2006年VOA标准英语-Young Senegalese Urban Women Try to Leave the B

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
21 December 2006

In cities, they turn heads with their tight jeans, sparkly makeup¹ and fashionable jewelry². But, the cosmopolitan³ beauty of young African women can actually hide urban woes⁴. In this fourth part of a series on challenges facing young African women, Phuong Tran reports from Dakar on two young women who face dilemmas⁵ about working in bars.

Inside the Spanish-owned Jet Set, there are blue track lighting⁶, attractive women behind the bar and a number of mostly male clientele in the V.I.P. lounge, at the bar and in the front courtyard.

Two friends met working as waitresses here in an upscale residential⁷ area of Dakar. Mya, 22, worked there as a waitress for six months.  

urbanite8, Astou Kassé" src="/upimg/allimg/070514/0840170.jpg" width="156" border="0" /> Dakar 21-year-old urbanite, Astou Kassé

Her friend, 21-year-old Astou Kassé, bartended there for an additional three months before she also left. They say the owner did not pay them on time or regularly.

Mya's long earrings⁹ jangle when she shakes her head while explaining why she does not want to go back to working in nightclubs.

"I saw indecent proposals I could not accept. It happens a lot here in Senegal," she says. "Depends on where you work, but it happens in bars, restaurants, discotechs, you can get these bosses who will proposition you."

Her friend Astou now bartends at Nirvana, a similar bar-club-restaurant with upscale and mostly foreign clients.

"I agree with what she is saying, but this has not been my experience," she says. "In all the places I have worked, I have had good kind bosses who are good managers."

Estimates for the unemployment rate for Senegal range between 40 and 60 percent. Many high school and even college graduates cannot find jobs in the formal sector¹⁰.

Based on current population trends, the International Labor¹¹ Office estimates that by the year 2015, the number of young people will grow by 30 million in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Which may mean less choices for many youth like Mya, who will not settle for just any job.

"It is hard for me to find a job if I have conditions or standards. Perhaps I am too demanding," she says.

As a Muslim, Astou has second thoughts about working where she does.

"Religion does not permit us to work in places like discotechs and bars," she says, " but we do this because we do not have other things to do. If I had another job, I would not continue to do this. I do not have a choice."

She adds one final reason for staying in her job. She says she makes very good money.

Mya, Astou's friend, is in a training program to become an executive assistant. She will try to find an office position, after completing her studies next month.

Astou says her dream job is to travel as a flight attendant. For now, she continues to work at Nirvana club and bar from seven pm to two am, every night of the week, except Monday.

1 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

2 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

3 cosmopolitan   

adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的

参考例句：

• New York is a highly cosmopolitan city.纽约是一个高度世界性的城市。
• She has a very cosmopolitan outlook on life.她有四海一家的人生观。

4 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

5 dilemmas   

n.左右为难( dilemma的名词复数 )；窘境，困境

参考例句：

• They dealt with their dilemmas by mixing perhaps unintentionally an explosive brew. 他们――也许是无意地――把爆炸性的佐料混合在一起，以此来应付困难处境。 来自辞典例句
• Ten years later we encountered the same dilemmas in Vietnam. 十年后，我们又在越南遇到了同样进退两难的局面。 来自辞典例句

6 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

7 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

8 urbanite   

n.都市人

参考例句：

• More and more urbanite begin to pay attention to mental health.越来越多的都市人，开始注重心理健康。
• A study of German college students suggests that urbanite brains are more susceptible to stress,particularly social stress,than those of country dwellers.由德国大学生组织实施的一项研究表明，都市人的大脑与农村居民相比，要更容易受到压力的影响，尤其是社会压力的影响。

9 earrings   

n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子

参考例句：

• a pair of earrings 一对耳环
• These earrings snap on with special fastener. 这付耳环是用特制的按扣扣上去的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。