VOA慢速英語：美國男童軍開始接收女孩

Boy Scouts of America to Welcome Girls

美國男童軍將開始接收女孩

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The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has made a lot of change in recent years.

美國童子軍(美國童子軍一般就指男童軍)近些年發(fā)些年發(fā)生了諸多變化。

The youth organization, which formed in 1910, agreed in 2015 to accept openly gay members, as well as gay adult volunteers.

這個(gè)青年組織，成立于1910年，之后于2015年公開同意接受同性戀成員以及同性戀的成人志愿者。

It also now lets transgender boys join.

現(xiàn)在該組織也允許變性男生加入。

And this week, it announced that girls will soon be permitted to join the traditionally male organization.

而就在本周，該組織宣布很快就會(huì)允許女孩加入這個(gè)傳統(tǒng)意義上的男性組織。

The BSA says it will admit girls into the Cub Scouts starting in 2018. That group is for younger children. It also announced plans to create a new program for older girls based on the Boy Scout curriculum.

美國童子軍稱將從2018年開始接受女孩加入為兒童服務(wù)的幼童軍。該組織還宣布計(jì)劃根據(jù)男童軍課程表為年齡更大的女孩創(chuàng)建新的課程。

The Girl Scouts of the USA is another of the country's major scouting organizations. It had tried to dissuade the Boy Scouts from making the changes.

美國女童軍是該國另一家主要的童軍組織。該組織嘗試勸阻美國男童軍做出上述改變。

"Girl Scouts is, and will remain, the scouting program that truly benefits U.S. girls by providing a safe space for them to learn and lead," the Girl Scouts said in a statement.

女童軍在一份聲明中表示：”女童軍將會(huì)為美國女孩提供學(xué)習(xí)和領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的安全空間，從而使她們真正受益。”

Girl Scouts officials have also suggested the move was driven partly by the BSA's need to raise more money. They say some of the group's financial problems come from past settlements it had to pay in sex-abuse cases.

女童軍官員也表示，美國男童軍的這一舉動(dòng)部分是由于籌措資金需求。她們表示，男童軍的財(cái)務(wù)問題來自于需要解決過去性侵案的賠償問題。

Membership numbers for both groups have been falling in recent years.

近年來這兩家組織的會(huì)員人數(shù)都一直在下降。

Under the new plan, smaller Cub Scout groups will be either all-boys or all-girls. Larger Cub Scout groups will have the choice to remain single gender or welcome both boys and girls.

根據(jù)新計(jì)劃，較小的幼童軍將全部是男孩或者女孩。大一點(diǎn)的幼童軍將能選擇維持單一性別或者同時(shí)接受男孩和女孩。

The new program for older girls is expected to start in 2019. It will let girls earn the same Eagle Scout rank that has been reached by young men who have gone on to be astronauts, senators and admirals. It is the highest level of scouting in the Boy Scouts.

為大一點(diǎn)的女孩提供的課程有望在2019年開始。它將允許女孩獲得跟男青年同樣的鷹級(jí)童軍級(jí)別，這些男年輕后來都成為了宇航員、參議員和海軍上將。這是男童軍中最高級(jí)別的童軍。

The announcement made the Boy Scouts a trending topic on Twitter, Facebook and Google.

該聲明使得美國男童軍成為了推特、臉譜和谷歌上的熱門話題。

Zach Wahls is an Eagle Scout. He played an active role in pressuring the BSA to end its ban on gay members.

Zach Wahls是一名鷹級(jí)童軍。他在推動(dòng)美國男童軍解除同性戀成員禁令方面發(fā)揮了積極作用。

Wahls wrote on Twitter about the BSA's most recent move. "So proud of this organization for doing the right thing. Yet another step forward for [this] American icon."

Wahls在推特上發(fā)文談到了美國男童軍最近的這一舉動(dòng)。他說：“太驕傲了，這個(gè)組織做出了正確選擇。美國男童軍這一美國標(biāo)志又向前邁進(jìn)了一步。”

But, many on social media did not support the move, including another Eagle Scout, Charlie Kirk. He tweeted, "I am an Eagle Scout. Only boys should be in Boy Scouts. Only girls should be in Girl Scouts. Don't change things that work."

但是社交媒體上很多人都不支持這一舉動(dòng)，包括另一位鷹級(jí)童軍Charlie Kirk。他發(fā)推文表示：“我是一位鷹級(jí)童軍。只有男孩才能加入男童軍，只有女孩才能加入女童軍。不要改變這些。”

Many scouting organizations in other countries already permit both girls and boys. They use gender-free names, such as Scouts Canada. But for now, the Boy Scout name will remain unchanged, BSA officials say.

其它國家的很多童軍組織已經(jīng)同時(shí)接受女孩和男孩。他們使用了中性名稱，例如加拿大童子軍。但是美國男童軍官員表示，目前男童軍的名字將會(huì)保持不變。

Public opinion studies carried out by the Boy Scouts showed strong support for the changes among parents not currently connected to the Scouts, including Hispanic and Asian families that the group has been trying to attract.

男童軍進(jìn)行的民意調(diào)查顯示，目前跟童軍毫無關(guān)聯(lián)的家長強(qiáng)制支持這一變革，包括該組織一直嘗試吸引的西班牙和亞洲家庭。

Unlike the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts have kept its girls-only status for all its programs. The empowerment of girls remains at the center of its mission.

跟男童軍不同的是，女童軍所有課程維持只接受女孩的狀態(tài)。女童賦權(quán)仍然是該組織的核心使命。

Andrea Bastiani Archibald is a psychologist who helps with the development of the Girl Scouts' programming.

Andrea Bastiani Archibald是一位心理學(xué)家，她幫助開發(fā)了女童軍的課程。

She said, "We know that girls learn [best] in an all-girl, girl-led environment."

她說：“我們知道，女孩在一個(gè)全部是女孩，并由女孩主導(dǎo)的環(huán)境中學(xué)得最好。”

And that's What's Trending Today....

以上就是本期今日焦點(diǎn)節(jié)目的全部內(nèi)容。

I'm Caty Weaver.

我是卡蒂·韋弗。