2007年VOA标准英语-Australian Fashion Show Promotes Islamic Cultur

By Phil Mercer
Sydney
20 August 2007

A fashion parade to promote understanding of Islamic dress for women has opened in Australia's biggest city, Sydney. Its aim is to challenge the hostile and ill-informed views many non-Muslims have about Islam. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

The clothes exhibition is called "My Dress, My Image, My Choice." The Muslim women who organized it hope to break down barriers and challenge pre-conceived ideas the wider community may have about Muslim women and Islam in general.

Organizers paint a disturbing picture of what life is like for Muslims in Australia after the attacks in the United States in September 2001 and subsequent atrocities¹ around the world that have been blamed on radical² Islamic militants³.

Militants were also responsible for the bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali in October 2002, which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. Muslims in Australia felt an immediate⁴ backlash. Mosques⁵ were attacked and the Islamic community felt besieged⁶.

This event's organizers say Muslim women wearing traditional dress have been assaulted and even had their clothing set on fire while on public transport. Others have faced open discrimination at shops and restaurants.

Saara Sabbajh

Exhibition organizer says the show hopes to portray⁷ Muslims as ordinary people.

"I can understand why people are afraid of Islam. If I was a non-Muslim I'd be afraid too if I was listening to all the things too that were happening in the media," she said. "What we're hoping to achieve is basically is telling people that we're just as human as anybody else and we have the same ambitions and desires as anybody else and to judge us for ourselves not just our outer appearance and definitely not take the actions of a minority in the world reflective of what our faith stands for. That's what we hope to achieve."

The Islamic fashion show aims to challenge that suspicion and hostility⁸ by helping⁹ non-Muslims understand a little more about Islamic culture. The display features full dresses with elaborate trains, wedding attire¹⁰ and sleek¹¹ gowns with decorative¹² headscarves and jewels.

Australia's 300,000 Muslims often complain of victimization and marginalization.

A national study has found that fear continues to isolate¹³ many Australian Muslims. The study, funded by the Australian Research Council, has also said that there's a growing mistrust of the government within the Islamic community.

1 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

6 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

7 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

8 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 attire   

v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装

参考例句：

• He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
• Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。

11 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

12 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

13 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。