Hello, and welcome to Speak Good English with me, Yishu. Today I’d like to share an article on Guardian with you as well. 

The following is an excerpt. You can click the link to find the whole article. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/30/how-can-such-a-tiny-woman-drive-a-big-truck-japans-labour-shortage-forces-it-to-rethink-gender-stereotypes

‘How can such a tiny woman drive a big truck?’ Japan’s labour shortage forces it to rethink gender stereotypes

When Mayumi Watanabe tells people what she does for a living, most struggle to hide their surprise, and not just because of her diminutive stature. As a truck driver with 23 years behind the wheel, she is one of a small but growing number of women coming to the rescue of an industry that is the beating heart of Japan’s economy.

gender stereotypes: ジェンダーの固定観念

e.g. 「男は仕事、女は家庭」、「男は理系、女は文系」、「男は青、女は赤」

do…for a living: 生活のために

e.g. What do you do for a living? 仕事は何をされているのですか？ 

struggle to do: しようと努力する

e.g. He struggles to make a living by being a cleaner. 

the beating heart of…: the most important part of something:

e.g. Banks are the beating heart of our economic system.

diminutive: 小さい、ちっぽけな、指小の、小型の、小形の、小柄の

e.g. Bonsai is a diminutive tree.

“I can see they’re thinking, ‘How can such a tiny woman drive a big truck?’ ” Watanabe, who is 152cm (5ft) tall, told the Observer as she prepared for the busy run-up to the end of the year. “But I’ve always loved cars, so it felt natural to want to be a truck driver.”

When she started driving her first vehicle – a small truck – Watanabe was a rarity. “I found it strange, as all my colleagues were men,” she said, joking that at the time the stereotype about women being poor at reading maps really did apply to her.

Deciphering routes in the days before TomTom and Google Maps was not the only aspect of the job with which she struggled. Expressway truck stops did not have women’s toilets, and heavy-vehicle cabins appeared to have been designed solely with hulking male drivers in mind.

a rarity: まれなもの‧人‧出来事‧存在

e.g. Due to its rarity and condition, the ring was valued at well over $1 million.

decipher: 〔判読が難しいものを〕読み解く、解釈する

e.g. decipher a code 

hulking: large and heavy (hulking great)

e.g. How do you expect me to lift that hulking great box?

The anticipated slump in the number of truck drivers will have consequences for every corner of the economy, not least for farms and fisheries, whose clients expect the freshest produce. Factories, hospitals and convenience stores could all be affected.

slump: a fall in the price, value, sales, etc. of something:

e.g. There's been a slump in the demand for new cars.

In the two decades that Watanabe, 43, has been driving trucks around her company’s base in Fukui prefecture, a largely rural region on the Japan Sea coast, toilet facilities have improved, while improved seat design and steering technology have made her job much easier. “Now it’s far more normal to see women drivers, and male drivers are getting used to it.”

….

“The women I work with help each other out with childcare and taking time off – the sort of things that men sometimes struggle to understand.

“And if you like driving as much as I do, being behind the wheel of a big truck is a real thrill. You’re out and about all the time. Driving gives you a sense of freedom.”

get used to something/someone: 〔新しい環境‧状況‧仕事など〕に慣れる

e.g. I couldn’t get used to this car. 

snuggle to understand: hard to understand 

e.g. He sometimes struggles to understand his father’s job.

Thanks for reading! That's what I wanna share with you guys today. If you also feel related to this article, how about a chat with me? I'm looking forward to talking to you all~

Yishu