时代周刊:美国种族问题"光说没有用"(2)

The same basic information is the backdrop of Myrdal's work and everything that came before and after.

同样的基本信息是默达尔作品的背景以及之前和之后的一切。

In a country founded on a commitment to equality, white Americans have been the only ones to consistently enjoy the full measure of citizenship¹.

在一个建立在平等承诺基础上的国家，美国白人一直是唯一一直享有充分公民权的人。

Settlers drove Native Americans from their own lands and then treated them as unwelcome, dangerous guests. Congress barred many others from even entering the country.

定居者把美洲原住民赶出自己的土地，然后把他们当作不受欢迎、危险的客人来对待。

But it was Black Americans whom the nation enslaved, then so completely marooned² that in every major measure of social, economic or physical well-being³, millions would—and still do—remain far behind their white compatriots.

国会甚至禁止其他许多人进入美国。但被国家奴役的是美国黑人，他们被完全孤立，以至于在社会、经济或身体健康的每一个主要指标上，数百万美国黑人将——现在仍然——远远落后于他们的白人同胞。

When Myrdal's work was published, Black Americans earned less, were more likely to be unemployed⁴, and led shorter and unhealthier lives.

默达尔的著作发表后，美国黑人收入更少，失业的可能性更大，寿命更短，生活也更不健康。

In the North, their housing was crowded and substandard. In the South, many did not have access to anything beyond basic elementary education.

在北方，他们的住房拥挤不堪，质量低劣。在南方，许多人除了基本的基础教育外，没有任何其他的机会。

Most Black Americans could not vote or borrow the funds to buy property.

大多数美国黑人不能投票，也不能借钱购买房产。

"Virtually the whole range" of public amenities⁵, from hospitals to libraries, were "much poorer for Negroes than they are for whites," Myrdal wrote.

默达尔写道，“几乎所有”公共设施，从医院到图书馆，“对黑人来说要比白人差得多”。

The majority of Black Americans had little to no assets and were the targets of disproportionate incarceration⁶ and exploitative profitmaking schemes.

大多数美国黑人几乎没有资产，是不成比例的监禁和剥削性盈利计划的目标。

Nearly 80 years later, we find ourselves more than a year into a pandemic, a recession and a reconsidering of the meaning of Black death caused by agents of the state.

近80年过去了，我们发现，一场大流行、一场衰退已经过去了一年多，我们开始重新思考由国家代理人造成的黑死病的意义。

Last summer's mass protests have for the most part receded⁷. But increased crime, increased poverty, increased death and increased distress⁸ have not.

去年夏天的大规模抗议活动在很大程度上已经消退。但犯罪增加、贫困增加、死亡增加和痛苦增加却仍存在。

Yet in our litany of collective aches, there is almost no arena⁹ in which Black Americans have not suffered more than white Americans.

然而，在我们集体所遭受的痛苦中，在几乎所有的舞台上，美国黑人所遭受的痛苦都超过了美国白人。

Black Americans on average earn less with the same (or, in some categories, more) education than white workers, are more likely to be unemployed and are clustered in industries hit hard by the pandemic.

与白人工人相比，受教育程度相同(或在某些类别中更高)的美国黑人平均收入更低，更有可能失业，并且聚集在受疫情重创的行业。

Black Americans are more likely to be born premature¹⁰ and to die younger.

美国黑人更有可能早产或早死。

In fact, life expectancy¹¹ for a Black boy born in 2020 is a full seven years shorter than a white boy's.

事实上，2020年出生的黑人男孩的预期寿命比白人男孩整整短了7年。

Black women remain more likely to die in or just after childbirth than white women. All Black Americans are more likely to die of cancer than white Americans.

黑人妇女仍然比白人妇女更有可能死于分娩中或分娩后不久。所有黑人都比白人更有可能死于癌症。

The impact of the coronavirus was anything but novel: the death risk for Black Americans is almost two times that of white Americans.

新冠病毒的影响已经老生常谈：美国黑人的死亡风险几乎是美国白人的两倍。

1 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

2 marooned   

adj.被围困的；孤立无援的；无法脱身的

参考例句：

• During the storm we were marooned in a cabin miles from town. 在风暴中我们被围困在离城数英里的小屋内。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Five couples were marooned in their caravans when the River Avon broke its banks. 埃文河决堤的时候，有5对夫妇被困在了他们的房车里。 来自辞典例句

3 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

4 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

5 amenities   

n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快

参考例句：

• The campsite is close to all local amenities. 营地紧靠当地所有的便利设施。
• Parks and a theatre are just some of the town's local amenities. 公园和戏院只是市镇娱乐设施的一部分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

7 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

8 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

9 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

10 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

11 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。