2007年VOA标准英语-Los Angeles Leaders See Progress, Challenges 15

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
24 April 2007

Fifteen years after riots that killed more than 50 people in Los Angeles, community leaders see progress in easing the racial tensions that sparked the disturbances¹. Mike O'Sullivan reports, they also see challenges that remain in South Central Los Angeles, where the riots erupted.

The disturbances broke out after a verdict of not guilty in the trial of four police officers accused of beating black motorist Rodney King. In South Central Los Angeles, the jury decision sparked outrage² and led to an outbreak of burnings, looting and violence.

Civil rights activist³ Jack⁴ Mack, now the president of the of the city's civilian⁵ police commission, says investment in the neighborhood by sports star Magic Johnson and other business executives has made a difference. "No question about it. As you look around and as I reflect back, there was a lot of hopelessness, but today, 15 years later, as we look around, we can see some obvious signs of progress. There is the Magic Johnson theater, which employs over 300 young people and shows first-run movies in this community," he said.

He says that 15 years ago, there were almost no supermarkets in this neighborhood. Today, they are everywhere. He says churches, civic⁶ groups, and community organizations have spurred development of new housing and businesses. "That's the good news. On the other hand, we have remaining challenges. Too many of our young people are not being properly educated by the Los Angeles Unified⁷ School District. Too many are dropping out without positive alternatives. Gang violence is a serious problem that we must get a handle on."

Alice Harris

Alice Harris, who is known in the community as Sweet Alice, has been tackling problems in her South Central neighborhood of Watts⁸ for 40 years. She has seen it change from predominantly black to a mixture of black and Latino. After the 1992 riots, she founded a group called Parents of Watts to bring together African Americans with the newer arrivals from Latin America.

"And we said, we are not going to move, we are going to improve. We are going to bring the young people together and not let them fight and kill one another. So that was the birth of the Parents of Watts, to bring the Afro-American and Hispanic families together, children together, so they wouldn't kill one another," she said.

Alice has lived through two sets of riots in this section of the city, in 1965 and then in 1992. She recalls the time when there was no hospital in South Central Los Angeles, and taxicabs refused to enter the neighborhood. She says that has changed, however. "You can get a cab in Watts now. We have a hospital. So you see, we might not be what we out to be, but we sure are not what we used to be," she said.

A bus tour of South Los Angeles for business people, bankers, local officials and journalists highlighted some of the changes. The tour was led by Andrew Young, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and John Hope Bryant, founder⁹ of Operation Hope, an organization devoted¹⁰ to teaching financial literacy in the inner city.

John Hope Bryant

Bryant pointed¹¹ out shopping centers and housing developments as examples of how investment is changing the neighborhood. "What you will see today is billions - that billions with a b - of dollars that have been invested by private sector¹² and free enterprise back into this community, and the money has been paid back, the loans have been paid back. As Andrew Young said, black America is a $600 billion a year consumer economy. Latinos are a $600 billion a year consumer economy. That's $1.2 trillion of an untapped market. So it's not about black, white, red, brown or yellow. It's about producing more green," he said.

The infusion¹³ of cash has helped, and community leaders say South Central Los Angeles has changed in another way since 1992. They say problems remain, from gang violence to unemployment, but the despair that pervaded¹⁴ this neighborhood is giving way to a sense of hope. They say the neighborhood may not be back, but it is better.

1 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

2 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

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 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

7 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

8 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。

9 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

10 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

11 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。

12 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

13 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

14 pervaded   

v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A retrospective influence pervaded the whole performance. 怀旧的影响弥漫了整个演出。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The air is pervaded by a smell [smoking]. 空气中弥散着一种气味[烟味]。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》