What a ‘Girls’ Day’ says about a woman’s place in China
上篇链接在此：
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.
对于这个曾经无论在高层还是在民间都宣扬“妇女撑起半边天”的国家，设立一天节日来颂扬年轻女性的天真、柔弱，并宣称女孩们需要男性的照顾与保护实则一大退步。
espouse
= give one's support to (a cause, theory, etc) 支持, 拥护。
Espouse确实和spouse‘配偶’同源，所以从意思上也是有联系的（配偶之间相互支持嘛）。Support, embrace都是很好拿来替换的近义词，但相比而言espouse要更文邹邹一点。
eulogize
=(fml or joc) praise (sb/sth) highly in speech or writing 称赞, 颂扬。
Eulogize这个词很符合构词规律，eu-这个前缀表示“好”(eu-phoria 愉悦；eu-thanasia安乐死), logi-表示“文字”“说”(apology道歉；trilogy三部曲)，合起来eu-logy“好听话”也就是颂词了，而动词eulogize既是称赞。
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.
女性幼齿化的新趋势是中国新兴市场资本主义经济与父权制联手的共同结果。随着中国在上世纪90年代初开始全面实行市场经济，社会主义国家训令逐渐退出历史舞台。同时，儒家女性美德开始复兴——忠诚、奉献、无私和牺牲再度成为对女性的要求。这些来自中国古代的压制妇女的工具，如今已经与源自西方资本主义的将女性物质化的消费文化融为一体。
full-on
=infml complete; unrestrained 全面的；彻底的。
从英到中理解不成问题，从中到英要是想用的好就要多看看例子，比如说这个来自《财富》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.
- 对我而言，彻底的家庭自动化应该至少具有控制空调、照明和安全系统的能力（不仅包摄像头，而且还包括门/窗/运动传感器），理想来说还得可以监测能耗、温度和湿度。
mandate
=An authoritative command or instruction 训令。
Mandate这个词比较抽象，我们说一个比较具体的概念帮助大家理解、记忆。我们常说中国古代封建王朝的权力层非常看重“天命”这个概念，认为自己的上台与统治的维系是“天命”使然。而这个天命在英文了就叫做the Mandate of Heaven。
所以我们可以宽泛地把mandate想成一种order“命令”或者authorization“授权”。
看看下图这个：
converge
= meet at a point 汇于一点; 聚集。
构词法分析一下，con-是together的意思，verge是bend, turn, incline的意思，所以converge就是汇聚啦，所以说Parallel lines converge at infinity就是“平行线永不相交”啦。反义词diverge也是很通透的词汇啦。
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.
这份融汇后的信息如下：如果女性像漂亮的洋娃娃般地打扮自己、举手投足，并对男性加以服从，男性就会发现其魅力，进而给她们买东西并加以照顾。否则，女性就有可能成为中国“剩女”。面对老龄化社会和出生率的下降，中国以两胎制取代了计划生育，却没有制定有效减轻妇女育儿负担的政策。尽管性别歧视在工作场所和大学录取中普遍存在，但在中国#MeToo运动逐渐消退的情况下，女权主义已成为一种在社会上成为负面信息并造成政治敏感的观念。尽管互联网上的许多人都在抨击-或干脆烧掉-女生节出现的性别歧视横幅这点令人倍感鼓舞。但是，这样的风险行为也在提醒着中国女性，其前方还有很多斗争。
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却扩散得很快，比如说疾病、野火、砍伐森林、妇女歧视 rampant disease / wildfire / deforestation /misogyny. 非常高频非常to the point的一个词汇，掌握好很吃香哦！下图的就是指“猖獗扩散的流感”。
lash out
= to burst into or resort to verbal or physical attack 痛打, 痛骂。
Lash out这个短语其实一般都是指比较负面的、比较没理由地拿别人或者别的事儿出气的一种状况。比如说我想表达我昨天过得不顺所以在家里拿别人撒气就可以说I was having a bad day and was lashing out at my family. 再比如说这个路透社的：
- He was lashing out at society because of his lack of vocational opportunities.
- 由于缺乏工作机会，他对社会上大肆抨击。
stick their necks out
=do something risky 做有风险的事。
用把脖子伸出来来比喻冒风险还是相当形象的。多见于口语，所以给大家一个CNN新闻播报的：
- Why would he stick his neck out and find himself in this political pickle?
- 他为何要冒险让自己处于这种政治困境？
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