VOA常速英语2019--首位黑人女市长承诺为芝加哥带来变革（在线收听）

Both candidates, Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle, were African-American and women. The winner, 56-year-old Lightfoot, promised her supporters a new direction in America’s third-largest city. Today, you did more than make history. You created a movement for change. Her 72-year-old opponent is chief executive of Cook County where Chicago was located. Voters anxious for a change back to Lightfoot. I’m ready for someone new to come in. I’m ready for fresh, new, bright, eager ideas.

两位候选人——劳丽·莱特福特和托妮·普瑞可温克，都是非裔美籍，也都是女性。获胜者是56岁的莱特福特，她承诺支持者们会为美国第三大城市带来新的方向。今天，你们不只创造了历史，你们还驱动了变革。她72岁的竞争对手是库克县的董事会主席，库克县位于芝加哥。选民们渴望能通过莱特福特实现变革。我希望有新人上任，我希望有新鲜的、崭新的、明亮的、有热忱的观点出现。

Chicago had more than 550 murders last year, a drop from the previous two years, but more than Los Angeles and New York combined. The US Justice Department has accused Chicago’s Police Department of excessive use of force and racial bias. With gun violence fueled by the drug trade and racial inequality, one analyst says Chicago is really two cities: One with gleaming downtown and very wealthy and importantly safe neighborhood, but also one that struggles with extreme and persistent segregation that have been Chicago’s legacy. Chicago is a city of progressive politics where Democrats dominate. Former President Barack Obama began his political career here. His one-time White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has been mayor since 2011. Today, minorities dominate, but another analyst says the election was not about race. You can’t help but feel that the city and the city leaders have turned their backs on you, and so just another person, just because they look like you doesn’t necessarily mean they’re gonna be for you.

芝加哥去年出现了550多起谋杀案，案件数量比前两年下降了，但依然比洛杉矶和纽约的谋杀案总和还要多。美国司法部已控诉芝加哥警局过度使用武力，而且种族偏见严重。在毒品交易和种族不平等驱动暴力事件不断出现的情况下，一位分析师表示，芝加哥是一个有着两面性的城市：一面是光鲜亮丽的市区，富得流油、安全性强；而另一面挣扎于持续的极端种族分离中，而且这种传统很早就有了。芝加哥是变革派政治的天下，由民主党主导。前总统巴拉克·奥巴马就是从芝加哥开启自己政治生涯的。他曾经的白宫办公厅主任拉姆·伊曼纽尔自2011年起就担任芝加哥市市长。如今，芝加哥是少数族裔的天下，但另一位分析师表示，大选的关注点不在种族问题上。你会情不自禁地感觉到：这座城市和这座城市的领导人们已经背弃了你。他们只是另一个人。他们长得跟你相像并不意味着他们为你而战。

The defeated candidate pledged support for the winner. Not long ago, two African-American women vying for this position would have been unthinkable, and while it may be true that we took different paths to get here, tonight is about the path forward, and meeting many challenges ahead.

落败的候选人承诺会支持获胜者。不久前，2位非裔美籍女性竞争这一职位的场面是怎么也想不到的。虽然我们有过不同的经历，但今晚我们都是为未来而努力的，为未来的诸多挑战而奋斗的。