流利阅读 2019.3.2 The Google and Apple app that helps Saudi men limit female relatives’ travel

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The Google and Apple app that helps Saudi men limit female relatives’ travel
谷歌和苹果的一款手机 app 正协助沙特男性限制他们女性亲属的出行

A Saudi mobile application that lets men track and restrict the movements of women in the kingdom has come under increased scrutiny this week with a U.S. senator and rights groups urging Apple and Google to remove it from their platforms, accusing the technology giants of facilitating gender discrimination.
一款沙特的手机 app 能够让男性追踪并限制女性在该国的行动。本周，这款 app 受到了更加严格的审查，因为一位美国参议员和一些人权组织敦促苹果和谷歌从它们的平台上下架这款 app，并指控这些科技巨头正在助长性别歧视。

The app in question, called Absher, was launched in 2015 by the Saudi government. It allows men to manage the women under their guardianship by giving or revoking their right to travel through airports, tracking them by their national identity cards or passports. The men can turn on notifications that alert them with a text message any time a woman under their guardianship passes through an airport.
这款叫做 Absher 的问题 app 是由沙特政府于 2015 年发布的。它允许男性通过给予或取消女性经由机场出行的权利，以及利用她们的身份证或护照来确定她们的行踪，来管理那些受他们监护的女性。这些男性可以打开通知，就会在受到他们监护的女性经过机场时收到短信警报。

Absher, which roughly translates as “yes sir,” can be downloaded from both the Google Play store and Apple’s app store, which critics say makes the tech companies complicit in the repression of Saudi women.
Absher，大致可以被翻译为“是的，先生”，可以从谷歌 Play 商店还有苹果的 App Store 上下载，批评者表示，这些科技公司正是因为这一举动，才被认为在压迫沙特女性一事上助纣为虐。

The effort to pull Absher from the platforms got a boost this week when Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, demanded as much in a letter to the two companies.
本周，要求 Absher 下架的努力得到了极大的支持，（因为）俄勒冈民主党参议员罗恩·威登在一封给这两家公司的信中提出了一样的要求。

He requested that they prevent their companies from “being used by the Saudi government to enable the abhorrent surveillance and control of women.”
他要求这些公司要防止它们“被沙特政府利用以实现针对女性的可憎的监视与控制”。

Hala Aldosary, a Saudi scholar and activist based in the United States, said that the removal of the app by Apple and Google could send an important message to leaders like Crown Prince Mohammed, who have sought out partnerships with global tech firms in efforts to enhance their economies.
哈拉·阿尔多沙利，一位生活在美国的沙特学者和活动家表示，苹果和谷歌下架 Absher 的行为可能会向诸如王储穆罕默德这样的沙特领导人传递出重要的信息。这些领导人一直在积极寻求与这些全球性的科技公司的合作机会来巩固国家的经济。

“If the tech companies would say, ‘You are being oppressive,’ that would mean a lot,” Aldosary said.
阿尔多沙利说：“如果这些科技公司能表明‘你的行为是残暴压迫的’，那将会是意义重大的。”

————— 文章来源 / 纽约时报

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重点词汇
under increased scrutiny
受到更严格的审查

• scrutiny 英文释义：careful and thorough examination
• 例句：Politicians are under scrutiny all the time.

facilitate/fəˈsɪlɪteɪt/
v. 促进；促使

• 词性拓展：facility（n. 设施，设备）
• 英文释义：to make something possible or easier
• 例句：Reading books can facilitate language learning.

in question
成问题的

• 例句：His honesty is in question.

guardianship/ˈɡɑːrdiənʃɪp/
n.  监护人（或保护者）身份（或职责）

• 词根词缀：-ship（身份）
• 派生词：citizenship; authorship

notification/ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/
n. 通告，告示

• 词性拓展：notify（v. 通知）
• 例句：We received written notification that Harry was missing.

complicit/kəmˈplɪsɪt/
adj. 有同谋关系的，串通的

• 英文释义：involved with other people in sth. wrong or illegal
• 例句：Several officers were complicit in the cover-up.

repression/rɪˈpreʃn/
n. 镇压，压迫

• 词性拓展：repress（v. 压迫）
• 搭配短语：sexual repression

pull from
将…从…带走

abhorrent/əbˈhɔːrənt/
adj. 使人厌恶的；可恶的

• 词性拓展：abhor（v. 痛恨，憎恶）
• 搭配短语：abhorrent discrimination

surveillance/sɜːrˈveɪləns/
n.  监视

• 搭配短语：surveillance system

seek out
寻求

• 搭配短语：seek out new opportunities

in efforts to
努力做…

• 搭配短语：in efforts to improve yourself

oppressive/əˈpresɪv/
adj. 压迫的；压制的

• 词性拓展：oppress（v. 压迫，压抑）
• oppress 英文释义：to treat somebody in a cruel and unfair way, especially by not giving them the same freedom, rights, etc. as other people
• 词义辨析：repress, oppress
  这两个词都有“压迫”的意思，repress 尤其指的是“对于人的情感、欲望的表达方面的压抑”，而 oppress 的对象一般是人或者一个团体。