VOA常速英语2019--从个人故事看美国军队中女性地位的提升

Libby Haynes is 92.

Libby Haynes今年91岁。

Planes have been her passion for over 75 years.

75年来，飞机一直是她的最爱。

When her mother gave her $10 as a birthday gift for her 17th birthday, Haynes knew what to do.

海恩斯17岁生日时，母亲给了她10美元作为生日礼物，她知道用来做什么。

I had a flying lesson.

我上了一节飞行课。

I spent six dollars to rent a Piper Cub¹ for an hour, three dollars for the instructor² for an hour, and a dollar for the log book.

我花了6美元租了一小时的Piper Cub, 3美元租了一小时的教员，1美元租了一本航海日志。

In 1945, young Libby had already finished a training course of the Civil Air Patrol Cadet program and became a nurse,

1945年，年轻的利比已经完成了“人民空军巡逻学员计划”的培训课程，成为了一名护士，

but after the Second World War she decided³ to head back into the sky.

但二战后，她决定重返天空。

Then I just had a very, very strong calling.

然后我就有了一个非常强烈的召唤。

It’s the only name I can put to it that I was meant to join the Air Force.

这是我唯一能给它起的名字，我注定要加入空军。

I don’t know whether you say divine guidance or what but it was a best decision I ever made in my life.

我不知道你是说神圣的指引还是什么但这是我一生中做过的最好的决定。

The US Army did not enlist⁴ women until 1970s and Haynes became an aerographer.

美国军队直到20世纪70年代才招募女性，海恩斯成为了一名航空登记员。

At the same time she flew with the Civil Air Patrol

与此同时，她与民航局一起飞行，

and managed to buy her own tiny plane that she used to fly home for the weekend.

并设法买了自己的小飞机，她用来飞回家过周末。

And I, we still had student license⁵ when I bought this PG 23 surplus for $500 which was two months’ salary.

当我用500美元买了这款PG 23的剩余游戏时，我们仍然有学生执照，这是两个月的工资。

Her job brought Haynes more than just professional satisfaction.

她的工作带给海恩斯的不仅仅是职业满足感。

It is there that she met her husband a pilot, but when she got pregnant one of her colleagues reported to the senior officers.

在那里，她遇到了她的飞行员丈夫，但当她怀孕时，她的一个同事向高级军官报告。

Haynes got discharged.

海恩斯被迫离开了。

But it wasn’t anything personal, explains Marilla Cushman from The Women in Military Service for American Memorial.

但这并不是针对个人的，美国纪念女性军人协会的玛丽拉·库什曼解释道。

There was a time where if you know, if you had children, if you became pregnant, whether you were married or not, you had to get out of the military.

曾经有一段时间，如果你有了孩子，如果你怀孕了，无论你是否结婚了，你都必须离开军队。

Cushmen joined the military in the 70s, but it was also unable to do what she really wanted to.

库什曼在70年代加入军队，但也无法做她真正想做的事。

I was disappointed that I couldn’t do more, that I couldn’t do some of those other things that my…the guys were doing.

我很失望，我不能做更多的事情，我不能做一些其他的事情，我的…那些人正在做的事情。

In mid⁶ 1970s, the rules changed, and women were allowed to pilot non-combat planes.

在20世纪70年代中期，规则改变了，女性被允许驾驶非战斗飞机。

After the Gulf⁷ War of 1990-1991, that limitation was gone too.

1990-1991年海湾战争之后，这种限制也消失了。

Cushman believes the US Army simply realized it needed women.

库什曼认为，美军只是意识到他们需要女性。

Particularly during the global war on terror, we started bringing women,

特别是在全球反恐战争期间，我们开始招入女性，

attaching them to infantry⁸ units and Special Forces units

将他们安置在步兵部队和特种部队，

because as these units went into…as we were in Afghanistan and Iraq because of the cultural issues,

因为当这些部队进入阿富汗和伊拉克时，由于文化问题，

it just became clear that we couldn’t manage without women across the board.

很明显，如果没有女性的参与，我们是无法成功的。

Today, women in the US military make up 14% of the personnel, but it took years of fighting to get to that point.

今天，女性在美国军队中占14%，但这需要多年的战斗才能实现。

Let the generations know, that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom,

让我们的后代知道，穿制服的女性也保证了她们的自由，

that our resolve was just as great as the brave men who stood among us.

我们的决心和站在我们中间的勇敢的男性一样伟大。

Both women say they’re happy to see the position women in the US military enjoy today,

两位女性都表示，她们很高兴看到女性在美国军队中的地位，

though Haynes confesses she never really took any limitations seriously.

虽然海恩斯承认她并没有那么较真这些限制。

1 cub   

n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人

参考例句：

• The lion cub's mother was hunting for what she needs. 这只幼师的母亲正在捕猎。
• The cub licked the milk from its mother's breast. 这头幼兽吸吮着它妈妈的奶水。

2 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 enlist   

vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍

参考例句：

• They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
• The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会，支持他们的正义斗争。

5 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

6 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

8 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。