選自2020.12.19外刊：

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Girls are doing better than ever. Don’t let the pandemic stymie them

女孩們表現(xiàn)得比以前好得多。不要讓疫情阻礙她們的發(fā)展。

In much of the rich world parents now treat their daughters as well as they do their sons, and invest as much in their future. In field after field girls have caught up with boys. Globally, young women now outnumber young men at university. The speed of change has been blistering. Fifty years ago only 49% of primary school-age girls in lower-middle-income countries were in school, compared with 71% of boys; today the share of both is about 90%. In 1998 only half the world’s secondary-school-age girls were enrolled; today two-thirds are. Over the same period rates of illiteracy fell from one in five young women aged 15-24 to one in ten, bringing them roughly on a par with young men.

在許多富裕國家，父母現(xiàn)在對待女兒和對待兒子一樣好，并對他們的未來進(jìn)行同樣多的投資。在各個領(lǐng)域里，女孩的表現(xiàn)都追上了男孩。從全球來看，現(xiàn)在大學(xué)里年輕女性的人數(shù)超過了年輕男性。時代發(fā)生了巨變。50年前，中低收入國家只有49%的小學(xué)適齡女孩在上學(xué)，相比之下，男孩的比例為71%；如今，兩者的占比都在90%左右。1998年，世界上只有一半的中學(xué)適齡女孩入學(xué)；今天三分之二的適齡女孩入學(xué)。同一時期， 15-24歲年輕女性的文盲率五分之一下降到十分之一，與年輕男性大致相當(dāng)。

When societies handle girlhood well, the knock-on effects are astounding. A girl who finishes secondary school is less likely to become a child bride or a teenage mother. Education boosts earning power and widens choices, so she is less likely to be poor or to suffer domestic abuse. She will earn almost twice as much as a girl without schooling. And she will pass on a smorgasbord of advantages to her offspring.

當(dāng)社會很好地處理少女教育問題時，連鎖效應(yīng)是驚人的。完成中學(xué)學(xué)業(yè)的女孩不太可能成為童養(yǎng)媳或過早生育。教育提高了收入能力，拓寬了選擇范圍，所以她不太可能遭受貧窮或家暴。受過教育的女孩收入幾乎是沒上過學(xué)的女孩的兩倍。她會把各種優(yōu)勢傳遞給她的后代。

（來自電影《風(fēng)雨哈佛路》）

The covid-19 pandemic could hobble progress for girls in poor countries, or even reverse it. During previous disasters, they have often suffered most. When Ebola forced west African schools to close in 2014, many girls dropped out, never went back and ended up pregnant or as child labourers. UNICEF warns that something similar could happen with covid-19—but on a larger scale. Studies suggest that in the next decade 13m child marriages that would have been averted may go ahead.

新冠肺炎疫情可能會阻礙貧窮國家女孩的進(jìn)步，甚至逆轉(zhuǎn)這一趨勢。在之前的災(zāi)難中，女孩們往往受害最深。2014年埃博拉病毒迫使西非學(xué)校關(guān)閉，許多女孩輟學(xué)，再也沒有回去，最終懷孕或成為童工。聯(lián)合國兒童基金會警告說，類似的事情可能會發(fā)生在新冠肺炎期間，但規(guī)模會更大。研究表明，在未來的十年里，1300萬例本可以避免的童婚可能會繼續(xù)發(fā)生。

The risk of regression is real. So it is crucial that, even if governments of poor countries have to tighten their belts, they prioritise spending on education and girls. Get it right and billions of girls will have a better shot at fulfilling their potential. Get it wrong and they will live poorer, shorter lives, less able to stand up for themselves, more vulnerable to coercion, and more likely to pass these disadvantages on to the next generation. So, get girlhood right.

女性發(fā)展倒退的風(fēng)險是真實存在的。因此，至關(guān)重要的是，即使貧窮國家的政府不得不勒緊褲帶，他們也要優(yōu)先考慮教育和女童發(fā)展支出。處理得當(dāng)，數(shù)十億女孩將有更好的機(jī)會發(fā)揮她們的潛力。如果處理不當(dāng)，他們會生活得更窮，壽命更短，更不能為自己發(fā)聲，更容易受到脅迫，更有可能把這些劣勢傳給下一代。所以，我們要重視少女的教育。

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  1. stymie vt.[非正式]阻礙；妨礙

(informal)prevent or hinder the progress of

e.g. Investigators have been stymied by uncooperative witnesses

調(diào)查人員因為目擊者不合作而工作受阻

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  1. blistering adj.（體育新聞用語）飛快的；激動人心的

(in sports journalism) extremely fast, forceful, or impressive

e.g. Burke set a blistering pace.

伯克步速飛快

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  1. on a par with… 和…一樣

equal in importance or quality to; on an equal level with

e.g. The home cooking is on a par with the best in the world.

這種自家烹調(diào)的美食堪比世上絕味。

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  1. knock-on effects n.附帶效果；間接影響

（chiefly Bri.）a secondary, indirect, or cumulative effect

e.g. Movements in oil prices have knock-on effects on other fuels

石油價格的變動對其他燃料有間接影響。

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  1. smorgasbord 瑞典式自助餐；大雜燴

a wide range of something; a variety

e.g. The album is a smorgasbord of different musical styles.

這個唱片集各種風(fēng)格音樂作品于一體。

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  1. hobble vt.妨礙（計劃、系統(tǒng)）等的運(yùn)作；跛行

to deliberately make sure that a plan, system etc cannot work successfully

e.g. Many start-ups are hobbled by a lack of sufficient capital.

很多新公司由于缺乏足夠的資金而陷入困境。

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  1. shot n.（尤指做困難的事的嘗試）

an attempt to do something or achieve something, especially something difficult

e.g. This is her first shot at directing a play.

這是她第一次嘗試導(dǎo)演一出戲。