【明報專訊】Saudi Arabia (沙特阿拉伯) 's king has issued a decree that will allow women to hold driving licences for the first time. Under the new law to be implemented by June 2018, women can legally obtain a driving licence without asking a male guardian for permission.
Saudi Arabia is currently the only country that forbids women from driving. Every woman must obtain permission from a male guardian — a father, brother, husband, or even a son, who has the authority to make a range of decisions on her behalf. These decisions include the approval to study abroad, travel, marry, apply for a passport or exit prison. Women are required to cover up in public and they are forbidden to swim in public swimming pools. Currently Saudi women have to hire chauffeurs to drive them around, which is a big expense to many families.
The move was welcomed by the US state department, which called it "a great step in the right direction". Religious conservatives, however, expressed opposition saying "women are too stupid to drive" and "it will lead to intolerable mingling of the sexes".
(Source: Ming Pao, BBC, Daily Mail)
■English highway﹕cover up
If you cover up, you put clothes, blankets etc over yourself in order to protect or hide your body.
e.g. It's better to cover up during the coldest part of the day.
■Photo Story
Saudi Arabia is currently the only country to forbid women from driving.
■Quiz
Answer the following questions.
(Answers on next text)
1. Is the following sentence true or false?
Saudi Arabia becomes the last country to allow women to drive.
True/False
2. From whom does a woman in Saudi Arabia obtain permission to apply for a passport?
_____________________________________________
3. Find in paragraph two a word that is similar in meaning to "drivers". _____________
4. Which of the following is NOT true about the religious conservatives' views towards the decision ?
a. They think women are too stupid to drive.
b. They support lifting the driving ban.
c. They believe women might interact with men in an inappropriate way if women are allowed to drive.
d. None of the above.
■Glossary
decree (n) 法令
guardian (n) 監護人
intolerable( adj) 無法容忍的
mingle (v) 交往
[Smarties' Power English 第194期]
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