TED演讲:来自阿拉伯女商人的成功经验(7)

 Our son Burhan is five years old, and he's learning to read and do basic maths. 我们的儿子Burhan现年5岁，而他正在学习阅读和作基础运算。

Here's another confession¹: 这是我另一个忏悔：

I have found that our daughter is actually more successful at teaching him these skills than I am. 我发现我们的女儿实际上比起我更成功地在教他这些技能。

It started as a game, but Alia loves playing teacher to her little brother, 这是从一场游戏里开始的，而Alia爱上去扮演她弟弟的老师，

and I have found that these sessions actually improve Burhan's literacy, 而我发现到这些活动实际上改善了Burhan的读写能力，

increase Alia's sense of responsibility, and strengthen the bonding between them, a win-win all around. 增加了Alia的责任感，也强化了他们之间的连结，一切是双赢的局面。

The successful Arab women I know have each found their unique approach to working their life 我所知道的成功的阿拉伯女性，个个都发现他们独特的方法去安排他们的生活，

as they continue to shoulder the lion's share of responsibility in the home. 当他们继续去承担最大部分的家庭责任的时候。 

But this is not just about surviving in your dual² role as a career woman and mother. 但这不仅仅是关于在你的作为一个职业女性与一个母亲的双重角色下存活，

This is also about being in the present. 这也是关于当下的生活。

When I am with my children, I try to leave work out of our lives. 当我跟孩子在一起时，我尝试让工作离开我们的生活。

Instead of worrying about how many minutes I can spend with them every day, 与其担心有多少时间我每天可以陪着他们，

I focus on turning these minutes into memorable³ moments, 我专注在把这些分分秒秒都变成难忘的片刻。

moments where I'm seeing my kids, hearing them, connecting with them. 这些时刻我正在看我的孩子，聆听他们，与跟他们连结。

Arab women of my generation have not been very visible in the public eye as they grew up. 我这代的阿拉伯女性在他们成长时在大众眼中不是很引人注目。

This explains, I think, to some extent, why you find so few women in politics in the Arab world. 这些描述，我认为，在某种程度上解释了为什么你发现在阿拉伯世界的政治人物中只有极少数的女性。

The upside of this, however, is that we have spent a lot of time developing a social skill behind the scenes, 好处是，我们花费许多时间，在幕后发展社交技巧， 

in coffee shops, in living rooms, on the phone, a social skill that is very important to success: networking. 在咖啡店，在客厅，在电话中，有一种社交技巧是对成功来说是非常重要的：建立人脉。

I would say the average Arab woman has a large network of friends and acquaintances. 我要说一般阿拉伯女性有很广的朋友与泛泛之交人脉。

The majority of those are also women. 而大部分也都是女人。

In the West, it seems like ambitious women often compare themselves to other women 在西方，有野心的女性似乎经常把自己跟其他女性做比较，

hoping to be noticed as the most successful woman in the room. 希望被注意到是屋子里最成功的女人。

This leads to the much-spoken-about competitive behavior between professional women. 这导致了常被提到的在职业女性之间的竞争行为。

If there's only room for one woman at the top, 如果只有容得下一位最优异女性的空间， 

then you can't make room for others, much less lift them up. 那你不能为其他人挪出空间，更不用说激励她们。

Arab women, generally speaking, have not fallen for this psychological trap. 阿拉伯女性，一般来说，没有掉入这个心理陷阱。

1 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

2 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

3 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。