VOA标准英语2013--少女学习消防知识（在线收听）

Teen Girls Learn Firefighting少女学习消防知识

Most summer camps for teens revolve around sports, or music and arts, or just for having fun. But some girls in the Washington suburb of Arlington County, Virginia, went to camp to get a taste of what it's like to be a firefighter.

青少年参加的大多数夏令营都是以运动，或者音乐、艺术为主题，或者仅仅是为了娱乐。但是在弗吉尼亚州，阿灵顿县的华盛顿郊区，那些女孩们参加的夏令营活动是消防员模拟演练。

This is not a typical summer camp. But Michelle Pawlaw is glad she signed up for it.

这不是具有代表性的夏令营。但是迈克尔·帕洛很高兴她能参加这次活动。

“Getting to experience the fires hands-on is really cool and something that most people don’t get to do," she said.

“亲身经历火势是特别酷的一件事，并且有些事大多数人是不会去做的，”她说。

Michelle and eight other teenage girls are participating in the three-day camp offered by the Arlington County Fire Department located just outside of Washington.

迈克尔和另外八名青少年参加了位于华盛顿州外的，由阿灵顿县消防部举办的，为期三天的夏令营活动。

Firefighter Clare Burley is in charge of the program.

消防员克莱尔·波利负责项目策划。

“The purpose is to try to get young women interested in considering the fire service as a career," she said.

“举办这次夏令营的目的是试着让更多的年轻女性对消防事业感兴趣，并且愿意做一名真正的消防员，”她说。

The free of charge, overnight camp is designed to let the girls experience what firefighters do in the line of duty to protect the community.  That includes some rigorous activities such as moving a fire victim.

免费的夜间营帐活动的目的在于，让女孩们亲身经历消防员是如何履行自己的职务——保护社区的。这包括一些严酷的活动，例如挪动火灾受害者。

“I didn’t think I could pull that 170-pound body [77 kg] with a friend, but I was actually able to do it," she said.

“我认为我和我的朋友，我们俩人根本挪不动一个重170磅（77公斤）的人，但是我却实实在在的做到了，”她说。

They take classes and learn how to climb the ladder on a fire truck, operate emergency tools and rescue an injured person. They also do their share of cleaning the firehouse and the equipment.

他们在夏令营的课上学习了如何从消防车上爬梯子，使用紧急救援工具和救助受伤者。他们还一起打扫了消防室和消防器材。

“Every week without fail on a Saturday, the job is to wash all the rigs and wash the floors. And we wanted the girls to see this is what we do. This is a typical day in a firehouse," she said.

“每个周六，必做的工作就是清洗所有的装备和地板。我们想让女孩们看见这就是我们要做的事情。这是消防室里很有象征意义的一天，”她说。

Firefighting is still a male-dominated service, but Burley says with 22 women on its force of 320 the Arlington Fire Department is above the national average of 4.5 percent.  She joined the department seven years ago.

消防工作仍然是男权工种，但是波利说，阿灵顿县消防部320名消防员中有22名是女消防员，这已经超过了4.5%的全国平均水平。她做消防员已经有7年了。

“We do everything that the guys do to the same standard. We are tested to the same standard. We are expected to operate at the same standard," she said.

“我们做的每一件事标准都是一样的。我们测试的标准也是相同的。我们期望消防救援的标准也能达到一致，”她说。

“We need to wash the lettuce and put it in a green big bowl," said Lieutenant Robert Beer.

“我们需要把生菜洗净，然后放进绿色的大碗里，”罗伯特·比尔中尉说。

The girls help the crew on duty prepare for dinner. It is also part of the program.

女孩们帮助消防队员做晚餐。这也是活动的一部分。

“Because the kitchen is a very important part of a firefighter's life.  We work 24 hours together, seven days a week.  We cook here, we sleep here.  We usually have breakfast and dinner together. That's how we build camaraderie," said Beer.

“因为厨房是消防员生活中很重要的一部分。我们24小时工作在一起，一周七天都是如此。我们在这里做饭，我们在这里睡觉。我们通常都是一起吃早饭和晚饭。这就是我们如何建立友情的过程，”比尔说。

Most of the girls say they had never thought about becoming a firefighter, but the camp was a great learning experience.

大多数的女孩都说她们从来没想过要当一名消防员，但是这次夏令营活动是一次难忘的学习经历。

“I think it is definitely not a job that only men can do. Women can do it just as well as men can," said Michelle Pawlaw.

“我认为这并不是只有男人能做的工作。女人也可以做到男人能做的事情，”迈克尔·波利说。

“I think I can help other people if they need help and know what to do in case I am at a fire myself," said Kayla Ehrlich.

“我觉得，如果别人需要帮助，我能帮助他们，万一我亲临火场，我也会知道怎么做的，”凯拉·欧立希说。

“I think I could be a volunteer firefighter from this experience," said Monica Bartorsh.

“我认为通过这次经历，我能成为一名消防志愿者，”莫妮卡·巴托斯说。

And, the girls say, by spending three days together, they also made new friends and had a lot of fun.

这个女孩们还说，通过在一起的这三天，他们也结交了很多新朋友，并且玩的很愉快。