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Working Their Way Up 从洗衣工到工程师

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本  

Chinese-Americans have come a long way since the first waves of immigration in the mid-1800s. These early immigrants went to the New World to work as laborers on the railroads or as laundrymen for gold miners. Up until the middle of the last century, Chinese immigrants faced legal, cultural, and language barriers which kept white-collar jobs out of reach. As a result, they tended to live in segregated Chinatowns.

自从十九世纪中第一波华裔移民潮开始以来，华裔美人的成功之途颇为漫长坎坷。早期迁徙到新大陆的移民从事劳役工作，譬如铁路工人或为淘金客做洗衣工。一直到二十世纪中，华裔移民面临着法律、文化、和语言的障碍，以致于无法胜任白领阶级的工作，也因此他们倾向于居住在中国城，与其他族裔有所区隔。

The fortunes of Chinese-Americans began to change in the 1960s following the relaxation of U.S. immigration laws. Thousands of Taiwanese students moved to the U.S. to study. This university-educated group broke free from stereotypical Chinese jobs by working in new sectors, such as science and technology. Mastery of the English language, however, often remained elusive; many returned to their homelands after reaching a “glass ceiling” in the American workforce.

在六十年代，华裔美人的时运随着美国移民法的松绑而开始改变。成千上万的台湾学生前往美国读书，这群大学毕业的人士在属于科技的新领域内任职，打破中国人只能做特定工作的刻板印象。不过他们仍然无法掌握流利的英语，致使许多人在美国职场碰到无形的工作障碍后，就转而返乡发展。

Unlike their ancestors, ABC’s (American-born Chinese) face few linguistic or cultural barriers. They are striving for equal footing with fellow Americans and competing in the workplace as engineers, doctors, and business owners. However, there are still few Chinese in the upper echelons of American corporations and fewer still in politics. ABCs certainly have more career options than their ancestors had, but they still have a way to go to reach complete equality.

与他们的祖先有所不同，ABC（在美国出生的华裔美人），面临的语言或文化的障碍很少。他们尽量与一般美国人争取同样的立足点，在工程师、医生、和企业家的职场相互竞争。不过，目前在美国大企业高层任职的中国人仍然很少，政治界里的更少。现在华商美人在职场上，确实比他们祖先有更多选择了，但是要达到完全的平等仍然还有一段距离。

Vocabulary

单词发音

work one's way up 获提升，晋级

have come a long way 大有进步

laundryman [ˋlɔndrɪmən] n. 洗衣男工

segregate [ˋsɛgrɪ͵get] v.〔尤指因种族﹑性别﹑宗教不同而〕使分开﹐分离﹐隔离

fortune [ˋfɔrtʃən] n. 命运

stereotypical [͵stɛrɪəˋtɪpɪk!] adj. 陈规的，老一套的

mastery [ˋmæstərɪ] n. 熟练；精通

elusive [ɪˋlusɪv] adj. 难以实现的; 难以得到的

glass ceiling  玻璃天花板（通常专指女性所遭遇的在工作中升级时遇到的一种无形的障碍，使人不能到达较高阶层）

footing [ˋfʊtɪŋ] n. 立足处，立脚点

echelon [ˋɛʃə͵lɑn] n. 阶层

Sentence of the Day

Early Chinese-Americans got a raw deal.

早期的华裔美人遭到不平等待遇。

raw deal【口】不公平的待遇

课文讲解

Vincent is showing Sally around Chinatown in Los Angeles:  在洛杉矶，文森带着莎莉逛中国城：

S: Thanks for the tour, Vincent.

文森，谢谢你带我来认识环境。

V: So? What do you think of the new Chinatown?

怎样？认为新的中国城怎么样？

S: It’s cool, but I think old Chinatown has much more character with all those funky shops and noisy restaurants clustered together. Although it’s modern here, it’s just strip malls and parking lots.

很酷，不过我认为旧中国城比较有特色，有那些旧店铺和喧闹的餐馆聚在一块。虽然这边比较新颖，但基本上都是沿着公路的商业区和停车场。

V: I agree. But it’s interesting to contrast the old Chinatown that was established by the original immigrants, and the new one that was established later by wealthier immigrants.

我同意。不过把老移民建的旧中国城，和比较有钱的新移民所建的新中国城做一对照实在很有趣。

S: You can see the progression of the Chinese in America over the last 150 years.

你可以看到中国人在美国一百五十年来的演进过程。

V: Definitely. Early Chinese immigrants didn’t speak English well, so they worked mainly in menial labor jobs.

是很有趣。早期的中国移民不太会说英语，所以他们大多数只能从事比较下层的劳力工作。

S: I guess that’s where the stereotype of the stuttering Chinese waiter or launderer comes from. Those stereotypes never made much sense to me because every Chinese person I know speaks English fluently and has a decent job.

我想，那造成了讲话结巴的中国服务生或洗衣工的刻板印象。我以前觉得那些刻板印象很没道理，因为我所认识的华人，英语都很流利，也有不错的工作。

V: Times have changed. ABCs like myself can work in fields that were off limits just a generation ago.

时代已经不同。像我这样华裔美人，现在在职场上已经能做上一代不能从事的工作了。

S: So, do you think we’ll see a Chinese-American president in our lifetime?

所以，你认为在我们有生之年或许有一天会出个华裔美人总统？

V: Considering that there still hasn’t been a woman or African-American president, I’d say things haven’t changed that much!

鉴于目前为止还没有出过女性或非裔美人的总统，我断言事情大概还没有变化这么剧烈吧！

－by Howie Phung

Vocabulary

单词发音

funky [ˋfʌŋkɪ] adj.【俚】稀奇古怪的

cluster [ˋklʌstɚ] v. 使成簇（或群）[（+together）]

strip mall【美】单排商业区；沿公路商业区

contrast [ˋkɑn͵træst] v. 形成对照

menial [ˋmɪnɪəl] adj. 仆人的；适于仆人的

stutter [ˋstʌtɚ] v. 结结巴巴地说话

launderer 洗衣工

decent [ˋdisnt] adj. 象样的；还不错的

off limit  禁止入内

Sentence of the Day

Chinese-Americans are breaking new ground.

现在华裔美人开创了新局面。

break new ground  开辟新天地