TED演讲:有关激情的故事(6)

 　　Mapendo, in Swahili, means great love. The protagonists¹ of my books are strong and passionate² women like Rose Mapendo. 在斯瓦希里语中马培德意味着爱。我的书中的主角都是坚韧且充满热情的妇女，正如罗斯·马培德那样。

　　I don't make them up. There's no need for that. I look around and I see them everywhere. 她们并非虚构。也没有必要虚构。在我身边这样的身影无处不在。

　　I have worked with women and for women all my life. I know them well. 我一生都和女性也为女性而工作。我对她们非常熟悉。

　　I was born in ancient times, at the end of the world, in a patriarchal Catholic and conservative family. 很久以前我出生于很远的地方，出生于一个宗主派天主教的保守家庭。

　　No wonder that by age five I was a raging feminist³ -- although the term had not reached Chile yet, 难怪我在5岁时就是热血沸腾的女权主义者，不过当时女权这个词并不流行，

　　so nobody knew what the heck was wrong with me. 因此没人知道我到底哪出了问题。

　　I would soon find out that there was a high price to pay for my freedom, and for questioning the patriarchy. 很快地，我就发现要想享受自由得付出极高的代价，还有与长辈顶嘴。

　　But I was happy to pay it, because for every blow that I received, I was able to deliver two. 但是我还是会去顶嘴，因为我每次被罚时下次都会被双倍奉还。

　　Once, when my daughter Paula was in her twenties, she said to me that feminism was dated, that I should move on. 有次，我当时20多岁的女儿宝拉给我说女权运动过时了，叫我好好过日子。

　　We had a memorable⁴ fight. Feminism is dated? 我们为此吵了一场难忘的架。真的过时了吗？

　　Yes, for privileged women like my daughter and all of us here today, 的确，对于我女儿和在座各位这样幸福的女性，的确是过时了，

　　but not for most of our sisters in the rest of the world who are still forced into premature⁵ marriage, prostitution, forced labor⁶ 不过对其他地方的姐妹们却并非如此，她们仍然在很小时就嫁人，成为童妓，被强迫工作，

　　they have children that they don't want or they cannot feed. 生下自己不想要或者养不起的孩子们。

　　They have no control over their bodies or their lives. They have no education and no freedom. 无法掌控自己的身体和人生，无法教育且没有自由。

　　They are raped⁷, beaten up and sometimes killed with impunity⁸. 被强暴，殴打，有时还因受罚而被杀。

　　For most Western young women of today, being called a feminist is an insult. 对如今大多数西方年轻女性来说，被叫做女权主义者是一种污辱。

　　Feminism has never been sexy, but let me assure you that it never stopped me from flirting⁹, and I have seldom suffered from lack of men. 女权主义永远不会性感，但我要向你们担保，我并没有失去调情的时机，并且我也很少受到缺乏男子气概的影响。

　　Feminism is not dead, by no means. It has evolved. 无论如何女权主义并没有逝去，它只是不断在进化。

　　If you don't like the term, change it, for Goddess' sake. 如果你并不喜欢这词的话，在上帝的保佑下改变。

　　Call it Aphrodite, or Venus, or bimbo, or whatever you want; 改名叫爱芙罗蒂、维纳斯或花瓶，如果你喜欢的话；

　　the name doesn't matter, as long as we understand what it is about, and we support it. 名称并不重要，只要我们互相了解并理解其含义。

1 protagonists   

n.（戏剧的）主角( protagonist的名词复数 )；（故事的）主人公；现实事件（尤指冲突和争端的）主要参与者；领导者

参考例句：

• Mrs Pankhurst was one of the chief protagonists of women's rights. 潘克赫斯特太太是女权的主要倡导者之一。 来自辞典例句
• This reflects that Feng Menglong heartily sympathized with these protagonists. 这反映出冯梦龙由衷地同情书中的这些主要人物。 来自互联网

2 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

3 feminist   

adj.主张男女平等的，女权主义的

参考例句：

• She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
• From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起，男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。

4 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

5 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

6 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。

7 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

8 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

9 flirting   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Don't take her too seriously; she's only flirting with you. 别把她太当真，她只不过是在和你调情罢了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• 'she's always flirting with that new fellow Tseng!" “她还同新来厂里那个姓曾的吊膀子！ 来自子夜部分