VOA标准英语2010年-Ethnic Minorities Make Inroads in Brit

British Labour MP Diane Abbott, seen here in this November 30 1994, file picture, defended herself Wednesday Nov. 28, 1996 against accusations¹ of racism² after criticising the appointment of blonde, blue-eyed Finnish nurses at her local hospital.

For the first time in Britain's history, a black woman has joined the race to become leadr of the Labor³ Party, one of the country's largest political factions⁴.  A record number of ethnic⁵ minorities won seats in the British parliament last month. 

Diane Abbott launched her bid for the Labor Party leadership at a school in North London.  More than 20 years ago, she became Britain's first black female member of parliament.

She says she is ready to break new boundaries with her bid to become Labor's leader. 

"I think it is important in modern Britain, which has so changed and is so diverse, that they see diversity in the top of politics," Abbott said.

The Labor Party ruled Britain for the past 13 years, first under Tony Blair and then Gordon Brown.  In the May 6 election, Labor lost power and Mr. Brown stepped down as party leader. 

Abbott is one of 27 people of African, Asian, or Caribbean descent who were voted into parliament on May 6, almost double the previous number.

Ashok Viswanathan, from the campaign group Operation Black Vote, credits the increase, in part, to a record number of ethnic minorities who voted. 

"Turnout went from 61 percent to 65 percent overall, and within the black minority ethnic communities it went from around 45 percent to around 55 percent," Viswanathan said. "So a greater increase in turn out amongst black minority ethnic communities than the increase by the wider electorate⁶."

In January, a survey found that almost half of the young black people in Britain were unemployed⁷, compared to 20 percent of white people of the same age.

Ethnic minorities voted this year to change inequalities like these, says Viswanathan.

"It was clear in black minority ethnic communities that there were many issues at stake in their lives that would be decided⁸ by whoever won the election in 2010," Viswanathan said.

Anthony Kalu is a 20-year-old student who, this year, voted for the first time in a national election.  He says it is important for young ethnic minorities to see people from their own ethnic group in politics.

"It is all about who is most like you," Kalu said. "If you are not interested in politics, you want to see someone who you believe is closer to you.  Whether that be through color or be through class or be through gender⁹."

He says ethnic minority parliament members serve as role models for black and Asian young people. 

Back at the North London school where Abbott launched her campaign, she told VOA even if her leadership bid is not a success, she hopes it may inspire young ethnic minorities to join the political arena¹⁰.

For one student called Sade, Abbott's plan seemed to be working.

"I will be prime minister one day hopefully," Sade said. "I think if you put your mind to it and you really want to do it, you can actually get somewhere."

Women hold about 20 percent of Britain's 650 parliament seats, and 27 seats are held by members of ethnic minorities.
 

1 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

2 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。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

5 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。

6 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

7 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 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。

10 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。