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  3. Female-only buses have been introduced in many countries with varying de

Female-only buses have been introduced in many countries with varying de

游客2024-11-06  26
问题         Female-only buses have been introduced in many countries with varying degrees of success. Some think these buses can more or less protect women from groping and harassment. But some hold that such single-sex transport is a relatively discrimination. The following two excerpts introduce the implementation of this practice in Mexico and China respectively.
        Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 words, in which you should:
        1. summarize briefly the two excerpts, and then
        2. give your comment on this practice.
Excerpt 1
        Groping and verbal harassment is an exasperating reality for women using public transportation in Mexico City, where 22 million passengers cram onto subways and buses each day. Acting on complaints from women’s groups, the city rolled out "ladies only" buses, complete with pink signs in the windshields to wave off the men.
        As word spreads about the buses, the women seem delighted, while some men forced to wait a few minutes longer have shown their anger. Still others have stumbled on board despite the signs, much to their embarrassment.
        On Thursday, when a man mistakenly climbed aboard on one of the female-only buses, the women immediately began teasing him and shouting that he should read the "ladies only" sign. The man blushed and mumbled an apology, then ignored the taunts until he got off several stops later.
        Mexico City’s female-only buses run along three busy routes throughout the day for now, but the city plans to add them to 15 other routes by April, said Ariadna Montiel, who directs the public bus system.
        "Women were asking for this service because of the sexual harassment, especially groping and leering," Montiel said.
        And while some men have complained that they have to wait longer for a bus, she said the women are thrilled: "The women are really happy and we have been getting a lot of e-mail and letters from them."
Excerpt 2
        The introduction of a women-only bus, a relatively new concept in China, in Zhengzhou has riled some local men and sparked an online debate.
        The new summer service will run during morning and evening rush hours in the eastern city of Zhengzhou, in an effort to cut the number of groping incidents, Dahe Daily reports. The local bus company says it’ll protect women from being harassed when wearing lighter clothing, and also help breastfeeding mothers feel more comfortable.
        Women interviewed on board the bus said they were pleased with the service. But some local men are less impressed. One tells that harassment isn’t common on public transport: "The bus company has made a fuss over it—this measure will cause men to feel humiliated." Another man complains: "I had to wait a really long time for another bus to arrive because I wasn’t allowed on."
        A video that has gone viral shows an elderly man remonstrating with the driver after being denied boarding. "You’re discriminating against me! This is a public bus!" he shouts. Others appear unfazed, and wander off in search of another service.
        It’s become a hot topic of debate on microblogging site Weibo, with lots of women welcoming the idea, although one notes: "Not all men are bad, but aren’t all men being discriminated against here?" There’s support from male users too, although some think it promotes a general distrust of men. Many also feel an exception should have been made for the elderly man in the video.
选项
答案                                                                         Women-Only Buses Discriminate Both Men and Women
        Sexual harassment has long been a depressing reality for women and it becomes even worse with the increasing mobility of modern people. In order to better protect females from being sexually harassed, the authority of Mexico City rolls out "ladies-only" buses. Zhengzhou, the provincial city of Henan, also embraces this relatively new idea and provides women-only buses services during the rush hours. Such well-intentioned practice, however, triggers protest from some men and even complaints for the bus company. My personal view is that providing single-sex buses for ladies is unnecessary since it discriminates against women as well as men.
        Women are doubtless more susceptible to be victims of sexual harassment, but their relative vulnerability cannot justify ladies-only buses services. As a matter of fact, the proportion of males who conduct sexual harassment such as groping or leering is low. Offering women-only buses not only causes inconvenience for men who are innocent and who need to use buses, but also gives them the feeling of being humiliated. In addition, from the perspective of equal personal and social rights, women should not be given such special public transport services. In other words, both genders should be treated equally. On second thoughts, this policy is also a discrimination against women. As we all know, women refuse to be labeled as the weaker sex, and they advocate and support equal rights. If there are buses intended for females only, doesn’t that show women are weaker than men? Doesn’t that undo the efforts to rid women of the label of "fragility"?
        To conclude, I am opposed to the proposal of providing women-only buses services specially for women. In fact, sexual harassment should be addressed by taking effective measures such as installing security cameras to collecting evidence of groping and penalizing those accused of sexual harassment.
解析         材料给出的两个选段分别探讨了在墨西哥和中国的女性专用公交车的做法。在两个选段中，女性基本上都欢迎政府推出专用公交车保护她们免受性骚扰（sexual harassment），然而这一做法在实行过程中也会遇到一些问题或受到某些男性的抗议。
        选段一指出，墨西哥城提供妇女专用公交车受到女性欢迎，她们为此感到愉快（delighted）和激动（hilled）。但一些男性为此感到愤怒，有一些男性甚至无视妇女专用的标志直接乘坐（stumbled on board despite the signs）。
        选段二中河南郑州则是为了减少性骚扰事件（cut the number of groping incidents），同时也能让哺乳期的母亲（breastfeeding mothers）在公交车上更自在，因而开设了女性专用公交车。但这在中国来说是个新概念，在女性为此高兴的同时，一些男性则认为：性骚扰事件并不普遍（harassment isn’t common），这样的举措让男性感到屈辱（feel humiliated）和受歧视，也导致他们要花很长时间去等车。
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