新奇事件簿 澳大利亚出现灯女性交通形象标识

Gender¹ equality has reached the small human characters on traffic signals in Australia. Signals at ten pedestrian crossings in the city of Melbourne now depict² walking red and green people in dresses. The initiative is part of a trial 12-month gender equality campaign unveiled by the city. The Minister for Women, Fiona Richardson, explained that the rationale behind the trial was to put more images of women in public places. She said: "There are many small, but symbolically³ significant ways that women are excluded from public space. This is a wonderful way to make public space more inclusive for women." She hopes the city's signals will have equal numbers of male and female figures in the future.

在澳大利亚，性别平等体现在小小的交通信号灯人形标志上了。墨尔本十个人行道十字路口的红绿灯人形标志穿上了裙子。该倡议是这座城市公布的为期12个月的性别平等活动的一部分。女性部长理查森(Fiona Richardson)解释说，该试验项目的理论依据是在公共场合注入更多女性形象。她说：“有许多看似微不足道，但是有着很重要的象征意义的途径，女性被排除在外。这是让公共场合对女性更加包容的好方法。”她希望这座城市的交通信号指示灯将来能够男女数量相当。

The new signals have drawn⁴ a mixed response from citizens. Many critics say the new scheme is unnecessary and a waste of taxpayers⁵' money. A leading critic is Melbourne's mayor Robert Doyle, who told reporters: "I'm all for doing anything we can for gender equity⁶, but really?" He added: "Unfortunately, I think this sort of costly⁷ exercise is more likely to bring derision." Others said the new images were a sign of political correctness gone crazy. Social media users asked why the image of the woman has to wear a dress, when many women wear trousers. Others said the money could have been better used for worthier⁸ projects that helped people in need.

这种新的信号指示灯引起公民各种不同的反应。许多批评家说，新的机制是不必要的，纯粹是浪费纳税人的钱。为首的批评者就是墨尔本市长多尔(Robert Doyle)。他告诉记者：“我支持一切促进性别平等的活动，但是这种做法真的有用吗？”他补充说：“不幸的是，我认为这种浪费的举动更可能引起嘲笑。”其他人表示，新的形象是政治矫正变得疯狂的标志。社交媒体用户质问为何女性形象就要穿裙子，而实际上许多女性是穿裤子的。其他人表示，纳税人的钱应该用在更有价值的项目上，用来帮助有需要的人。

1 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

2 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

3 symbolically   

ad.象征地，象征性地

参考例句：

• By wearing the ring on the third finger of the left hand, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. 将婚戒戴在左手的第三只手指上，意味着夫妻双方象征性地宣告他们的爱情天长地久，他们定能白头偕老。
• Symbolically, he coughed to clear his throat. 周经理象征地咳一声无谓的嗽，清清嗓子。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

6 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 worthier   

应得某事物( worthy的比较级 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征

参考例句：

• I am sure that you might be much, much worthier of yourself.' 我可以肯定你能非常非常值得自己骄傲。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• I should like the chance to fence with a worthier opponent. 我希望有机会跟实力相当的对手击剑。