美语三级跳 Go English：016B 社会文化: 中级课程

 

016B 社会文化: 中级课程

Jane和Will初次约会，聊到彼此的家庭背景。我知道Jane的父母来自中国，所以我很想听听，作为一个亚裔美国人，Jane的成长经历是什么样的。

Professor: That's right, Winnie, let's listen to what they have to say.

Will: So Jane, you said that both your parents are from China. How do they like living in America?

Jane: They really like it, but of course they miss their friends and family back home sometimes.

Will: Yeah, I can imagine. So do you consider yourself Chinese or American?

Jane: Well, that's a complicated question. Of course I'm American, but I'm ethnically² Chinese as well.

Will: I see. So you consider yourself both?

Jane: That's right.

Will总是问一些严肃的问题! 他问Jane，觉得自己是中国人还是美国人。Jane回答说，自己既是中国人，也是美国人。

Professor: Right. Jane is an American citizen, but she is also ethnically Chinese.

Ethnically？ 我明白了，ethnic¹是民族的意思.

Professor: Exactly. For example, I could say that Hispanics are one of the largest ethnic groups in America.

所以，从民族上讲，Jane认为自己是华人。

Professor, 拉美裔人，是美国人口最多的少数族裔之一？那么，亚裔人口又怎么样呢？

Professor: Asians make up about 4.5 percent of the American population.

Will: Did you face a lot of stereotypes⁴ growing up?

Jane: Of course, all minorities face some stereotypes. For me, lots of people assume that because I'm Asian, I'm smart and good at math.

Will: That doesn't sound like a bad stereotype³ to have!

Jane: No, it's not a very offensive stereotype. But it's still wrong for people to assume things about me because of how I look. I hate math!

Will: Me too! I guess that's one thing we have in common.

Stereotype, s-t-e-r-e-o-t-y-p-e, stereotype，是“刻板印象”、“先入为主的看法”。Jane说，因为她是亚裔，所以很多美国人对她持有stereotype，一看她的亚洲脸，就认定她的数学一定很好!

Professor: But Jane thinks that stereotypes are wrong, doesn't she?

当然啦！Jane说，以貌取人是不对的。她其实很讨厌学数学。

Professor: That's right. She and Will both hate math, so that's one thing they have in common.

Will: Did people tease you when you were growing up because you're Asian?

Jane: My school was very politically correct, so people tried really hard not to say things that would offend me.

Will: Right. Race can be a sensitive subject in America. People like to talk about it, but only in a polite way.

Jane: That's true. People these days try hard to be tolerant, and are careful not to say things that other people may think are racist⁵.

看来Jane是在比较tolerant -“宽容”的环境下 长大的。人们没有因为她是亚裔而嘲弄她。不过，Professor, 什么叫"politically correct"?

Professor: Being politically correct is making sure that the things that you say won't offend people in minority groups and disadvantaged groups.

哦，politically correct，在政治上保持正确，也就是言行上避免有歧视少数族裔或弱势群体之嫌。

Professor: Right. People don't want to say anything racist, so they make sure all their words are very polite.

没错，racist -“种族歧视性”言行，肯定不能让你做到politically correct.

Jane: It's pretty easy for me living in the US because it is such a diverse country. There are many other minorities, so I don't feel different.

Will: That's true. The US is a country of immigrants, so it is very diverse.

Jane: Yup. My university is especially diverse. It tries to find students from all over the world.

Will: Oh yeah, my university has lots of minority students too. I've really enjoyed learning about lots of different cultures from them.

Professor: Winnie, do you know what "diverse" means?

Diverse就是“多样化”。Jane和Will的大学都很diverse, 不仅有来自各族裔的学生，还有来自世界各地的留学生! Professor, Jane和Will初次约会就谈了宗教、种族这些严肃话题，而且聊得挺高兴。我看他们真是天生一对儿!

 

这次的美语三级跳就播送到这里。

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

3 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

4 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。