有声英文阅读-爱到最高点，心中无国界

Although people of different ethnicities have been mixing for centuries, the subject of interracial relationships is still controversial. Even now, mixed couples face many obstacles, including laws restricting interracial marriage.

It was only in 1967 that the United States finally struck down its anti miscegenation² laws. Opposition³ to interracial relationships exists for different reasons, but what it usually boils down to is racism⁴.

As the world is becoming smaller, the number of interracial couples is growing, especially in countries with large numbers of immigrants. For interracial couples, love knows no color. Cultural differences are just another area of the relationship to work through.

But as interracial dating becomes more common, it does not treat all ethnic¹ groups equally. In the United States, the vast majority of white/black couples involve a black man and a white woman. Conversely, the same number of Asian/white couples consists of an Asian woman with a white man. The proposed reason for this is that traditionally, women prefer men who are stronger and seem more masculine than they are. For men, the opposite is true.

Consequently, this leaves some groups out in the cold. But in the future, a greater mixing of ethnicities and erosion4 of gender⁵ stereotypes⁶ may balance out these dating patterns as people gain a more genuine appreciation⁷ of one another's differences.

1. strike (sth.) down phr.v. 击倒
2. conversely adv. 相反地
3. erosion n. 腐蚀

 

尽管不同种族的人们已经通婚好几个世纪了，然而不同种族之间的关系仍然是一个引起争议的话题。即使是现在，异族男女之间的婚姻仍然面临着重重阻碍，包括限制异族通婚的法律。
直到1967年，美国才废除了反种族通婚的法律。反对异族联姻有不同的理由，但通常可以归结为种族歧视的原因。

世界变得愈小，异族婚姻的数量随之增多，尤其是移民众多的国家。对于异族婚配的伴侣而言，爱是没有肤色之分的。文化差异不过是这种关系所要解决的另一方面的问题。

然而，尽管不同种族男女之间的约会变得越来越普遍，不同种族群之间的约会机会却并不均等。在美国，绝大多数的黑／白不同肤色的配偶都是黑人男子和白人女子。相反地，同样数量的亚裔∕白人夫妇则是由亚裔女子和白人男子组成。出现这种现象的原因是因为传统上女人偏爱比自己强壮且外表比较阳刚的男人。而男人的喜好则相反。

这样一来，某些种族群便遭到了冷落。但在将来，随着人们更能真正欣赏彼此间的差异，更大规模的种族通婚和对社会性别的固定成见的消除或许能使以上的约会模式变得平衡。

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 miscegenation   

n.人种混杂；混血

参考例句：

• It was only in 1967 that the United States finally struck down its anti miscegenation laws.直到1967年，美国才废除了反种族通婚的法律。
• In contemporary times,Brazilians have come to regard miscegenation as a defining national trait.在当代，巴西人已经把种族通婚看作是鲜明的国家特征。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

5 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

6 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》

7 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。