背景知识
最近,美国颁布了一项反歧视行政令,不仅在如厕方面为跨性别者提供便利,而且还要求学校必须允许跨性别者参与女性运动会,否则将面临联邦教育基金停止拨款的惩罚。实际上,美国跨性别群体的生存状况令人堪忧,仅2020年,全美针对跨性别者的暴力行为高达40起,但是针对这一行政令,却遭到批评人士的反对。他们认为,如果跨性别者参加运动会,将会减少女性参与体育赛事的*。
正文阅读
Sports should have two categories: “open” and “female”
体育应该分“开放”和“女性”两大类
Lia Thomas, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, is an excellent swimmer. She often beats her rivals by tens of seconds, breaking records. Her success is based on three things. One is natural talent. Another is relentless training. And the third is biology.
宾夕法尼亚大学的学生利亚·托马斯是一名优秀的游泳运动员。她经常以数十秒之差击败对手,打破纪录。她的成功基于三件事。一个是天赋。另一个是严格的训练。第三个是生理因素。
For although she identifies as a woman, Ms Thomas was born male. Since humans cannot change their sex (unlike their self-identified gender), she remains that way. On the eve of her biggest competition, Ms Thomas finds herself at the centre of the bad-tempered debate about whether trans women—males who identify as women—should compete in women’s sports. That, in turn, is part of a broader argument: should brute biological facts sometimes override people’s deeply held feelings about their identities?
尽管托马斯女士自认为是女性,但她生来就是男性。因为人类不能改变自己的性别(不像他们自我认同的性别),所以她一直保持着这种状态。在她最大的比赛前夕,托马斯女士发现自己处于一场关于跨性别女性——即自认为女性的男性——是否应该参加女子运动的激烈辩论的中心。反过来,这又是一个更广泛的争论的一部分:残酷的生物学事实是否有时会压倒人们对自己身份的深刻感受?
This newspaper believes it is almost always unfair to allow transgender women to compete in women’s sports. The advantages bestowed by male puberty are so big that no amount of training or talent can enable female athletes to overcome them. Florence Griffith Joyner’s 100-metres world sprinting record has stood for three decades. A male matching it would not even make it to the Olympics, let alone the final. In 2016, at an American event for high-schoolers, four of the eight boys in the 100-metres final ran faster. Much of the male advantage is granted by testosterone, a potent anabolic steroid whose levels rise sharply in male puberty
本报认为,允许跨性别女性参加女子体育比赛总是不公平的。男性青春期所赋予的优势是如此之大,以至于任何训练或天赋都无法使女性运动员战胜他们。弗洛伦斯·格里菲斯·乔伊纳的100米世界短跑纪录已经保持了30年。如果是男性选手,连奥运会都进不去,更别说决赛了。2016年,在美国的一场高中生比赛中,参加100米决赛的8名男生中有4人跑得更快。男性的优势在很大程度上是由于睾酮的作用,睾酮是一种强效的合成代谢类固醇,其水平在男性青春期急剧上升。
今日单词
- category /ˈkætəɡɔːri/ n.(人或事物的)类别,种类;
- rival /ˈraɪvl/ n.竞争对手;
- be based on sth. (以某事)为基础,为根据;
- relentless /rɪˈlentləs/ adj.不停的;持续强烈的;不减弱的;
- eve /iːv/ n.(尤指宗教节假日的)前夜,前夕;
- trans- 进入(另一地方);成为(另一状态);
- compete in sth. 参加……比赛(竞赛);
- in turn 相应地;转而;
- brute /bruːt/ adj.根本而令人不快的;赤裸裸的;
- override /ˌoʊvərˈraɪd/ vt.比…更重要;凌驾;
- bestow /bɪˈstoʊ/ vt.(将…)给予,授予,献给;
- puberty /ˈpjuːbərti/ n.青春期;
- enable /ɪˈneɪbl/ vt.使能够;使有机会;
- overcome /ˌoʊvərˈkʌm/ vt.战胜;
- sprint /sprɪnt/ vi.短距离快速奔跑(或游泳);冲刺;
- make it 获得成功;
- let alone 更不必说;
- testosterone /teˈstɑːstəroʊn/ n.睾酮;睾丸素;
- potent /ˈpoʊtnt/ adj.有强效的;有力的;烈性的;影响身心的;
- anabolic steroid 合成代谢类固醇(人工合成激素,能增大肌肉,有时被运动员违禁使用);
- sharply /ˈʃɑːrpli/ adv.急剧地;突然大幅度地;
素材来源
文本选自:The Economist(经济学人)
作者:Unknown
原文发布时间:19 Mar. 2022
每日美句
Great hopes make great man.
伟大的理想造就伟大的人。