2024年12月四级第1套仔细阅读 Passage 2 原文翻译及答案解析

Engineering in the U.S. has long been a male-dominated profession. Fifty years ago, it looked like that might change.

美国工程界长期以来一直是一个男性主导的行业。五十年前，这种状况看起来可能会改变。

In 1970, the percentage of women majoring in engineering was less than 1%. In 1979, that number was 9%. Many hoped women would continue to enter the field at the same rate. But that's not what happened. Today, only 21% of engineering majors are women, a number largely unchanged since 2000.

1970年，主修工程学的女性比例不到1%。1979年，这一数字达到9%。许多人希望女性能以同样的速度继续进入该领域。但事实并非如此。如今，工程专业中只有21%是女性，这个数字自2000年以来基本保持不变。

I am a historian who, along with my colleagues, surveyed 251 women engineers who graduated from college in the 1970s. These pioneers reflected on the challenges they faced - and had advice for women entering the field today.

我是一名历史学家，与同事一起调查了251位20世纪70年代大学毕业的女性工程师。这些先驱者反思了她们面临的挑战，并为如今进入该领域的女性提供了建议。

One survey taker explained, "The greatest challenge for me was continuing to believe in myself, when all the messages I was getting were that I would never be taken seriously or promoted or given raises at the same rate as men, who were clearly less qualified and not as smart as I was."

一位受访者解释说：“对我来说最大的挑战是继续相信自己，当时我得到的所有信息都是，我永远不会被认真对待，或者得到与男性同等的晋升和加薪机会，尽管那些男性显然不如我有资历和聪明。”

A chemical engineer who worked in manufacturing agreed, "You have to prove yourself just because you are female. And you have to work twice as hard!"

一位在制造业工作的化学工程师同意道：“仅仅因为你是女性，你就必须证明自己。而且你还必须加倍努力！”

A civil engineer said, "We are 'women engineers.' People don't refer to a man as a 'man engineer' - he's an engineer. We are constantly reminded that we don't truly belong." Another civil engineer stated, "On many levels, you're never quite one of the group."

一位土木工程师说：“我们是‘女工程师’。人们不会称一个男人为‘男工程师’——他就是工程师。我们不断被提醒，我们并不真正属于这里。”另一位土木工程师表示：“在许多层面上，你永远无法完全成为群体中的一员。”

Women also talked about family caregiving responsibilities. A retired vice president from a major chemical company stated, "Young women engineers are on an equal footing until they have children, then they struggle to balance work and family - and compete with men who don't have the same household responsibilities."

女性还谈到了家庭护理责任。一家大型化学公司的退休副总裁说：“年轻女性工程师在生孩子之前是平等的，但之后她们努力平衡工作和家庭——并要与那些没有同样家务责任的男性竞争。”

But over the years things have changed a lot. Young women engineers are more accepted mostly because there are just more of them.

但多年来，情况已经发生了很大变化。年轻女性工程师更被接受，主要是因为她们的数量增加了。

Many women engineers hailed the benefits of their chosen career. A program manager in manufacturing stated that engineering is the best degree. A mechanical engineer said, "It will give you the flexibility to do almost anything. It is also satisfying to see the effects of what you have done."

许多女性工程师称赞她们选择的职业带来的好处。一位制造业的项目经理表示，工程学是最好的学位。一位机械工程师说：“它将给你灵活性去做几乎任何事情。看到自己所做的事情产生效果，也是一种满足。”