Part 2
Unit 6 性別平等
A can hold a candle to B 分庭抗禮
◎成語閱讀故事
成語「分庭抗禮」,其原出處來自《莊子‧漁父》中的「萬乘之主,千乘之君,見夫子未嘗不分庭抗禮。」,其所形容的意思即為兩方相對等,沒有優劣地位的區別,是處於同樣平等、對等的關係;在英文中,有句諺語可用來形容類似的概念,那就是「A can hold a candle to B」,形容 A 可以與 B 在實力、地位等不同條件下相抗衡,兩方是處於平等的狀態,而否定用法「A can’t hold a candle to B」也很常在日常生活中聽到,指的即是 A 並無法與 B 相抗衡,且差距甚大。
◎寫作題目
Over the progression of society, gender issues have come a long way. Once upon a time, gender equality is such an obscure concept that it is not easily fathomable for many people, inclusive of some females themselves.
But now, society has come such a long way when it comes to protecting women’s right at work. Mostly, the prevention of sexism is taken quite seriously throughout developed countries.
Now in today’s world, the factor of “New Genders” (such as the LGBT community) comes into play, and ask for the same equal rights as the way male and female are both legally protected.
What is your view on this issue? Please explain.
◎寫作技巧解析
題目首先提到,在女權運動發跡的年代,人們還不能夠很輕易地接受兩性平權的觀念,主要是受到了傳統觀念的束縛,然而在現今已開發社會,兩性平權已成為非常基本的觀念,隨著時代的演變,也出現了所謂的「新性別」、LGBT 社群,這些個體也如之前追求兩性平權的先鋒,爭取他們應擁有的平等權利;以下範文採取支持立場,並舉例在各個不同的領域,「LGBT 總有傑出的代表能與傳統兩性分庭抗禮 Representatives of the LGBT community can hold a candle to representatives of the traditionally defined binary sex group」
◎應試撇步
範文首段提到傳統的性別平等,在性別的區分上,是很「清楚界分的 clear-cut」。這種不容許灰色地帶的分法,只將性別區分為「二元的 binary」的男性與女性;然而,隨著時代的演進,應將「較狹隘的 narrower」的性別定義擴張,將 LGBT 社群「納入、包含 inclusive of」性別平等的訴求上,而文中也以「公開出櫃 openly gay」的奧運數度游泳冠軍伊恩‧索普為例,說明 LGBT 社群在許多方面就跟傳統男性女性一樣,應獲得同樣權益。
◎作文範例
With the progression of time, gender equality has taken up a new kind of meaning, not just as clear-cut as it used to be. In the early development of feminism, gender equality is simply an issue of equal rights between men and women. But now, as the society is becoming more open-minded, there are new additions to the traditionally accepted and defined binary sex group. Some of these so-called “New Genders” are members of the LGBT community. I personally support for equal rights for the community, and will explain why in the following paragraph.
隨著時代的演進,性別平等延伸至另一層的涵義,而非如以往的時代,將性別如此單純、清楚地以男性及女性來定義,就如當女性主義剛開始萌芽時,性別平等也單就以男性、女性之間的平權來探討,而發展至今日,社會也越趨開放,對於社會上原本所接受的二元男女性別分法,也有了新的發展,而這其中即包含了 LGBT 社群的成員;我個人對於 LGBT 社群爭取平權,抱持著支持的態度,原因會於下段詳述。
In many areas of life, there are quite a few illustrious representations on behalf of the LGBT community such as Ian Thorpe and others. Ian Thorpe now is an openly gay athlete who has won numerous Olympic swimming champion titles. This example illustrates the fact that, in many ways, representatives of the LGBT community can hold a candle to representatives of the traditionally defined sexes: male and female. We only need to think about the potential loss if we do not provide people like Ian get deserved equal rights. They might not have the chance to excel at what they do if they are discriminated against by the law or are treated unfairly by the society, and that would be a shame for societies to lose the honor brought upon by life champions like Ian Thorpe.
