VOA慢速英语2019 哥伦布还是美洲土著？谁真正“发现了”美国？

Who Really ‘Discovered’ America?

This Monday, the United States celebrates Columbus Day.

本周一是美国的哥伦布日。

The government established Columbus Day as a national holiday long ago to honor the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. It recognizes his arrival in what Europeans called the New World in 1492.

美国政府很久以前就把哥伦布日定为国定假日，以纪念意大利探险家克里斯托弗·哥伦布。这是对他1492年抵达欧洲人所谓的“新大陆”的认可。

Today some U.S. cities and areas are moving away from honoring Columbus and instead celebrating the native peoples of North America.

今天，美国一些城市和地区已经不再纪念哥伦布，而是改为歌颂北美的原住民。

Wisconsin is one of the latest areas to declare the second Monday in October Indigenous¹ People's Day. Wisconsin's governor said earlier this month that his state recognizes and thanks tribal² nations and native people.

威斯康辛州是最近宣布10月的第二个星期一为土著人日的地区之一。威斯康辛州州长月初表示，该州承认并感谢各部落国和土著人民。

The state has 11 recognized American Indian tribes.

该州拥有11个大家公认的美洲印第安人部落。

Tehassi Hill is the chairman of the Oneida Nation. He says that celebrating Indigenous People's Day can help Americans learn about tribal culture and history. But, he notes, moving from Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day has taken a long time.

特哈斯·希尔是欧内达部落的首领。他说，庆祝土著人日可以帮助美国人了解部落文化和历史。但是他指出，把哥伦布日变成土著人日耗费了很长时间。

How did Americans start celebrating Columbus Day?

美国人如何开始庆祝哥伦布日？

The first reported celebration of Christopher Columbus's arrival took place in the United States in 1792. Later, some Italian-Americans began celebrating the Italian explorer as part of their cultural history. In the 1930s, Columbus Day became a national holiday.

据报道，美国于1792年首次开始庆祝克里斯托弗·哥伦布的到来。后来，一些意大利裔美国人开始把这位意大利探险家作为其文化历史的一部分来庆祝。到了上世纪30年代，哥伦布日成为了国定假日。

But native people have long objected to honoring the explorer, note writers on the Smithsonian Institution's blog. They say that the arrival of Columbus – along with other colonizers – led to the deaths and forced assimilation of millions of native people.

但是史密森学会博客上的作家们指出，土著人长期以来一直反对纪念这位探险家。他们说，哥伦布以及其他殖民者的到来导致了数百万土著人的死亡和被迫同化。

They add, "Indigenous People's Day recognizes that Native People are the first inhabitants of the Americas ... And it urges Americans to rethink history."

他们还说：“土著人日确认土著人是美洲的第一批居民，它督促美国人重新思考历史。”

Recently, the city government of Washington, DC approved a measure to honor Indigenous People's Day instead of Columbus Day, at least for this year. One of the supporters of the measure is politician David Grosso. He pointed³ out in a statement that Columbus did not discover North America, or even walk on the land that today is the United States.

最近，华盛顿特区市政府批准了一项纪念土著人日而不是哥伦布日的措施，至少今年是这样。政治家戴维·格罗索是这项措施的坚定支持者之一。他在一份声明中指出，哥伦布并没有发现北美，他甚至没有走上如今美国的这片土地。

Opponents of the measure said Italian-American voters did not like the idea of changing the name of the holiday. Others objected on social media to what they consider the re-writing of American history.

反对这项措施的人士表示，意大利裔美国选民不喜欢改变这个假日名称的主意。有些人在社交媒体上反对他们认为改写美国历史的那些观点。

But supporters from many areas claim that celebrating Columbus as the person who "discovered" the New World is simply inaccurate⁴. And, they say, honoring him as a hero ignores the violence, slavery, and disease his arrival brought to native Americans.

但是很多地区的支持者声称，庆祝哥伦布“发现”新大陆根本不准确。他们说，将他尊为英雄，是无视了他的到来给美国原住民带来的暴力、奴役和疾病。

With Wisconsin, at least eight states have already moved away from observing Columbus Day. But it remains⁵ a federal holiday.

加上威斯康辛州，至少有8个州已经抛弃了哥伦布日。但是这天仍然是联邦假日。

Words in This Story

indigenous - adj. produced, living, or existing naturally in a particular region or environment

assimilation - v. to cause (a person or group) to become part of a different society, or country?

inhabitant - n. a person or animal that lives in a particular place?

inaccurate - adj. not correct or exact : having a mistake or error : not accurate?

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。