高職務強勢女性越來越苗條？

Powerful career women who hold top jobs in law, medicine and business are slimming down, according official figures. They are the only social group to lose weight in the past 18 years while the study reveals everyone else is growing fatter.
官方數據顯示，法律、醫學及商界的高職位強勢女性身材日趨苗條。調查顯示，過去18年來，幾乎所有人都在增胖，唯獨這一羣體的體重竟是下降的。

Data from the National Obesity Observatory (NOO) shows that 15 per cent of professional women were obese in 1997, but that figure had fallen to 14 per cent by 2008.
英國國家肥胖觀察機構數據顯示，1997年職場女性的肥胖率是15%，到了2008年，該比率已下降至14%。

NOO, which has monitored obesity issues in the UK since 2007, highlighted how the percentage of professional men classified as fat rose from 15 to 20 per cent between 1997 and 2008.
國家肥胖觀察機構自2007年起就一直在監測英國的肥胖問題。該機構發現，1997年—2008年，職場男性的肥胖率已從15%上升至20%。

Two reasons were said to behind the trend for slimmer women - they are still judged on their appearance rather than skill and their ambition to be better than their male colleagues.
據說，職場女性越來越苗條的原因有兩個：其一，社會通常以相貌而非技能來評判女性；其二，職場女性比職場男性更爭強好勝。

Professional women are aware of a bias against those who are overweight, according to Andrew Hill, professor of medical psychology at Leeds University.
利茲大學的醫學心理學教授安德魯·希爾表示，職場女性很清楚社會對肥胖人羣存有偏見。

Barrister Helen Jackson, who weighs 16 stone, told the Sunday Times that obese male lawyers were accepted in her profession but female ones were not. 'The pressure on women to look the part has definitely got worse since I was called to the bar in 1975,' she said. 'Women now are slaves to their appearance more than they ever were.'
海倫·傑克森是一名出庭律師，體重16英石（約100kg）。她在接受《星期日泰晤士報》採訪時表示，法律界能接納肥胖的男性律師，卻無法接受肥胖的女性律師。海倫表示，“自打我1975年獲得律師資格以來，社會對女性相貌的要求越來越苛刻。現代女性越發淪爲相貌的奴隸了。”

In a survey published in Manchester and Melbourne fat women scored worse in an assessment of their leadership potential. The 12 candidates - six obese and six slim - had identical educational CVs, but those who were overweight were judged more poorly by volunteer student who took part in the study.
曼徹斯特及墨爾本聯合發佈的一項調查顯示，肥胖女性在領導潛能評估上得分很低。胖瘦各半的12名候選人具備同樣的教育背景，但參加調查的學生志願者給肥胖候選人的評估較差。

Former Tory Minister Ann Widdecombe was criticised for her appearance and subsequently lost weight when she appeared on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing show. She said society made demands on how women should look and added: 'I think the pressure on women to be concerned about their appearance has always been there.'
前任保守黨大臣安·威德庫姆曾因外表而遭戲謔，後來她參加BBC《舞動奇蹟》節目時瘦多了。她說：“社會對女性的外貌比較苛刻，我覺得女性外貌的壓力一直都如影隨形吧。”

Vocabulary
barrister: (在英國，有資格出席高等法庭並辯護的)高級律師，專門律師，出庭律師
look the part: (口語)看上去樣子像那種人
call to the bar: 取得律師資格
Tory: (英國和加拿大)保守黨黨員