升至20%。

　　高职务强势女性越来越苗条？

　　Two reasons were said to behind the trend for slimmer women - they are still judged on their appearance rather than skill and their ambition to be better than their male colleagues.

　　据说，职场女性越来越苗条的原因有两个：其一，社会通常以相貌而非技能来评判女性；其二，职场女性比职场男性更争强好胜。

　　Professional women are aware of a bias⁴ against those who are overweight, according to Andrew Hill, professor of medical psychology⁵ at Leeds University.

　　利兹大学的医学心理学教授安德鲁·希尔表示，职场女性很清楚社会对肥胖人群存有偏见。

　　Barrister Helen Jackson, who weighs 16 stone, told the Sunday Times that obese male lawyers were accepted in her profession but female ones were not. 'The pressure on women to look the part has definitely got worse since I was called to the bar in 1975,' she said. 'Women now are slaves to their appearance more than they ever were.'

　　海伦·杰克森是一名出庭律师，体重16英石（约100kg）。她在接受《星期日泰晤士报》采访时表示，法律界能接纳肥胖的男性律师，却无法接受肥胖的女性律师。海伦表示，“自打我1975年获得律师资格以来，社会对女性相貌的要求越来越苛刻。现代女性越发沦为相貌的奴隶了。”

　　In a survey published in Manchester and Melbourne fat women scored worse in an assessment⁶ of their leadership potential. The 12 candidates - six obese and six slim - had identical educational CVs, but those who were overweight were judged more poorly by volunteer student who took part in the study.

　　曼彻斯特及墨尔本联合发布的一项调查显示，肥胖女性在领导潜能评估上得分很低。胖瘦各半的12名候选人具备同样的教育背景，但参加调查的学生志愿者给肥胖候选人的评估较差。

　　Former Tory Minister Ann Widdecombe was criticised for her appearance and subsequently lost weight when she appeared on the BBC's Strictly⁷ Come Dancing show. She said society made demands on how women should look and added: 'I think the pressure on women to be concerned about their appearance has always been there.'

　　前任保守党大臣安·威德库姆曾因外表而遭戏谑，后来她参加BBC《舞动奇迹》节目时瘦多了。她说：“社会对女性的外貌比较苛刻，我觉得女性外貌的压力一直都如影随形吧。”

　　Vocabulary

　　barrister: (在英国，有资格出席高等法庭并辩护的)高级律师，专门律师，出庭律师

　　look the part: (口语)看上去样子像那种人

　　call to the bar: 取得律师资格

　　Tory: (英国和加拿大)保守党党员

1 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

2 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

3 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

4 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

5 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

6 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

7 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。