once a man had a dream. He dreamed of a land of peace and harmony. He dreamed of a place where people were not judged by their skin color. He dreamed of a country where children of different races could play together. He dreamed of a nation where all people were equal. Some people didn't like his dream. They said it would never happen. Some people applauded his dream. They wanted to make it happen. This noble vision has come true for some. For others, it's still just a fantasy.
以前有一个人, 他有一个梦。他梦见一块和平与和谐的土地。他梦见一个大家不因肤色而被论断的地方。他梦见一个国家不同肤色的小子们玩在一块。他梦见一个国家, 在其中所有些人都是平等的。有的人不喜欢他的梦。他们说这个梦从来不会达成。有的人则对他的梦喝采。他们想达成这个梦。这个崇高的理想对某些人而言, 它还只不过一个幻想。
In 1963, this man, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., expressed his vision in the famous speech, I Have a Dream. But the dream-rooted in the American Dream-wasn't really new. From the beginning, this nation of immigrants welcomed people desiring freedom and a new start. However, the coming together of different races and ethnic1 groups created some tensions. The early Americans were almost all white Europeans. As more immigrants arrived, European groups fit into society easily. Others found it more difficult.
这个人, 马丁路德. 金恩博士, 在一九六三年的一篇有名的演讲我有一个梦当中表达了他的理想. 其实这个根植于美国梦的理想, 并非个完全新潮的主意. 从刚开始, 这个由移民所组成的国家, 便欢迎渴望自由和新开始的人来到. 但, 不同种族的到来亦带来了紧张的氛围. 早期的美国人几乎全是来自欧洲的白人. 当更多的移民抵达时, 欧洲团体较容易适应这个社会, 其它团体则较感困难.
Black people were the only immigrants who didn't choose to come to America. For hundreds of years, Africans were taken from their homes to be slaves in the New World. Even George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had slaves. The phrase all men are created equal didn't apply to blacks in their day. The end of the Civil War finally brought freedom to the slaves in 1865, but blacks still had a lower position in society. Many Southern states practiced segregation2 to keep blacks in their place. Blacks and whites went to different schools, ate at different restaurants, even drank from different water fountains.
黑人是唯一非出于自愿而到美国来的移民. 几百年以来, 非洲人自其家园被迫带到新世界为奴. 即便乔治. 华盛顿和汤玛士. 杰弗逊也曾蓄奴. 那句人类生而平等的话, 在他们的年代并不适用于黑人. 一八六五年, 南北战争的结束终于为黑奴带来自由, 但黑人的社会地位仍然较低. 很多南方的州实行种族隔离政策以使黑人不会跨越界限. 黑人和白人上不一样的学校, 在不一样的饭店吃饭, 甚至连喝水都用不一样的饮水机.
The Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s helped black people secure many of the rights promised in the Constitution. A 1954 Supreme3 Court decision ruled that segregation had no place in public schools. Gradually, American education became more fair. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white man. Her courage sparked a bus boycott4 in Montgomery, Alabama, that ended segregation on city buses. Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged black people to use nonviolent means to achieve their goals of equal treatment. Finally, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to sTOP discrimination in all public places.
一九五Ｏ与一九六Ｏ年代的人权运动, 帮助黑人得到很多宪法中所保障的权利. 一九五四年最高法院的一个判决, 决定了在公立学校里不准实行种族隔离政策. 日渐地, 美国的教育规范愈加公平了. 一九五五年, 罗莎. 帕克拒绝在公车上让位给一个白人. 她的勇气激起了阿接巴马州的蒙哥马利市对公车的抵制, 结束了市区公车上的种族隔离规范. 马丁路得. 金恩博士鼓励黑人, 用非暴力方法达到他们追求平等待遇的目的. 最后, 国会在一九六四年通过民权法案, 禁止所有在公共场所的歧视.
In spite of the gains of the Civil Rights Movement, racial problems still exist. The laws have changed, but some people-on all sides of the color spectrum-remain prejudiced. Ten-sions sometimes erupt in violence. The 1992 Los Angeles riots sprang from the verdict of a racially-charged court case. Moreover, blacks and whites are not the only racial groups struggling to get along. Multicultural5 America has numerous minority groups that argue for equal treatment. Some contend that current immigration laws unfairly discriminate6 against certain racial groups.
虽然民权运动带来进步, 但种族问题仍然存在. 法律已经改变了, 但有的人--各种肤色的人--仍然保有歧视的态度. 紧张情形有时会引发暴力. 一九九二年的洛杉矶动乱是因一件因种族问题而起诉法院判决而引发的. 除此之外, 黑人和白人并非为和平相处而挣扎的唯一种族团体. 多元文化的美国拥有无数为平等待遇而争论的少数团体. 有的人争论现行的移民法不公平地歧视某些种族团体.
Even so, in the past 40 years, race relations in America have greatly improved. Minority groups now have equal opportunities in many areas of education, employment and housing. Interracial marriages are becoming more accepted. Children of different races-and their parents-are learning to play together and work together. Maybe Dr. King's dream will come true after all.
即便这样, 在过去四十年间, 美国种族之间的关系已经大有进步. 少数团体目前在教育, 就业及住屋很多方面已有公平的机会. 异族的通婚已愈加被同意. 不同种族的孩子与他们的爸爸妈妈亲, 也在学习与其它种族一块游戏和一块工作, 可能金恩博士的梦终会达成.
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