VOA标准英语2011--Diverse Voices Carry Occupy Movement's Message

Diverse Voices Carry Occupy Movement's Message

At a distance, the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York appears to be simply people milling around. A closer look reveals a dazzling array of individuals; the clean-cut and earnest, the disheveled and unconventional; the gyrating and the restless; the musicians and drummers, the bane of neighborhood residents; the cleaners and the cart-pushers; the loungers, the sleepers¹, the masked, the sign-carriers, and those who gather petitions.

News cameras beam the images around the globe. Joel Goldentyer of North Carolina says the media focuses on the cranks and ignores the protest message.

“I would rather hear more from ordinary people. If you listen to what they’re saying, each one expresses their view in a slightly different way, which is a sign they’re not just parroting an ideology². They’re speaking from their heart," he said.

No single issue unites protesters.

Union members denounce alleged³ unfair labor⁴ practices by a large corporation. This man wants to arrest bankers in the name of Jesus. This one accuses politicians of selling out to corporations. Another wants people to fulfill⁵ their dreams. These women are protesting the death penalty and what one of them calls corporate⁶ control of education. This youngster displays wisdom by Confucius about misuse⁷ of wealth.

Focusing their ire on Wall Street, protesters raise the issue of wealth. They say too much of it is controlled, unfairly, by the richest one percent of Americans. Economist⁸ Laurence Brahm accuses corporations of using campaign contributions to buy favors from politicians at the expense of the remaining 99 percent.

“Our whole politics has been a shouting match between people who say, ‘Oh, he’s socialist⁹, he’s capitalist, he’s Republican, he’s Democrat¹⁰.’ I’m an American. I want to see my country doing better, and it doesn’t matter if you’re left or right, both have lost jobs. People here don’t have jobs. That’s why they’re out here," he said.

The American flag, and one rendered with the symbols of multinational¹¹ corporations fly alongside the black flag of anarchy¹², the flags of Puerto Rico, of China, and whatever. It lends meaning to this man’s sign, “Why are you here?”

“What’s common about it is, we all want a fairer society; less racism¹³, less war, less of a disparity between the rich and the poor," he said.

Wall Street has so far ignored the protest and Washington has not acted directly to address the protesters’ many grievances¹⁴. The movement has no leaders and no program, so outsiders project their hopes or fears onto the gathering¹⁵ as they wish. For some, it represents anarchy; for others democracy.

1 sleepers   

n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环

参考例句：

• He trod quietly so as not to disturb the sleepers. 他轻移脚步，以免吵醒睡着的人。 来自辞典例句
• The nurse was out, and we two sleepers were alone. 保姆出去了，只剩下我们两个瞌睡虫。 来自辞典例句

2 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 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。

5 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

6 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

7 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

8 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

9 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

10 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

11 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

12 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

13 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。

14 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。