980RMB to become a 'lady'?980元可买淑女气质?

导读：想把自己打造成具有“优美姿态、得体谈吐、高雅打扮，并具有一定艺术素养的淑女(lady)”，需要多少钱？980元！多长时间？6天7节课。
980RMB to become a 'lady'?
980元可买淑女气质?
FROM Agencies
PUBLISHED: 2009-07-28
http://www.i21st.cn/story/571.html
Internet：The Princess Diaries
相信看过电影《公主日记》的人对影片里“国母”培养小孙女的公主气质场景印象深刻。最近温州市区一商家也学习电影中的"国母"将"气质"培养搬上学堂，开设"暑期少女研修班"，表示用6天7节课的培训时间，将女孩打造成拥有优美姿态、言谈得体、打扮高雅，并有一定艺术素养的淑女。
EVERYONE was impressed with the scene in The Princess Diaries where the queen of Genovia tries to turn her granddaughter into a ‘lady’. Taking a leaf out of her book, a Wenzhou based company has opened a girls’ summer school, which aims to provide education in etiquette for young women. The company says that it can turn out `ladies` in about a week.
这家名为“温州某智慧女性修养学堂”的培训班，宣称其学点遍布南京、上海等城市。学堂负责人许先生介绍，培训班招收18~28周岁的女生，以大学生和高中生为主，培训期间，老师们将以互动授课的方式向学员们教授礼仪、生活技能等，内容包括“少女礼仪修养与气质魅力”、“色彩服饰搭配与少女形象”、“感受茶艺”、“电影沙龙”等。研修班一期的培训费用为980元。
The company claims to have schools in Nanjing, Shanghai and other cities. Mr. Xu, the project head, said his team is targeting college and senior high school students. Those who enroll will be taught various classes, including how to match clothes, tea art and movies. A fee of 980RMB is charged to each student.
据介绍，为保证授课质量此次培训将采用小班制，“目前已有10多人报名，等满20人就开班了。”
In order to ensure a quality teaching experience, class sizes will be kept small. “10 people have already applied for the class,” said Mr Xu. He added that, "teaching will begin when enrollment reaches 20."
“淑女”的概念显然抓住了日益激烈的就业压力下女性的需求市场。此前，浙江大学城市学院、清华大学和武汉的一所高职院校都曾举办过类似的"白领女性塑形班"、"完美女性高级研修班"，引发过争议。
With today` employment pressures there is clearly an increasing demand for these “lady” courses. In the past, schools like Zhejiang University City College, Tsinghua University and a Wuhan based vocational college ran comparable courses, for example, for prospective white-collar workers.
当时，赞同的人认为，此类课程折射出一种文化熏陶的理念，说明家长开始注重对孩子"教养"的培育。另一些人则认为，这些行为过分强调了外表，以貌取人，助长了一些社会上不良习气。
Opinions were divided on the value of these courses. Some approved, and added that they thought the classes reflected parents’ valid concerns for their child’s vocational ability. Others thought the trend reflected a growing unhealthy competitiveness in society and that poor social habits were being encouraged.
温州的这个淑女班同样引发了人们的质疑。“花6天时间，上7节课，就能打造成完美淑女，我看不太可行。”一位市民看到相关新闻后表示质疑。
There are concerns about the Wenzhou classes too. Some do not believe a week is enough to turn a young woman into a young `lady`.
“在这个讲究个性的年代，并不是所有人都喜欢做淑女。”高三毕业生林同学说。
Others object to the arguably sexist content. One senior 3 student said that in today`s world "not everyone woman wants to be a `lady`"
另有市民表示，在学校缺乏相关培训的情况下，学生希望通过各种类似的培训班，提高自己的竞争力亦无可厚非。“学得淑女一点，总比不学容易找到工作吧？”
But the course has its defenders. They argue that the skills students can acquire will help them in the job market. As one person argued, "being a lady makes the job search easier."
该培训班负责人承认：“优雅无法一蹴而就。”培训班主要是提供一种训练方法，想要成为真正的淑女，还要靠日后坚持训练。
The class director admits: "You cannot turn someone into a lady overnight." It may be that becoming a ` ady` is something that a woman must work toward all her life.
(Translator & Editor: Sylvie, Paul AND 小胡)
阅读工具
lady 淑女
The Princess Diaries  《公主日记》
etiquette  礼仪,礼节
take a leaf out of sb.'s book 学习某人的样子
tea art  茶艺