在人生中的各個領域,有許多代表 LGBT 社群的榮耀人物,舉例來說,在奧運比賽數度奪冠的游泳選手伊恩‧索普,即是個公開承認自己性傾向的選手,而伊恩的例子也證明了 LGBT 的社群代表,在許多方面是能夠與傳統二元男女性別分法的代表一樣優秀、分庭抗禮的,因此,若 LGBT 社群無法享有應有的平等權益,而無法培育、訓練出如伊恩般優秀的選手時,其對於社會及國家的損失將可想而知,因為他們若被法律歧視、或是被社會不合理對待,將可能無法在其專業領域中表現傑出,而社會及國家因而失去如伊恩般優秀的冠軍選手是很可惜的。
Part 3
Unit 11 漁業過度捕撈
give an inch and take a mile得隴望蜀
◎成語閱讀故事
成語「得隴望蜀」,其中的「隴」所指的是大陸甘肅那一帶,而「蜀」則是指四川那一帶的地區,其出處來自《後漢書‧岑彭傳》中所提到的「人苦不知足,既平隴,複望蜀,每一發兵,頭鬢為白。」所形容的即是某人貪得無厭,得到、滿足了某個欲望後,就會開始追求、想要更多,沒有極限;在英文中,時常會聽到「give an inch and take a mile」,雖然這句話通常是用來形容某人得寸進尺的行為,但其形容某人得到一「吋 inch」後,若沒有被制止,就會追求另一個境界,從一「吋」提升到一「里」,實猶如「得隴望蜀」般,欲望無止盡。
◎寫作題目
In some parts of the world, the issue of overfishing has been so out of hand that international organizations has to step in to bring awareness to those fishing practices. In fact, there are many serious problems associated with overfishing practices, take the unbalanced ecosystem resulting from the overkilling of sea fish for example. In other words, when people use fishing methods that would aggressively catch all the fish available in the area, there is a potential that certain stocks of fish species would soon drop below levels that would pose a threat to existing, balanced ecosystem. What is your view on this? Please explain.
◎寫作技巧解析
題目問道,在某些地區,漁業過度捕撈的現象頻傳,有時甚至嚴重到國際組織須出手協助、協調的地步,而漁業的過度捕撈,對於人類社會來說,會帶來許多衝擊,比如說會造成生態系統失衡等等;以下範文採取反面立場,反對漁業過度捕撈的現象,並說明應嚴懲過度捕撈的業者,以免「give an inch and take a mile」的現象產生,並杜絕這些業者以不法途徑來滿足其「得隴望蜀」心態的企圖,進而維護生態及環境的平衡。
◎應試撇步
範文提到,「漁業過度捕撈 overfishing」對於地球的「生物多樣性 biodiversity」會「造成威脅 pose a threat to something」,而過度捕撈背後的動機,通常都是被「金錢、財富的回饋 monetary rewards」所驅使,並且以鯊魚被割鰭、丟回海裡的例子,說明有些人能夠為了金錢,而以殘忍及「不人道 inhumane」的方式來掠奪海底資源。最後說道,若要有效制止這種行為,相關法規須更嚴謹,才不會讓貪婪的人有機會「得隴望蜀」,進而得寸進尺。
◎作文範例
In certain parts of the world, practices of overfishing have posed a serious threat to the completeness of the Earth’s biodiversity. The reduced completeness of biodiversity can bring irreversible damages to the existing ecosystem, and therefore should be treated seriously. In my personal opinion, I am appalled by the lengths people are willing to go to in these fishing expeditions. Those who overfish are mostly doing so only for monetary rewards. They are so driven by money that they are willing to overfish in cruel and inhumane ways, only for their own benefit of profits expansion.
在世界某些地區,漁業過度捕撈的現象將會對地球的生物多樣性造成威脅,生物多樣性完整度的缺陷會為生態系統帶來不可逆的損壞,因此這個問題需要認真被看待。而我個人的觀點認為,某些人為了獲取錢財而不擇手段的手法是很可怕的,那些人多半是為了財富而過度捕撈魚類。他們為了自己錢財的擴張,而願以殘忍、不人道的手法來捕魚,這個現象是很讓人驚駭的。
One of these cruel and inhumane practices employed by some in the fishing industry includes the treatment of sharks. In certain regions, sharks are caught and their fins are cut off on the spot. What’s worse, as the fins are the most valuable part on the body of sharks, many of those sharks are tossed right back into the deep sea. This is probably one of the purest forms of exploitation on these creatures as the sharks are essentially left to die when stripped of fins in the sea, unable to swim. To effectively bring this kind of exploitation to an end, governments and international organizations should work together to prevent overfishing from happening ever again.
這些殘酷、不人道的漁業捕撈現象,其中一個例子就是對於鯊魚的迫害。在某些地區,人們捕抓鯊魚,並當場將鰭割下,因為這些鰭是鯊魚身上最獲利的部位,但更糟的是,這些鯊魚之後就被丟回深海裡,這實在可說是人類對於其他生物剝削手段的極致案例之一了,因為這些失去鰭的鯊魚,也失去了牠們在其原本棲息的深海裡生存的能力,所以本質上來說,牠們根本就是被棄置在深海裡自生自滅、等待死亡;若要有效地杜絕這類對海底生物的剝削手段,政府及國際組織應當同心協力,一同防止漁業過度捕撈的現象再度發生。
In short, governments and international organizations should take a tougher stance on the issue of overfishing. Otherwise, the current regulations are somewhat too lax for those who are eager to exploit for profits. In the end, if not treated with more stringent laws, it will just be another typical situation where people are given an inch, and they take a mile.
簡短來說,政府及國際組織應當以更嚴厲的態度來看待漁業過度捕撈的議題。要不然,若不將相關規定制訂得更嚴謹的話,現今相對較鬆散的法規,將會使貪婪的人有機會得隴望蜀,持續他們過度捕撈的行為,以賺取更多的財富。