从前有一个人, 他有一个梦。他梦到一块和平与和谐的土地。他梦到一个人们不因肤色而被论断的地方。他梦到一个国家不同肤色的小子们玩在一起。他梦到一个国家, 在其中所有的人都是平等的。有些人不喜欢他的梦。他们说这个梦永远不会实现。有些人则对他的梦喝采。他们想实现这个梦。这个崇高的理想对某些人而言, 它还只是一个幻想。
In 1963, this man, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., expressed his vision in the famous speech, "I Have a Dream." But the dream-rooted in the American Dream-wasn't really new. From the beginning, this nation of immigrants welcomed people desiring freedom and a new start. However, the coming together of different races and ethnic groups created some tensions. The early Americans (except for the native "Indians") were almost all white Europeans. As more immigrants arrived, European groups fit into society easily. Others found it more difficult.
这个人, 马丁路德. 金恩博士, 在一九六三年的一篇有名的演讲"我有一个梦"当中表达了他的理想. 其实这个根植于"美国梦"的理想, 并不是个完全新潮的主意. 从一开始, 这个由移民所组成的国家, 便欢迎渴望自由和新开始的人来到. 但是, 不同种族的到来亦带来了紧张的气氛. 早期的美国人(除了印地安原住民之外)几乎全是来自欧洲的白人. 当更多的移民抵达时, 欧洲团体较容易适应这个社会, 其它团体则较感困难.
Black people were the only "immigrants" who didn't choose to come to America. For hundreds of years, Africans were taken from their homes to be slaves in the New World. Even George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had slaves. The phrase "all men are created equal" didn't apply to blacks in their day. The end of the Civil War finally brought freedom to the slaves in 1865, but blacks still had a lower position in society. Many Southern states practiced segregation to "keep blacks in their place." Blacks and whites went to different schools, ate at different restaurants, even drank from different water fountains.
黑人是唯一非出于自愿而到美国来的"移民". 几百年以来, 非洲人自其家园被迫带到新世界为奴. 即使乔治. 华盛顿和汤玛士. 杰弗逊也曾蓄奴. 那句"人类生而平等"的话, 在他们的时代并不适用于黑人. 一八六五年, 南北战争的结束终于为黑奴带来自由, 但是黑人的社会地位仍然较低. 许多南方的州实行种族隔离政策以使"黑人不会跨越界限". 黑人和白人上不同的学校, 在不同的餐馆吃饭, 甚至连喝水都用不同的饮水机.
The Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s helped black people secure many of the rights promised in the Constitution. A 1954 Supreme Court decision ruled that segregation had no place in public schools. Gradually, American education became more fair. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white man. Her courage sparked a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, that ended segregation on city buses. Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged black people to use nonviolent means to achieve their goals of equal treatment. Finally, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to stop discrimination in all public places.
一九五O与一九六O年代的人权运动, 帮助黑人得到许多宪法中所保障的权利. 一九五四年最高法院的一个判决, 决定了在公立学校里不准实行种族隔离政策. 渐渐地, 美国的教育制度越来越公平了. 一九五五年, 罗莎. 帕克拒绝在公车上让位给一个白人. 她的勇气激起了阿接巴马州的蒙哥马利市对公车的抵制, 结束了市区公车上的种族隔离制度. 马丁路得. 金恩博士鼓励黑人, 使用非暴力方式达到他们追求平等待遇的目标. 最后, 国会在一九六四年通过民权法案, 禁止所有在公共场合的歧视.
In spite of the gains of the Civil Rights Movement, racial problems still exist. The laws have changed, but some people-on all sides of the color spectrum-remain prejudiced. Ten-sions sometimes erupt in violence. The 1992 Los Angeles riots sprang from the verdict of a racially-charged court case. Moreover, blacks and whites are not the only racial groups struggling to get along. Multicultural America has numerous minority groups that argue for equal treatment. Some contend that current immigration laws unfairly discriminate against certain racial groups.
虽然民权运动带来进步, 但是种族问题仍然存在. 法律已经改变了, 但是有些人--各种肤色的人--仍然保有歧视的态度. 紧张情形有时会引发暴力. 一九九二年的洛杉矶动乃是因一件因种族问题而起诉法院判决而引发的. 此外, 黑人和白人并不是为和平相处而挣扎的唯一种族团体. 多元文化的美国拥有无数为平等待遇而争论的少数团体. 有些人争论现行的移民法不公平地歧视某些种族团体.
Even so, in the past 40 years, race relations in America have greatly improved. Minority groups now have equal opportunities in many areas of education, employment and housing. Interracial marriages are becoming more accepted. Children of different races-and their parents-are learning to play together and work together. Maybe Dr. King's dream will come true after all.
即使如此, 在过去四十年间, 美国种族之间的关系已经大有进步. 少数团体现在在教育, 就业及住屋许多方面已有公平的机会. 异族的通婚已越来越被接受. 不同种族的小孩以及他们的父母亲, 也在学习与其它种族一起游戏和一起工作, 或许金恩博士的梦终会实现.
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