VOA慢速英语2016--北弗吉尼亚街道的多样性记录

AS IT IS 2016-04-25 Diversity Documented on Streets of Northern Virginia 北弗吉尼亚街道的多样性记录

If you listen to the comments that some American presidential candidates¹ have been making, you might believe that the United States is becoming less welcoming to people from different countries who speak different languages.

But one neighborhood just outside of Washington, D.C., is celebrating its diversity.

Arlington, Virginia, is home to more than 130 ethnic² groups. One small community is called “the world in a zip code³.” They call it that because there are so many ethnic groups, languages and customs all in just one postal⁴ code.

The area is commonly known by the main road that passes through it. The road is Columbia Pike, or “The Pike” for short. The road was built in the early 1800s as the way into Washington from Virginia. Today, the Pike appeals to immigrants⁵ from all around the world.

During the last 10 years, local photographers have been documenting the lives of people living in the area. Lloyd Wolf is one of those photographers. He lives near The Pike.

“Columbia Pike has become more and more interesting. There are hundreds and hundreds of ethnicities, people from different countries along The Pike and living in relative harmony. This is something we thought was worth recording⁶.”

Wolf and four other photographers began taking photos of the neighborhood and its people. The other photographers are Duy Tran, Paula Endo, Xang Mimi Ho and Aleksandra Lagkueva. Together, they have created a book titled, “Living Diversity – The Columbia Pike Documentary⁷ Project.”

Claudia Camacho owns a Bolivian restaurant on the Pike. She has lived in the area for 23 years.

“I like it a lot. It is really hard to move out from this area. There is a lot of people from different places of the world. And you get to know different cultures, and it’s really good.”

Mohammed Mohammed moved to the area 25 years ago. He runs a business selling imported goods from Ethiopia.

He says "White, African-Americans, Hispanic people, Asians, Arabs, Africans combined in diversity. So we know each other, we share elements of culture and language. We are happy. So I am happy.”

Wolf says he believes one reason for the community’s success is that people from different backgrounds live in the same buildings and on the same streets.

“There's no one area that's all Vietnamese or all Arab or all Somalian, et cetera,” he says. “Everyone is sort of living and working amongst⁸ each other in a blend⁹. And it's a nice blend. It works¹⁰.”

Wolf says people are also able to experience each other’s cultures during the many festivals each year. He says he and the other photographers made the book to share an idea of how the world should be.

“I use a phrase a lot – ‘This is what peace looks like.’ People get along. This is how we should be.”

Words in This Story

blend – n. something produced by mixing or combining different things

diversity – n. the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization

draw – v. to cause (someone or something) to come : to attract (someone or something)

zip code – n. a group of numbers that is used in the U.S. as part of an address to identify a mail delivery area (such as a town or a part of a city)

1 candidates   

n.报考者( candidate的名词复数 )；申请求职者；攻读学位者；最后命运或结局如何已显然可见者

参考例句：

• Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
• one of the leading candidates for the presidency 总统职位的主要候选人之一

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 code   

n.代码，代号，密码；法典，法规，规划

参考例句：

• What's the code for Tianjin?天津的代号是多少？
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

4 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

5 immigrants   

n.移民( immigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Illegal immigrants were given the opportunity to regularize their position. 非法移民得到了使其身份合法化的机会。
• Immigrants from all over the world populate this city. 这个城市里生活着来自世界各地的移民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 documentary   

adj.文献的；n.纪录片

参考例句：

• This case lacked documentary proof.本案缺少书面证据。
• I watched a documentary on the Civil War.我看了一部关于内战的纪录片。

8 amongst   

prep.在…之中，在...之间(=among)

参考例句：

• He was sitting amongst a group of children,telling them a story.他正坐在一群孩子中间讲故事。
• You must settle the matter amongst yourselves.你们必须彼此商量，自行解决这些问题。

9 blend   

v.(使)混和，(使)混杂；n.混合物；混和

参考例句：

• Do you think these two colours will blend together?你认为这两种颜色和谐吗？
• These houses seem to blend into the surrounding scenery.这些房屋似乎与周围的景色融为一体了。

10 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。