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VOA标准英语2012--California Immigrants Become Politically Active

时间:2012-09-29 07:04:58

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California Immigrants Become Politically Active

City officials in Rosemead in the San Gabriel Valley were trying to close a poultry1 store. It sells freshly slaughtered2 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 foul3 smell.

But Dana Phu, who owns the shop with her husband, said this is part of Chinese culture, along with incense4 sticks and ceremonial paper used for funeral offerings, which they also sell. Phu is ethnically6 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 lawsuit7 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 affordable8 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 noted9 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 missionaries10, draws Hispanic worshippers on Sundays.

Political parties are working to enlist11 these residents as voters. State Senator Ed Hernandez, a Mexican-American, represents many Latino and Asian American constituents12.

“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 participation13.

“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 activist14 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 ethnic5 groups, they are gaining a voice in their new communities. 


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1 poultry GPQxh     
n.家禽,禽肉
参考例句:
  • 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 59ed88f0d23c16f58790fb11c4a5055d     
v.屠杀,杀戮,屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • 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 Sfnzy     
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规
参考例句:
  • 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 dcLzU     
v.激怒;n.香,焚香时的烟,香气
参考例句:
  • 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 jiAz3     
adj.人种的,种族的,异教徒的
参考例句:
  • 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 5cad57d992c22d4f4a6ad0169c5276d2     
adv.人种上,民族上
参考例句:
  • 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 A14xy     
n.诉讼,控诉
参考例句:
  • 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 kz6zfq     
adj.支付得起的,不太昂贵的
参考例句:
  • 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 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • 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 478afcff2b692239c9647b106f4631ba     
n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • 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 npCxX     
vt.谋取(支持等),赢得;征募;vi.入伍
参考例句:
  • 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 63f0b2072b2db2b8525e6eff0c90b33b     
n.选民( constituent的名词复数 );成分;构成部分;要素
参考例句:
  • 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 KS9zu     
n.参与,参加,分享
参考例句:
  • 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 gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • 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。

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