【新闻精讲】

Gender budgeting
Making women count
An idea to help government live up to their promises
IT IS easy to be cynical about government—and rarely does such cynicism go unrewarded. Take, for instance, policy towards women. Some politicians declare that they value women’s unique role, which can be shorthand for keeping married women at home looking after the kids. Others create whole ministries devoted to policies for women, which can be a device for parking women’s issues on the periphery of policy where they cannot do any harm. Still others, who may actually mean what they say, pass laws giving women equal opportunities to men. Yet decreeing an end to discrimination is very different from bringing it about.
Amid this tangle of evasion, half-promises and wishful thinking, some policymakers have embraced a technique called gender budgeting. It not only promises to do a lot of good for women, but carries a lesson for advocates of any cause: the way to a government’s heart is through its pocket.

【精讲文本】
IT IS easy to be cynical about government—and rarely does such cynicism go unrewarded. Take, for instance, policy towards women. Some politicians declare that they value women’s unique role, which can be shorthand for keeping married women at home looking after the kids.
对政府冷嘲热讽很容易，而且花在这方面的功夫很少会白费。以针对女性的政策为例。有些政客宣称自己重视女性独一无二的角色，简言之，就是让已婚女性在家带孩子。
cynical adj.嘲讽的
- cynicism n.嘲讽
unrewarded adj.没有回报的
- reward v.报答，奖励
for instance 比如说
declare v.声称
- The Declaration of Independence 《美国独立宣言》
shorthand n./v.速记，简述
- be shorthand for 简而言之 (a short, simple phrase that is used instead of a longer and more complicated phrase)

Others create whole ministries devoted to policies for women, which can be a device for parking women’s issues on the periphery of policy where they cannot do any harm. Still others, who may actually mean what they say, pass laws giving women equal opportunities to men. Yet decreeing an end to discrimination is very different from bringing it about.
其他一些政客专门为制定女性政策成立了完整的部门，这么做可将女性问题推到大政方针的边缘搁置起来，如此便不会招来任何麻烦。还有一些人或许可算真心诚意，他们通过了法律，给予女性和男性同等的机会。然而，歧视的产生可不是颁布政令就可以终止的。
devoted adj.致力于
- devote v.现身，致力于
- She's been intensely devoting herself to the study.
device n.方法，手段
park v.停放，堆积
periphery n.边缘 (boundary)
- periphery of the yard
decree v.命令
- decree n.法令
discrimination n.歧视

Amid this tangle of evasion, half-promises and wishful thinking, some policymakers have embraced a technique called gender budgeting. It not only promises to do a lot of good for women, but carries a lesson for advocates of any cause: the way to a government’s heart is through its pocket.
在这一片闪烁其词、虚与委蛇以及一厢情愿构成的纷乱之中，一些政策制定者欣然采纳了一个名为性别预算的方法。不仅女性有可能因此得到莫大的好处，为实现任何其他目标而努力奔走的人也可得到启发：要抓住政府的心，就得把手伸进它的钱袋子里。
amid prep.在...中
- It's hard to hear amid all the cheering.
tangle n./v.纠缠
- The line tangles easily.
evasion n.逃避，含糊其辞
wishful adj.有希望的
embrace v.拥抱，接受
gender gudgeting 性别预算，女性预算
advocate n.支持者
- advocate v.拥护，支持
- The travel ban is advocated by the president.