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Girls are doing better than ever. Don’t let the pandemic stymie them
女孩们表现得比以前好得多。不要让疫情阻碍她们的发展。
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.
在许多富裕国家，父母现在对待女儿和对待儿子一样好，并对他们的未来进行同样多的投资。在各个领域里，女孩的表现都追上了男孩。从全球来看，现在大学里年轻女性的人数超过了年轻男性。时代发生了巨变。50年前，中低收入国家只有49%的小学适龄女孩在上学，相比之下，男孩的比例为71%；如今，两者的占比都在90%左右。1998年，世界上只有一半的中学适龄女孩入学；今天三分之二的适龄女孩入学。同一时期， 15-24岁年轻女性的文盲率五分之一下降到十分之一，与年轻男性大致相当。
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.
当社会很好地处理少女教育问题时，连锁效应是惊人的。完成中学学业的女孩不太可能成为童养媳或过早生育。教育提高了收入能力，拓宽了选择范围，所以她不太可能遭受贫穷或家暴。受过教育的女孩收入几乎是没上过学的女孩的两倍。她会把各种优势传递给她的后代。
（来自电影《风雨哈佛路》）
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.
新冠肺炎疫情可能会阻碍贫穷国家女孩的进步，甚至逆转这一趋势。在之前的灾难中，女孩们往往受害最深。2014年埃博拉病毒迫使西非学校关闭，许多女孩辍学，再也没有回去，最终怀孕或成为童工。联合国儿童基金会警告说，类似的事情可能会发生在新冠肺炎期间，但规模会更大。研究表明，在未来的十年里，1300万例本可以避免的童婚可能会继续发生。
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.
女性发展倒退的风险是真实存在的。因此，至关重要的是，即使贫穷国家的政府不得不勒紧裤带，他们也要优先考虑教育和女童发展支出。处理得当，数十亿女孩将有更好的机会发挥她们的潜力。如果处理不当，他们会生活得更穷，寿命更短，更不能为自己发声，更容易受到胁迫，更有可能把这些劣势传给下一代。所以，我们要重视少女的教育。
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stymie vt.[非正式]阻碍；妨碍
(informal)prevent or hinder the progress of
e.g. Investigators have been stymied by uncooperative witnesses
调查人员因为目击者不合作而工作受阻
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blistering adj.（体育新闻用语）飞快的；激动人心的
(in sports journalism) extremely fast, forceful, or impressive
e.g. Burke set a blistering pace.
伯克步速飞快
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on a par with… 和…一样
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.
这种自家烹调的美食堪比世上绝味。
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knock-on effects n.附带效果；间接影响
（chiefly Bri.）a secondary, indirect, or cumulative effect
e.g. Movements in oil prices have knock-on effects on other fuels
石油价格的变动对其他燃料有间接影响。
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smorgasbord 瑞典式自助餐；大杂烩
a wide range of something; a variety
e.g. The album is a smorgasbord of different musical styles.
这个唱片集各种风格音乐作品于一体。
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hobble vt.妨碍（计划、系统）等的运作；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够的资金而陷入困境。
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shot n.（尤指做困难的事的尝试）
an attempt to do something or achieve something, especially something difficult
e.g. This is her first shot at directing a play.
这是她第一次尝试导演一出戏。
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