美国国家公共电台 NPR Boy Scouts Will Admit Transgender Boys

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: 

One more development in this dramatic newsweek - a surprise announcement late Monday. The Boy Scouts¹ of America say that they will begin accepting transgender boys who want to join its scouting⁴ programs. NPR's Richard Gonzales reports.

RICHARD GONZALES, BYLINE⁵: The news of the Scouts' policy change came in a written and video statement released by the chief scout² executive Michael Surbaugh. He says that for more than 100 years, the Scouts used information on an individual's birth certificate to determine a boy's eligibility⁶ to join in its single-gender³ programs. But now, he says, communities and states are interpreting gender identity differently. And the old policy no longer works because the laws vary from state to state.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MICHAEL SURBAUGH: Starting today, we will accept registration⁷ in our Scouting programs based on the gender identity provided on an individual's application.

GONZALES: But Surbaugh seemed to anticipate that the policy change will be met with more than a little skepticism, if not outright⁸ opposition⁹ in some areas of the country.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SURBAUGH: We will also continue to work with families to find Scouting units that are the best fit for their children.

GONZALES: The policy change comes after the scout leadership was confronted by the case of 8-year-old Joe Maldonado of New Jersey¹⁰. He had joined a scout troop last fall, but was then forced out after parents and local leaders discovered that he had been born a girl. That publicity¹¹ wasn't good. Justin Wilson is the executive director of Scouts for Equality, a group of Eagle Scouts, former scouts, parents and volunteers who oppose discrimination within the group.

JUSTIN WILSON: They saw the public reaction, they saw the harm that this caused for this child, for this family, and they thought that it was a distraction¹² from doing what they do best which is serving the Scouting programs. In response to that relatively¹³ short discussion, they made this historic change.

GONZALES: Wilson says the speed of the Boy Scouts' decision stands in sharp contrast to the 37-year battle for the inclusion of lesbian, gay and bisexual Scouts, employees and troop leaders. As for Joe Maldonado, his mother Christie told the Associated Press that she would like for her son to rejoin the Scouts, but only if the leader who kicked him out leaves. Richard Gonzales, NPR News.

1 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

2 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

3 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。

4 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

7 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

8 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

11 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

12 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

13 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。