What a ‘Girls’ Day’ says about a woman’s place in China
上篇鏈接在此：
In a country where the slogan “women hold up half the sky” was once espoused by the leadership and by the public, it’s a giant step backward to dedicate a day to eulogize the innocent, feminine characteristics of young women and declare that they need to be cared for and protected by men.
對於這個曾經無論在高層還是在民間都宣揚“婦女撐起半邊天”的國家，設立一天節日來頌揚年輕女性的天真、柔弱，並宣稱女孩們需要男性的照顧與保護實則一大退步。
espouse
= give one's support to (a cause, theory, etc) 支持, 擁護。
Espouse確實和spouse‘配偶’同源，所以從意思上也是有聯繫的（配偶之間相互支持嘛）。Support, embrace都是很好拿來替換的近義詞，但相比而言espouse要更文鄒鄒一點。
eulogize
=(fml or joc) praise (sb/sth) highly in speech or writing 稱讚, 頌揚。
Eulogize這個詞很符合構詞規律，eu-這個前綴表示“好”(eu-phoria 愉悅；eu-thanasia安樂死), logi-表示“文字”“說”(apology道歉；trilogy三部曲)，合起來eu-logy“好聽話”也就是頌詞了，而動詞eulogize既是稱讚。
The relatively recent trend of the infantilization of women is a result of China’s new market-capitalist economy joining forces with the patriarchy. As China started to adopt a full-on market economy in the early 1990s, the socialist state mandate was abandoned as something out of season. In the meantime, a renaissance of Confucian women’s virtues began – demands for loyalty, devotion, selflessness and sacrifice from women. These tools from ancient China used to suppress women have now converged with a consumer culture that objectifies women newly adopted from Western capitalism.
女性幼齒化的新趨勢是中國新興市場資本主義經濟與父權制聯手的共同結果。隨著中國在上世紀90年代初開始全面實行市場經濟，社會主義國家訓令逐漸退出歷史舞臺。同時，儒家女性美德開始復興——忠誠、奉獻、無私和犧牲再度成為對女性的要求。這些來自中國古代的壓制婦女的工具，如今已經與源自西方資本主義的將女性物質化的消費文化融為一體。
full-on
=infml complete; unrestrained 全面的；徹底的。
從英到中理解不成問題，從中到英要是想用的好就要多看看例子，比如說這個來自《財富》的：
- To me, full-on home automation should include the ability to controlthe HVAC, lighting, and security (not just cameras but door / window / motion sensors), at the very least, and ideally monitor energy, temperature, humidity too.
- 對我而言，徹底的家庭自動化應該至少具有控制空調、照明和安全系統的能力（不僅包攝像頭，而且還包括門/窗/運動傳感器），理想來說還得可以監測能耗、溫度和溼度。
mandate
=An authoritative command or instruction 訓令。
Mandate這個詞比較抽象，我們說一個比較具體的概念幫助大家理解、記憶。我們常說中國古代封建王朝的權力層非常看重“天命”這個概念，認為自己的上臺與統治的維繫是“天命”使然。而這個天命在英文了就叫做the Mandate of Heaven。
所以我們可以寬泛地把mandate想成一種order“命令”或者authorization“授權”。
看看下圖這個：
converge
= meet at a point 匯於一點; 聚集。
構詞法分析一下，con-是together的意思，verge是bend, turn, incline的意思，所以converge就是匯聚啦，所以說Parallel lines converge at infinity就是“平行線永不相交”啦。反義詞diverge也是很通透的詞彙啦。
The message: if women act and dress like pretty dolls and obey men, men will find them attractive, buy them things and take care of them. If not, they risk becoming one of China’s “leftover women.” Facing an aging society and falling birth rate, the country replaced its one-child policy with a two-child one – but without implementing sufficient policies to help ease the burden of childcare on women. While gender-based discrimination is rampant in the workplace and in college admissions, feminism has become a socially negative and politically sensitive notion, amid a fading #MeToo movement in China. It’s inspiring that many on the internet lash out at – or simply burn – the sexist banners of Girls’ Day. But as they stick their necks out, they’re reminding Chinese women that there are many battles still to fight.
這份融匯後的信息如下：如果女性像漂亮的洋娃娃般地打扮自己、舉手投足，並對男性加以服從，男性就會發現其魅力，進而給她們買東西並加以照顧。否則，女性就有可能成為中國“剩女”。面對老齡化社會和出生率的下降，中國以兩胎製取代了計劃生育，卻沒有制定有效減輕婦女育兒負擔的政策。儘管性別歧視在工作場所和大學錄取中普遍存在，但在中國#MeToo運動逐漸消退的情況下，女權主義已成為一種在社會上成為負面信息並造成政治敏感的觀念。儘管互聯網上的許多人都在抨擊-或乾脆燒掉-女生節出現的性別歧視橫幅這點令人倍感鼓舞。但是，這樣的風險行為也在提醒著中國女性，其前方還有很多鬥爭。
rampant
= (of disease, crime, etc) flourishing excessively; unrestrained 猖獗的, 遏制不住的。
Rampant基本上都是形容糟糕的事情卻擴散得很快，比如說疾病、野火、砍伐森林、婦女歧視 rampant disease / wildfire / deforestation /misogyny. 非常高頻非常to the point的一個詞彙，掌握好很吃香哦！下圖的就是指“猖獗擴散的流感”。
lash out
= to burst into or resort to verbal or physical attack 痛打, 痛罵。
Lash out這個短語其實一般都是指比較負面的、比較沒理由地拿別人或者別的事兒出氣的一種狀況。比如說我想表達我昨天過得不順所以在家裡拿別人撒氣就可以說I was having a bad day and was lashing out at my family. 再比如說這個路透社的：
- He was lashing out at society because of his lack of vocational opportunities.
- 由於缺乏工作機會，他對社會上大肆抨擊。
stick their necks out
=do something risky 做有風險的事。
用把脖子伸出來來比喻冒風險還是相當形象的。多見於口語，所以給大家一個CNN新聞播報的：
- Why would he stick his neck out and find himself in this political pickle?
- 他為何要冒險讓自己處於這種政治困境？
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