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Taiwan Moves toward Greater Gender Equality 台湾男女平权的里程碑

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Taiwan Moves toward Greater Gender Equality   台湾男女平权的里程碑

On May 20th, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed a law identical to the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

2011年5月20日，立法院通过与联合国一致的新法规──「消除对妇女一切形式歧视公约施行法」。

The new law will come into effect on January 1st, 2012, and states that once every four years, the federal government must publish a report on the promotion of gender equality. In addition, there is a three-year deadline to revise any laws or administrative procedures that run counter to CEDAW.

将于明年1月1日开始实行。此项法则规定政府每四年需提出推动性别平等的国家报告，并于三年期限内修改任何不符公约的法规或行政措施。

CEDAW was originally passed by the U.N. in 1979, but because Taiwan is not a member, it did not become one of the 186 countries to ratify the agreement. Though Taiwan is still unable to sign the original act, it will now make similar statutes domestic law. Countries that signed the act ensure equal rights for women by giving them the same opportunities in politics, education, health, and the workplace that are afforded to men.

联合国在1979年通过消除对妇女一切形式歧视公约，但台湾并非会员国，所以无法参与186国的立法。虽然台湾无法签署原法案，但已制订类似的国内法规。缔约国必须确保女性和男性在政治、教育、保健、就业等均享有同等权利。

Airlines Watch the Skies as Icelandic Volcano Erupts   冰岛火山爆发──航空公司紧盯天际

Iceland’s most active volcano, Grímsvötn, which last erupted in 2004, began erupting again in May. A plume of white smoke could be seen rising from the volcano to a height of approximately 15 kilometers, and a flight ban of 120 nautical miles around the area was imposed. Grímsvötn is located underneath the Vatnajökull glacier in southeast Iceland.

位于冰岛东南方的瓦特纳冰原底下，冰岛最活跃火山「格里姆火山」，继2004年喷发之后，今年5月又再度喷发，可见白色羽状烟云直冲约15公里的高空，方圆120海哩的区域皆实施飞航管制。

This eruption comes just over a year after the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which affected air travel across Europe for weeks in 2010. About 10 million travelers were delayed, some of whom were left wondering if airline officials had overreacted, though researchers from universities in Denmark and Iceland concluded that the ash emitted by Eyjafjallajökull did pose a threat to aircraft.

格里姆火山的喷发与艾雅法拉火山爆发仅相隔一年，艾雅法拉火山在2010年影响欧洲的航班长达数周，约有一千万名乘客被耽误。虽然丹麦和冰岛的学者都表示，艾雅法拉火山喷发的火山灰确实对飞航安全造成威胁，但部分乘客仍怀疑是航空公司过度反应。

Officials say the eruption of Grímsvötn is unlikely to cause problems of a similar magnitude, and one airline official in Iceland, where volcanic activity is extremely common, even went so far as to say he didn’t expect air traffic to and from the country to be affected at all.

政府当局表示格里姆火山的喷发并不太可能会造成类似的严重问题，冰岛本来就是火山活动频繁的地区。而一家冰岛航空公司的人员甚至认为，这次的喷发并不会造成任何的影响。

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Vocabulary

单词发音

Legislative [ˋlɛdʒɪs͵letɪv] Yuan 立法院

convention [kənˋvɛnʃən] n. 会议; 大会

elimination [ɪ͵lɪməˋneʃən] n. 除去, 消除

discrimination [dɪ͵skrɪməˋneʃən] n. 歧视

revise [rɪˋvaɪz] v., n. 修订；校订

ratify [ˋrætə͵faɪ] v.（正式）批准；认可

statute [ˋstætʃʊt] n. 法令，法规  an established law or rule, as of a corporation

afford [əˋford] v. 提供，给予

erupt [ɪˋrʌpt] v. 爆发

plume [plum] n. 羽状物（如烟云，雪尘等）

nautical [ˋnɔtək!] adj. 海上的；航海的

impose [ɪmˋpoz] v. 强加于..

overreact [͵ovɚrɪˋækt] v. 反应过度

pose [poz] v. 造成，引起  to put forward; present

magnitude [ˋmægnə͵tjud] n. 大小；强度; 【地】震级

Idiom

片语发音

run counter to 与…相抵触,违背, 与…背道而驰  to be in opposition to something; to run against something

go so far as to (do something) 竟然; 甚至  to be extreme in talking about or doing something

Grimsvotn eruption in Iceland, 2011. Day 1.

VATNAJÖKULL ICELAND The Largest Glacier in Europe

Volcano Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland