VOA慢速英语2012 Technology Report - Growing Girls Who Code

 

Technology Report - Growing Girls Who Code

科技报道 - 编程女生组织推动更多女生进入科技领域

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report in Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。

American colleges and universities awarded about one million seven hundred thousand bachelor’s degrees in the school year ending in twenty ten. Fifty-seven percent of the recipients¹ were female. Yet only eighteen percent of the women earned degrees in computer and information sciences.

2010学年美国高校授出了大约170万个学士学位，57%的学位获得者为女性。然而这些女性中只有18%的人获得了计算机和信息科学的学位。

Reshma Saujani would like to change that. She launched an organization called “Girls Who Code” in two thousand eleven. Her goal is to get more girls interested in science and technology.

拉什玛·桑贾妮(Reshma Saujani)想要改变这种状况。2011年她创办了“编程女生”组织，目的是让更多女生对科技感兴趣。

"It's predicted that we’ll have about one point four million jobs that are open in the next twenty years in the science and technology related fields. But, only twenty-nine percent of Americans today have the skills to actually fill those jobs. And many of those Americans are men. And less than twenty percent of women are actually going into the technology and science related professions. And so we have an enormous gap.”

“据预测未来20年在科技相关领域将有大约140万个就业机会。但是如今只有29%的美国人有能力实际填补这些职位，而其中大部分为男性。只有不到20%的女性真正进入科技相关领域。因此这是一个相当大的差距。”

And she says the underrepresentation of women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known as STEM, is caused by a bigger societal issue.

她说，女性在科学、技术、工程和数学（简称STEM）这些领域缺乏代表性是由一个巨大的社会问题造成的。

“Girls and boys perform about the same in math and science. So there’s not an aptitude² issue.”

“男生和女生在数学和科学上表现并无差异，因此并不存在能力问题。”

Reshma Saujani says we live in a society that sends messages that girls should avoid these fields of study.

桑贾妮表示，我们生活的社会就在暗示女生应该避免这些领域的研究。

“I can still go to Forever 21 and buy a t-shirt that says ‘allergic to algebra³.’ We still have that Barbie that would say that she hated math. And we still have this kind of cultural stereotype⁴ that a computer scientist or a programmer is kind of like a dorky, young white guy.”

“到Forever 21（服装品牌）仍然可以买到印着‘代数过敏’的T恤。市面上仍然有会说她讨厌数学的芭比娃娃。我们仍然有计算机科学家或程序员有点像个傻傻的年轻白人小伙子这样一种刻板印象。”

“Girls Who Code” has partnered with educators, engineers and business people. Twenty girls took part in the group’s first eight-week program last summer in New York City. They learned how to build websites and mobile apps, and create business plans.

“编程女生”组织同教育工作者，工程师和商界人士建立了伙伴关系。20名女生去年夏天在纽约参加了该组织首批为期8周的课程。她们学会了如何构建网站和移动应用程序，以及如何建立商业计划。

“We took girls on field trips to the NYPD, to Facebook, to Twitter. And we showed them how technology is a part of every, every industry. Whether it’s fashion, whether it’s medicine. And that you can really use technology to really change the world.”

“我们带学生到NYPD（纽约市警察局，全球科技最先进的警局），到Facebook，到Twitter实地调查。向他们展示了技术如何进入每一个行业。无论是时尚，还是医学（都离不开科技）。而我们可以利用科技真正改变这个世界。”

Ms. Saujani says companies have been very supportive of the group.

桑贾妮女士表示，各公司一直非常支持这个组织。

“The private sector⁵ really understands that they have an enormous pipeline⁶ problem. We have a huge shortage of engineers. And they invest in “Girls Who Code” to really grow that pipeline.”

“私营部门明白他们存在一个巨大的人才渠道问题，我们存在巨大的工程师短缺。他们投资‘编程女生’来实际发展这一人才渠道。”

Google was the first business to invest in the group. Reshma Saujani says if not for Google, “Girls Who Code” would not exist. Twitter, General Electric, eBay and others have also provided support.

Google是第一家投资该组织的企业。桑贾妮表示，如果不是Google，就不会有“编程女生”组织。 Twitter、General Electric、eBay以及其它企业也为该组织提供了支持。

Ms. Saujani says the program has been extremely successful. She says all the girls who took part in its first group plan to continue their STEM training. And, she says, “Girls Who Code” hopes to train many more.

桑贾妮女士说，这个课程一直非常成功。参加该组织首批计划的所有女生都继续参加了STEM培训。她还表示，“编程女生”希望培训更多人。

“If our goal at “Girls Who Code” is to really close the STEM gap, we realize that we have to teach two million girls how to code in the next twenty years.”

“如果‘编程女生’的目标是确实缩小STEM差距，我们意识到，我们必须在未来20年教会200万女生如何编程。”

1 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 aptitude   

n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资

参考例句：

• That student has an aptitude for mathematics.那个学生有数学方面的天赋。
• As a child,he showed an aptitude for the piano.在孩提时代，他显露出对于钢琴的天赋。

3 algebra   

n.代数学

参考例句：

• He was not good at algebra in middle school.他中学时不擅长代数。
• The boy can't figure out the algebra problems.这个男孩做不出这道代数题。

4 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

5 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

6 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。