时间:2018-12-08 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2012年(九月)


英语课

 


California Immigrants Become Politically Active



City officials in Rosemead in the San Gabriel Valley were trying to close a poultry 1 store. It sells freshly slaughtered 2 chickens and other birds, with their heads and feet on, the way that many Asian immigrants like them. Some neighbors and local officials thought the shop had a foul 3 smell.


But Dana Phu, who owns the shop with her husband, said this is part of Chinese culture, along with incense 4 sticks and ceremonial paper used for funeral offerings, which they also sell. Phu is ethnically 6 Chinese and comes from Vietnam.


“It's a lot of Asians - and our business, our services - are servicing those people.”


She mobilized friends and supporters and filed a lawsuit 7 against the city council. They reached a settlement and are now in talks to work out the problems.


Immigrants came to this part of California for the business opportunities, good schools and affordable 8 housing. Some moved from the crowded Los Angeles neighborhood, Chinatown, wanting a better life in the suburbs.


Lily Chen is a former mayor of Monterey Park, an early destination for Asians in the San Gabriel Valley. Its population now is more than two-thirds Asian-American. In 1984, she became the first Chinese American to lead an American city. She noted 9 the surge of Asian immigrants that began in the 1980s.


“From Hong Kong, from Taiwan, later some of them from Vietnam. And now of course we have more Chinese population moving from China,” said Chen.


Los Angeles also is a magnet for Latin American immigrants, and many have also settled in this valley, making up about a quarter of the population. The San Gabriel Mission, founded in 1771 by Spanish missionaries 10, draws Hispanic worshippers on Sundays.


Political parties are working to enlist 11 these residents as voters. State Senator Ed Hernandez, a Mexican-American, represents many Latino and Asian American constituents 12.


“We need to empower everybody. All the citizens of this country and the state have to realize the importance of their vote,” he said.


Hernandez said he became involved in politics to have a voice in his community.


So did Judy Chu, another former mayor of Monterey Park who is now the first Chinese-American woman to serve in the U.S. Congress. She said immigrants face obstacles to full participation 13.


“There are so many immigrants that have language barriers or who simply are not informed about what's going on and what resources there are for them to succeed,” said Chu.


She said that's why she reaches out to voters.


Asian-American activist 14 William Su said immigrants need to make their voices heard.


“You have to have representatives, you have to be involved with the political system in order for the government to understand your needs,” said Su.


He said politics is a give-and-take process and, as immigrants learn to get along with other ethnic 5 groups, they are gaining a voice in their new communities. 




1 poultry
n.家禽,禽肉
  • There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
  • What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?
2 slaughtered
v.屠杀,杀戮,屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )
  • The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 foul
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规
  • Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
  • What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气!
4 incense
v.激怒;n.香,焚香时的烟,香气
  • This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
  • In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。
5 ethnic
adj.人种的,种族的,异教徒的
  • 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 ethnically
adv.人种上,民族上
  • Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
  • Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句
7 lawsuit
n.诉讼,控诉
  • They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
  • He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。
8 affordable
adj.支付得起的,不太昂贵的
  • The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
  • There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。
9 noted
adj.著名的,知名的
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
10 missionaries
n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )
  • Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时,从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
11 enlist
vt.谋取(支持等),赢得;征募;vi.入伍
  • They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
  • The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会,支持他们的正义斗争。
12 constituents
n.选民( constituent的名词复数 );成分;构成部分;要素
  • She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
  • Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 participation
n.参与,参加,分享
  • Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
  • The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。
14 activist
n.活动分子,积极分子
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
学英语单词
Adelphan-Esidrex
anesthesiologies
anterior superior iliac spine
Antitaurus
BDV (breakdown voltage)
beading line
Bhesa
bias cutter
broken flange detector finger
browster
c-number
calixes
charge-stroage varactor
co-ordinate formula
colonialize
colour discrimination lamp
contingency perspective
conventional ignition system
copper oxide meter
cross-over track
curling dies
cut down expenses
Cynanchum gracilipes
daishowas
darkie
deepa
ever created
facients
Fargesia qinlingensis
feu-farmer
fixed end wall
fluence
fluxing medium
fosen
full address jump
gaudet
give a good example
graphic output unit
Guir, C.
gun-emplacements
hagseed
Hathor capital
helium absorption chamber
high-bay
histologic lesion
Holland cigar
ice cream cake
inferior wings
interim interdict
IP fax
jammed out
JIRA,J.I.R.A.
Judayyidah
kyoga
laraine
laser video
low-frequency region
mallet finger
marriage brokerage
matsen
microvitrain
misquoter
Muscoidea
Naejangdo
Namsan Park
neoprene rubber
newpoints
no-load lose
objective of water conservancy planning
oleate
oriental and ethiopian realm
Pabetangan
phonetic transcriptions
pier mirrors
plant waste
plastic substances
points of inflection
prior to the expiration of the term
proveditor
repaire
rough and tumble
rule with a heavy hand
S.&S.R.
sceats
science fiction
screwing tap
secretarial education
sparks up
spreading rate
squadronist
strain crystallization
superexchange interaction
sus out
suturae occipitomastoidea
symbiogenetic
tattletale gray
the-naze
tranquillisings
United Ireland
wheat-germ oil
winemerchant
wire communication line