2006年VOA标准英语-Los Angeles Reflects on Race Relations

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
09 May 2006

Los Angeles is one of the most diverse cities in the United States, where groups that are minorities in other parts of the country form the majority. Recent instances of racial tension have forced residents to confront questions of race and ethnicity.

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Local leaders say Los Angeles is like other places where people of many backgrounds live and work together. It is more often than not peaceful. But as the city grows and becomes more diverse, its problems are getting more difficult.

Local demographics are shifting as immigrants come from Latin America, raising concerns among African Americans that immigrant workers are driving down wages and taking their jobs.

Thousands of immigrants have taken to the streets in recent weeks, demanding a resolution to the status of those who entered the country illegally. The protests have prompted a backlash. African American activist³ Ted¹ Hayes appeared at a recent rally to demand an end to the flow of illegal immigrants into the country. "They are working for what we will not work for. We're not going to work for slave wages. We were slaves once before," he said.

Low-paying jobs in Los Angeles pay well by Mexican standards, and continue to serve as lure⁴ for those heading northward⁵. Hispanic immigrants, together with other Latinos who have been here for generations, now make up nearly half of the city's people.

The tensions among ethnic² minorities were graphically⁶ shown in last year's Oscar-winning film Crash, about a sudden coming-together of people from different Los Angeles neighborhoods in a traffic accident.

 
Robin⁷ Toma   
  
Robin Toma of the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission says this is one of the world's most diverse places, and there are going to be problems. "Yes, from time to time there are tensions and there will be clashes, and we've seen that in the jails, we've seen that in schools. We see that in the workplace from time to time. And we are trying to track hate crimes and we know they exist. At the same time, we know there are literally⁸ thousands if not millions of daily interactions that occur where people get along perfectly⁹ well across racial and ethnic and cultural boundaries," he said.

Toma's commission tries to defuse tensions before they erupt into conflicts. Human relations consultant¹⁰ Sikivu Hutchinson works in a suburban¹¹ neighborhood where black and Latino teenagers say they are subject to special scrutiny¹² by police, solely¹³ on the basis of their race and ethnicity. She meets on a regular basis with students, parents, teachers, and school administrators¹⁴. "I've been helping¹⁵ them try to reach out to law enforcement and talk to law enforcement about more pro-active, more culturally sensitive policing procedures," she said.

Tensions are high in overcrowded local jails, which bring black and Latino inmates¹⁶, some of them gang members, face to face in a closed environment. Race-based brawls¹⁷ and riots have broken out this year.

Eleanor Montano, who chairs a citizen committee that inspects Los Angeles jails, says the prison environment heightens existing tensions between black and Latino gangs. She says gang leaders force other inmates to fight. "They have no choice. They have no choice, or else they might get beat up themselves. Sometimes they're thrown into a situation that they don't want to be involved in," he said.

 
Cathay Feng
  
But outside, in the community, there are more positive encounters between people of different races, says Chinese-American civil rights attorney Cathay Feng. She chairs the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission. "I think that we, in our workplaces, in the places that we live, in our day-to-day interactions in shops that we walk into or grocery stores, interact with people of a whole variety of backgrounds - different races, different religions, different walks of life," she said.

She says most of the city's residents take pride in their positive inter-ethnic relationships.

Los Angeles was rocked by race riots in 1965 and 1992, and community workers say some of the tensions that led to the riots still lie beneath the surface.

Sociologists say ethnic and racial tensions must be dealt with proactively by teachers, employers, religious groups and trained counselors¹⁸, but that in multi-ethnic Los Angeles, despite what you see in the movies, more often than not, people do get along.

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 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。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

5 northward   

adv.向北；n.北方的地区

参考例句：

• He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
• I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

6 graphically   

adv.通过图表；生动地，轮廓分明地

参考例句：

• This data is shown graphically on the opposite page. 对页以图表显示这些数据。
• The data can be represented graphically in a line diagram. 这些数据可以用单线图表现出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

8 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

10 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

11 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

12 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

13 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。

14 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 brawls   

吵架，打架( brawl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Whatever brawls disturb the street, there should be peace at home. 街上无论多么喧闹，家中应有宁静。
• I got into brawls in the country saloons near my farm. 我在离我农场不远的乡下沙龙里和别人大吵大闹。

18 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册