stymie : to prevenet sth from happening or someone from achieving a purpose

field after field --- time after time

caught up with -- catching up

outnumber --- globally, young women now outnumber young men at university

blistering -- extremely fast .

during the campaign , Cameron pleged a first 100 days of blistering action

fifty years ago only 49% of primary-school-age girls in lower-middle-income countries were in school ,compared with 71% of boys;

today the share of both is about 90%

in 1998 only half the wolrd's secondary-school-age girls were enrolled ; today two-thirds are. over the same period rates of illiteracy fell from one in five young women aged 15-24 to one in ten bringing them roughly on a par with young men.

on a par with : equal inimportance or quality to

i hope that politicians of all parties devleop a better understanding of alcoholism ,take it more seriously and devise policies to treat it as a disease on a par with other major diseases .

below par -inferior

rife -- if sth unpleasant rife , it is very common or happens a lot .

dysentery and malaria are rife in the refugee camps .

dysentery : 痢疾

married off :

hithced :to get married .

education boosts earning power and widens choices ,so she is less likely to be poor or to suffer domestic abuse.

smorgasbord : 自助餐

stunted : prevented from growing or developing to the usual size.

stagnant : dead lake .

nurturing--- taking care of

have access to -- understand /take in

hobble progress -- reverse it .

adolescence is a crucial juncture for girls .

junctuer : a particular point in time

at this juncture ,it is impossible to say whether she will make a full recovery.

truancy -- self-harm