21世纪大学英课文翻译unit2.docVIP

Unit 2?? Book 3??? ?? What does the word feminist mean to you? A man-hating female who gets offended at common courtesy? Someone who insists that women can and should do everything men do? A person who sees womens strengths and abilities as different from mens, but equally valuable? Or someone whos sensitive to the unfair treatment that women have suffered for centuries and wants to correct it? The feminist movement has made great progress in ensuring women equal legal rights, but social critics in most countries agree that theres still a long way to go. The three texts in this unit explore some of the difficulties that both men and women encounter along the road to equal rights. Text A challenges us to examine our priorities and attitudes more closely, while Texts B and C contemplate some of the complications of putting our visions of equal rights into practice in everyday life. The Titanic Puzzle Should a good feminist accept priority seating on a lifeboat? by Charles Krauthammer ?? Youre on the Titanic II. It has just hit an iceberg and is sinking. And, as last time, there are not enough lifeboats. The captain shouts, “Women and children first!” But this time, another voice is heard: “Why women?” ??? Why, indeed? Part of the charm of the successful movie Titanic are the period costumes, the period extravagance, and the period prejudices. An audience can enjoy these at a distance. Oddly, however, of all the period attitudes in the film, the old maritime tradition of “women and children first” enjoys total acceptance by modern audiences. Listen to the audience boo at the bad guys who try to sneak on the lifeboats with -- or ahead of -- the ladies. ??? But is not grouping women with children a raging anachronism? Should not any self-respecting modern person, let alone feminist, object to it as insulting to women? ??? Yet its usage is as common today as it was in 1912. Consider these examples taken almost at random from recent newspapers: ??? “The invaders gunned do