VOA慢速英语2016 美国学校按种族划分情况仍然存在

American Schools Remain Divided by Race 美国学校按种族划分情况仍然存在

Sixty-two years after a U.S. Supreme¹ Court decision banned segregation², American schools remain divided by race.

在美国最高法院判决禁止种族隔离62年之后，美国学校仍然通过种族划分。

That is the opinion of Valerie Jarrett, a special advisor³ to President Barack Obama. She met with educators on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the court ruling.

这是奥巴马总统特别顾问瓦莱丽·贾勒特（Valerie Jarrett）的观点。她周三会见了教育工作者，以纪念该法院判决的周年纪念日。

In 1954, the Supreme Court decided⁴ that public schools could not separate students by race. The case was known as Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.

1954年，美国最高法院判决公立学校不能以种族划分学生。这起案件被称之为布朗诉堪萨斯州托皮卡教育委员会案。

Chief Justice wrote the opinion of the court's nine members. "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine⁵ of 'separate but equal' has no place," he said. "Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

首席法官撰写了该法院九名法官的意见。他说，“我们得出结论，在公共教育领域‘隔离但平等’的原则没有立足之地，隔离教育设施从根本上说就是不平等。”

The National Association for the Advancement⁶ of Colored People (NAACP) helped families fight racial segregation laws. The family of student Linda Brown objected to her being sent to a school far from her home. They said they wanted her to attend a good school closer to home where white children went.

全国有色人种促进协会协助家属们对抗种族隔离法。学生琳达·布朗（Linda Brown）的家人反对她被送到离家很远的学校上学。他们表示希望她到离家很近的一所白人名校上学。

"To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely⁷ because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone," wrote Justice Warren.

大法官沃伦写道，“单纯因为种族将他们与同年龄和品性的其他孩子隔离开会让他们产生自卑感，他们在社会中的地位可能会伤害他们的心灵和思想，而且这种伤害可能永远无法抹去。”

Laws that permitted racial segregation were called "Jim Crow" laws. "Jim Crow" was the name of a black slave in a stage play in the 1830s. His character was dull and meant to represent blacks in America.

允许种族隔离的法律被称之为吉姆．克劳法（Jim Crow laws）。吉姆·克劳（Jim Crow）是19世纪30年代的一台舞台剧中的黑人奴隶的名字。他的性格很沉闷，旨在代表美国黑人。

Blacks were brought to America against their will as slaves in the 17th and 18th centuries. Although slavery was banned after the U.S. Civil War, segregation and discrimination did not stop.

黑人于17世纪和18世纪被强行带到美国作为奴隶。虽然美国南北战争之后奴隶制被禁止了，但是隔离和歧视并未停止。

"Jim Crow" laws were in effect for many years, mostly in the southern United States. They enforced separate schools and restrooms for blacks and whites. Some "Jim Crow" laws created rules and taxes on blacks who tried to vote. That enabled white males to remain in power.

吉姆·克劳法一度在很多年都具有法律效力，主要是在美国南部。他们对黑人和白人强制实行单独的学校和卫生间。一些吉姆·克劳法案对试图投票的黑人创建规则并征税，这使得白人男性

得以继续掌权。

While the Supreme Court ruled against segregation in the Brown vs. Board of Education case, it continued. In Little Rock, Arkansas, the governor ordered National Guard troops to prevent black students from entering schools for whites in 1957.

虽然美国最高法院在布朗诉托皮卡教育委员会一案中判决反对隔离，隔离却仍然存在。1957年在阿肯色州的小石城，州长下令国民警卫队阻止黑人学生进入学校。

By 1958, seven states still had laws segregating⁸ public schools, and three states did in 1961.

到1958年，美国还有7个州存在隔离公立学校的法律，到1961年还有3个州这么做。

On Wednesday, educators gathered at the White House to talk about how segregation continues in this century in education and other places.

周三，教育工作者齐聚白宫讨论了本世纪在教育和其它领域隔离如何得以继续存在。

For example, in Cleveland, Mississippi, schools are divided by race. Schools on the east side of town are black; schools on the west side are mostly white. Last Friday, a federal court ordered the schools integrated, ending that division, according to CNN.com.

例如，在密西西比州的克利夫兰市，各个学校通过种族分开。该市东边的学校是黑人学校，西边的学校大多是白人学校。根据CNN网站报道，上周五一家联邦法院下令这些学校合并，结束了这种隔离。

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigated other places like Cleveland, Mississippi. It found that in areas where people are poor, and where students were black or Hispanic, schools were more "isolated⁹."

美国政府问责局调查了像密西西比州克利夫兰市的其它地方。该局发现，在贫穷地区以及学生是黑人和西班牙裔的地区，学校更具隔离性。

Isolated schools are where 75 percent or more of students are of the same race or economic class.

隔离学校是指75%或以上的学生是同一种族或经济阶层的学校。

Hispanic students, the GAO said, were "triple segregated¹⁰" by race, economics and language, reported the newspaper USA Today.

据今日美国报报道，美国政府问责局称西班牙裔学生被种族、经济和语言三重隔离。

Words in This Story

segregation - n. the tradition of keeping people of different races or religions separated

vs. - prep. short form of verses, meaning against or as opposed to

doctrine - n. a set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true

inherently - adj.belonging to the basic nature of someone or something

character - n. the way someone thinks, feels, behaves

dull - adj. not exciting or interesting

integrated -adj. having different parts working together as a unit

isolated - adj. separate from others.

triple - v. to cause something to become three times as great or as many

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

3 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

6 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

7 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

8 segregating   

（使）分开( segregate的现在分词 )； 分离； 隔离； 隔离并区别对待（不同种族、宗教或性别的人）

参考例句：

• The government has just repealed the law segregating the public facilities. 这个政府已经撤销了分离公共设施的法律。
• Siblings and dizygotic twins share only 50% of their segregating genes. 同卵双生双胞胎和双卵双生双胞胎分享仅50%的基因。

9 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

10 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。