英语听力精选进阶版 10439（在线收听）

Girl Power, Japanese style; the women here, are center stage, unlike most other parts of Japanese society. This band, Girl Abenomics, was created to celebrate Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to change Japan, including the position of women. Getting more women into the labor force has been called the key to turning around Japan's fortunes.

日本风格的“妹力”乐团登上舞台中央，他们和日本社区的很多地方都不同。这支乐团创立的目的是庆祝首相安倍晋三改变日本的举措，包括改变妇女地位。让更多妇女进入劳动者队伍已被视为改变日本前途的关键。

Few than half of the working-aged women in Japan work; it's over 60% for the United States, and the economy is at least 14% bigger as a result. For Japan, that's an awful lot of growth to be missing out on.

日本只有不到一半的工作年龄妇女在工作，美国这个比例为60%，因此美国经济规模至少比日本大14%。日本因此错过了很多发展机会。

Noriko Ono is mom to two-year-old Yui. If Abe's plans are going to work, then they must help these too: Every chance she has, she spends with her child. But she also wants to work.

Noriko Ono是两岁孩子Yui的母亲，如果安倍的措施生效，也应该在这方面有所帮助：只要Noriko Ono有机会，她就和孩子在一起，但她也想去工作。

I cut out sleeping time everyday to take care of my child. And I worry; I manage to get back to work at the very last minute. But I'm thinking about my daughter at day care. I work on a reduced schedule.

我每天缩短睡眠时间来照顾孩子，我很担心，我总设法在最后时刻回去工作。但我在考虑把孩子送到日托中心，我减少了工作时间。

For Yui, will she have the same opportunities as her playmate?

对Yui来说，她是否有玩伴那么多的机会？

Some women do break the glass ceiling and rise to the top. I asked successful executive caffe mac Sui how she did it.

有的妇女确实打破玻璃天花板，进入上层职位，我问成功的总裁caffe mac Sui她是如何做到的。

I definitely have a wife; I have my own a helper who, frankly, I could not do what I do because they troubled so much what hasn't troubles a lot. We have two children. They are now teenagers but when they were young it wasn't possible.

我当然有个“妻子”了，我有个帮手，孩子小时候很麻烦，但现在好多了，我有两个孩子，他们现在是青少年了，但他们小时候这是不可能的。

But, she is rare. None of the men here that I spoke to has ever had a female boss.

但她鹤立鸡群，我在这里谈过话的男人都不曾有过女老板。

Psychologically, I wouldn't like it much. But if she has the power, then I would have to obey her.

从心理上来说我不喜欢女老板，但如果她有权力，那我必须服从她。

Just 2.8% of all Japanese managers are women. That's up from a one mere percent. When it comes to entrepreneurs, only 4% are women, the worst among rich countries. Bringing women into the work force is a solution to a shrinking population.

日本管理层中只有2.8%的女性，以前这个比例只有1%。只有4%的企业家是妇女，这在发达国家中是最低的。让妇女工作对于人口缩减的国家来说是一解决办法。

One of the only two women in Abe's cabinet shares with me her personal challenges.

安倍内阁中的两名女性中的一位和我面临同样的个人挑战。

I came to where I jam with great difficulty. I had to break the glass ceiling. In Japan, a woman's status is low. Glass walls are all around you. When you walk in the street, there are glass stones. I want to remove the hardships, so that those after me can easily run.

我刚来这里的时候面临巨大困难，我必须冲破玻璃天花板。在日本，妇女的地位很低，到处都是玻璃天花板。当你走在大街上，到处是玻璃石头。我想搬走这些困难，所以我的后来者就可以轻松些。

One of the jobs that has been available to women for centuries is that of a geisha, who entertain men with conversation and song. Yuko Asakusa is 90 years old and has seen a lot changed during her lifetime. But, not everything.

数世纪来妇女能做的一样工作是艺妓，就是用谈话和唱歌来取悦男人。Yuko Asakusa已经90岁了，她一生目睹了很多变迁，但不是每件东西都有改变。

Japanese men have not changed, she tells me. They haven't changed. Nothing has changed.

她告诉我，日本男人根本没变，什么都没变。

The economic case may be strong, but it is the cultural attitude that must shift. If Abenomics works then it's not just the economy that will be helped, but the lives of half of Japan's population.

经济可能还很强大，但文化态度必须改变。如果安倍经济见效，那么不仅经济会获益，那么日本一半人口的生活也会改善。