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The Melting Pot 纽约──民族大熔炉

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Paulina stops by Greg’s apartment to catch up:  宝琳娜顺道造访葛瑞格的公寓，与他聊天：

P: So, when’s the leaving date?

那么，你什么时候走？

G: No time soon; I’ve had to put those grandiose round-the–world travel plans on the back burner. I’m pretty disappointed; I was really looking forward to it.

再过一段时间。我必须延后那个浩大的环球旅行计划。我觉得很失望，因为我真的很期待这次旅行。

P: That’s too bad, but hey, you can see the world right here in New York!

真是糟糕。但是，嘿，在纽约你就可以看到全世界啦！

G: True. You can go from Italy to China for the price of a subway fare!

没错。花一张地铁票的票价便能从意大利玩到中国呢！

P: I went to a Russian bathhouse last week; it was a different world: I felt like I’d stepped into a steam room in Moscow.

我上礼拜去了俄罗斯的澡堂：那是一个截然不同的世界：我觉得好像走进了莫斯科的蒸汽浴室。

G: It’s amazing how immigrants live a life in New York that’s not too far removed from the “old country.”

移民可以在纽约过着与家乡相去不远的生活。这件事挺让人吃惊的。

P: Well, take my grandparents: they still can’t speak English, and they only eat Polish food. My parents assimilated more, though; Dad even took on an English moniker.

嗯，拿我祖父母来说：他们还是不会说英文，而且只吃波兰菜。不过，我的父母亲就比较融入当地文化了，我父亲甚至取了个英文名字。

G: It’s a pretty common scenario: It’s like the first generation to immigrate always insist on retaining their customs and traditions, while the second generation blend in more. And then there are people like you, Paulina: the third generation.

这是个相当普遍的情形。第一代的移民者总是坚持保留自己的风俗和传统，但是第二代更融入当地生活。接下来就像你，宝琳娜这种第三代移民。

P: Yeah, well we’re all-American at first, but then we tend to go back to our roots – which reminds me: I’m going to be late for my Polish class!

没错。首先，我们都是地道的美国人，但是我们往往会想要追本溯源……这倒提醒了我──我快要赶不上波兰课了！

Vocabulary

单词发音

stop by 顺便拜访﹐ 顺路探望

catch up 了解近况; 叙旧

grandiose [ˋgrændɪos] adj.〔计划〕浮夸的﹐ 不切合实际的

put something on the back burner【口】将工作等暂时搁置留待以后处理 put aside for the time being, as a subject that is not of immediate concern but that may be activated later; postponed

bathhouse [ˋbæθ͵haʊs] n. 公共浴室，澡堂

removed [rɪˋmuvd] adj. 远离的

Polish [ˋpolɪʃ] adj. 波兰的；波兰人的；波兰语的

assimilate [əˋsɪm!͵et] v. 使（民族、语音）同化[（+to/into）]; 被同化[（+into）]

take on 擅自决定; 自作主张 to acquire (an appearance, for example) as or as if one's own

moniker [ˋmɑnɪkɚ] n.【幽默】名字; 签名; 绰号

scenario [sɪˋnɛrɪ͵o] n. 可能发生的事﹐可能出现的情况

Sentence of the Day

He's got itchy feet.

他闲不下来！

get itchy feet【口】渴望各处走动

课文朗读

课文讲解

To many Asian travelers, one of New York’s most striking characteristics is its cultural diversity: Step into a subway car and It’ll resemble a meeting of the United Nations; explore the streets and you’ll discover colorful communities such as Little Italy, Little India, Chinatown, and Spanish Harlem. In many of these ethnic enclaves, the predominant language usually isn’t English, even on the street signs, and the shops in these neighborhoods sell everything from traditional homemade pasta to luxuriant silk saris.

对许多来自亚洲的旅行者来说，文化多元性是纽约最吸引人的特色之一。走进地铁列车就如同参加联合国的会议一般。如果你在大街小巷中仔细探查，便会发现像小意大利、小印度、中国城、和西班牙哈林区等这些多采多姿的小区。在大城市中许多这种少数民族聚居的孤立地区里，主要使用的语言通常不是英文，甚至连街道上的指示牌也一样。邻近商店里卖的东西从传统的家庭自制意大利面到华丽的丝质莎丽[注1]，什么都有。

New York has been a haven for immigrants seeking a better life since the mid-nineteenth century. The emerging city welcomed the starving and the oppressed and offered them prosperity and freedom – and still does. All are welcome, and welcome to live as they choose. For most, that means mingling the ways of the old country with those of the new, an example of which is chop suey, a pseudo-Chinese dish that’s virtually unheard of in China.

十九世纪中以来，纽约对移民者来说一直都是寻求更美好生活的天堂。这个新兴的城市欢迎那些穷人和受到压迫的人，并且提供他们富庶与自由的生活──现在亦然。纽约欢迎所有的人，不管他们选择哪一种生活方式。对大部分的人来说，这意味着新旧国家两种生活方式的混合。炒杂碎是其中一个例子，它不算真的中国菜，因为在中国几乎没有人听过。

This blending of cultures works both ways: “New Yawk tawk, “as New Yorkers call their unique language, is riddled with expressions from many other languages, even Yiddish. So, in NYC somebody with self-confidence had chutzpah, which is just what you need to live in a city as chaotic as New York.

文化融合对双方都有影响：纽约人以「纽约客腔」[注2]称呼自己独特的语言，这种语言混杂着来自其他语言令人费解的词汇，甚至还包括意第绪语[注3]。所以，有自信的人在纽约要相当大胆，这种特质是住在像纽约这样混乱的城市里所必备的。

[注1]：莎丽是一种印度妇女穿的裹服长布。

[注2]：这是New York talk以纽约腔发音的特殊拼法。New Yawk tawk的语汇中有许多是纽约当地人使用的特殊用语。

[注3]：犹太人所使用的国际语。

－by Mary Beth Maslowski

Vocabulary

单词发音

striking [ˋstraɪkɪŋ] adj. 惹人注目的；显著的，突出的

diversity [daɪˋvɝsətɪ] n.〔人或事物的〕多种多样

resemble [rɪˋzɛmb!] v. 像，类似

Harlem [ˋhɑrləm] n.（纽约的）黑人住宅区

enclave [ˋɛnklev] n.（国家或城市中隶属另一民族或文化的）飞地，孤立地区

predominant [prɪˋdɑmənənt] adj. 占优势的; 占主导地位的; 最普遍[显著]的﹐ 突出的

luxuriant [lʌgˋʒʊrɪənt] adj. 华丽的

sari [ˋsɑri] n.〔印度妇女用以裹身的〕莎丽（服）

haven [ˋhevən] n. 避风港；避难所

starving [ˋstɑrvɪŋ] adj.【口】挨饿的，饥饿的

oppressed [əˋprɛst] adj. 受压迫的﹐受压制的

mingle [ˋmɪŋg!] v. 使混合，使相混[（+with/together）]

chop suey 杂碎（一种中国菜）；什锦杂炒

pseudo [ˋsudo] adj. 假的；冒充的

riddled [ˋrɪd!d] adj. 布满的；充斥的，泛滥的

Yiddish [ˋjɪdɪʃ] n. 意第绪语（犹太人使用的，德语、希伯来语等的混合语言）

chutzpah [`hʋtspə] n.【俚】厚脸皮; 放肆﹐ 肆无忌惮

Sentence of the Day

They found common ground.

他们找到共识。

common ground  共同点