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In Search of Chinese Roots 华裔美人的寻根之旅

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Immigrant families in the U.S. face a formidable challenge: how to become American without losing touch with their heritage. Despite the efforts of first-generation immigrants to pass on traditional knowledge, American-born Chinese (ABC) children often grew up unfamiliar with their ethnic roots. They find Chinese customs alien and the language difficult to master. As a result, many ABCs travel to Asia on a quest to discover their birthright.

移民到美国的华裔家庭面临一项艰巨的挑战：如何成为美国人而又不失去自己原先中国人的传统。虽然第一代移民者尽量努力地把传承往下延续，华裔美人的小孩长大后却常常对自己的族群根源感到相当陌生。他们发现自己与中国的风俗习惯格格不入，而且中文非常难学。以致许多华裔美人回到亚洲来寻自己的根。

In Taiwan, hua chiao easily blend into a crowd, but their broken Mandarin makes them stick out like a sore thumb. Even fluent speakers, however, still feel like outsiders. Their western upbringing continually prevents them from fullyassimilating into the country. Instead of becoming more Chinese, many ABCs realize just how western they are.

在台湾，华侨的外表让他们很容易就溶入人群之间，但他们带口音的中文，让他们一开口就露出马脚。即使中文讲得流利的华侨，仍感觉自己像个局外人。他们所受的西化教育不断使他们难以在国内彻底同化。所以很多在台湾的华裔美人不但没感觉自己变得更像中国人，反而更加察觉自己的西化。

By local standards, ABC are not considered truly Chinese, nor are they perceived as being American, which is generally reserved for Caucasians. In the words of hua chiao “[Taiwan] isn’t used to having a melting-pot culture … Chinese culture in general is you’re either in or out.” Likewise, in the U.S., they aren’t American, but Chinese-American. No matter where they go, ABCs are stuck between two worlds. Their identity is bound by neither nationality nor ethnicity. This, perhaps, is their legacy.

以在地标准来评量，华裔美人不能算真正的中国人，但也不被认为是美国人，真正美国人常常指白种人而言。一位华侨曾表示，「（台湾）还不习惯大镕炉式的文化相貌…而依中国文化，通常你不是局内人就是局外人。」同样的在美国，他们也不完全是美国人，而是华裔美人。不管去哪儿，华裔美人都被卡在两个世界之间。他们的身份认同指标，既不依国籍，也不依民族。或许，这就是他们的传承之路。

Vocabulary

单词发音

formidable [ˋfɔrmɪdəb!] / [fɔrˋmɪdəb!]  adj. 难以克服的，难对付的

heritage [ˋhɛrətɪdʒ] n. 传统

pass on 传递

alien [ˋelɪən] adj. 截然不同的; 非常怪异的

quest [kwɛst] n.〔长期的〕寻求﹐探求

birthright [ˋbɝθ͵raɪt] n. 与生俱来的权利

blend [blɛnd] v. 使交融[（+with/into）]

stick out like a sore thumb 很显眼(常含贬义); 扎眼 if someone or something sticks out like a sore thumb, everyone notices them because they are very different from the other people or things around them

upbringing [ˋʌp͵brɪŋɪŋ] n. 养育；教养

assimilate [əˋsɪm!͵et] v. 使（民族、语音）同化

reserve [rɪˋzɝv] v. 保留[（+for）]

Caucasian [kɔˋkeʒən] n. 高加索人；白种人

bind [baɪnd] v.  捆，绑; 结合

nationality [͵næʃəˋnælətɪ] n. 国籍

ethnicity [ɛθˋnɪsɪtɪ] n. 种族特点；种族渊源

legacy [ˋlɛgəsɪ] n. 遗留之物〔遗留下来的状况〕

Sentence of the Day

“You can’t go home again.” – Thomas Wolfe, 1940

「你再也回不了家。」-- 托马斯．吴尔芙1940年作品

课文讲解

Emily, an ABC, is having coffee in a San Francisco café with her cousin, Sam:  华裔美人爱蜜莉在旧金山一家咖啡店里，和表哥山姆一起喝咖啡：

E: I just don’t understand why mom and dad never like any of my boyfriends, and why they insist I bring home a nice Chinese boy.

我就是搞不懂为什么爸爸和妈妈从来不喜欢我的男朋友，为什么他们总坚持我的男朋友必须是中国人，是好男孩？

S: Sounds exactly like my folks. They nagged me for years to find a Chinese girlfriend. They finally convinced me to go on the Overseas Chinese Youth Study Tour to Taiwan.

就像我父母一样。他们唠叨我好多年，要我找个中国女朋友。最后他们说服我回去台湾参加海外华裔青年台湾观摩团。

E: You mean the Love Boat? I heard that it’s the place for young overseas Chinese to hook up.

你是指爱之船观摩团吗？我听说那场合专门给海外的华侨青年用来认识女朋友，等于相亲吧。

S: Yes, but there’s another dimension to it. Besides partying with the opposite sex, it’s a great chance to learn Chinese culture, history, and language.

是的，不过这研习营还有别的用途。除了相亲配对结识异性朋友，在那儿还是学习中国文化、历史、和语言的大好机会。

E: Hmm …. I’ve always wanted to get in touch with my Chinese roots. It would certainly help me understand my parents. So what’s it like to be surrounded by people who look like you?

嗯…我一向都很想回去东方寻根，那一定能帮忙我了解我父母。你说说看周遭的人长得都跟自己同一个样子是什么感觉？

S: That depends on your grasp of Chinese. With my broken Mandarin, I felt very much an outsider. There was never any overt discrimination, but I never felt like I fit in either.

那得看妳的中文造诣。我的中文太糟，感觉很像个局外人。虽然没有任何明显的歧视存在，但是我从来没有感觉自己能够真正的融入。

E: That does sound like a life-changing experience. But tell me more about the other dimension of the program … the spicy side.

听起来确实像是一次重大的生命经验。不过多告诉我一点关于观摩团的另类细节…多采多姿的那一面。

S: In that case, order me another cappuccino.

想知道更多的话，帮我再点杯卡布其诺咖啡吧。

－by Howie Phung

Vocabulary

单词发音

folk [fok] n.【口】家属，亲属；双亲

nag [næg] v. 不断唠叨；责骂不休

overseas [ˋovɚˋsiz] adj.（在）海外的; adv. 在（或向）海外

hook up [俚语] 结婚  to marry or get married.

dimension [dɪˋmɛnʃən] n. 特点；方面

get in touch with  与…取得联系  establish communication with someone

grasp [græsp] n.理解，领会;  能力所及的限度

Mandarin [ˋmændərɪn] n.（M-）中国的官话（北京话）

overt [oˋvɝt] adj. 明显的；公然的

discrimination [dɪ͵skrɪməˋneʃən] n. 歧视

fit in 〔因为有共同的看法﹑趣味等〕被他人接受﹐相处融洽  to belong or conform, esp after adjustment

spicy [ˋspaɪsɪ] adj.〔故事〕下流的﹐ 粗俗的

Sentence of the Day

Sam felt a bit out of place in Taiwan.

山姆在台湾感觉有些格格不入。

feel out of place 感到如鱼出水,很不自在,局促不安