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"Melting pot" means a place where people from many different ethnic groups or cultures form a united society.
大熔爐是指這樣一個地方，在那里來自不同種族或文化的人們形成了一個和諧統一的社會群體。
The idea comes from heating metals in a container.
此概念源自把各種金屬放到冶煉容器里一起加熱這一工序。
When they melt, the metals unite and become something new and stronger.
當這些金屬熔化時，它們就會混合在一起變成更加堅硬的新物體。
The term has been used to describe the United States as a nation created from people who came here from many different countries.
這是一個用來描述美國的術語—因為美國是一個由來自很多不同國家的人共同創建的民族。
A Frenchman who was living in America expressed the idea more than 200 years ago.
200多年前，一位住在美國的法國人就表達了這種思想。
J. Hector de Crevecoeur published a book called "Letters From an American Farmer" in 1782.
赫克托?圣約翰?克雷佛克在1782年出版了一本名叫《美國農人書簡》的書，
He wrote that America had people from many different countries.
書里寫道美國有很多來自不同國家的人，
He said that they would become a new people whose work would one day change the world.
他們會演變成一個新的民族，并且他們付出的勞動終有一天會改變這個世界。
For many years, Americans generally accepted the idea of their country as a melting pot.
多年以來，美國人普遍地接受了把他們國家比喻為大熔爐的思想。
They welcomed immigrants from many nations.
他們歡迎來自不同國家的移民。
Yet some of those immigrants criticized the melting pot idea.
然而，有些移民批判這種熔爐的思想，
They felt they were forced to lose their culture and language in order to be accepted in America.
他們感覺自己為了融入美國而被迫失去他們的文化和語言。
Other people also criticized the idea.
其他的人也批判這種思想，
They said the aim of the melting pot is to make different cultures disappear into the one representing the largest group.
認為大熔爐旨在讓不同的文化由于逐漸被一種代表著最大群體的文化取代而消失無蹤。
New groups of immigrants from Asia and Latin America are changing the United States today.
現如今，來自亞洲和拉丁美洲的新移民群體正改變著美國。
Some are resisting learning American culture and language.
其中一些人抵制學習美國文化和語言。
Reports say some Americans fear that the nation is separating into many groups that have no shared purpose.
據報道，一些美國人擔心這個民族將會分裂稱很多沒有共同目標的群體，
Others say the melting pot is no longer changing the nation's immigrants,
其他人則認為文化熔爐不再改變著美國的移民，
but the immigrants are changing America.
而是移民正在改變著美國。
Some experts who study immigration say they now compare American society not with a melting pot,but with a salad bowl.
一些研究移民的專家表示，他們現在把美國比喻成一個色拉碗，而不是大熔爐。
A salad is made of many different foods.
色拉由很多不同的食物搭配而成。
They each keep their own taste while being part of a successful product.
每種食物都保持自己不同的味道，單獨分開時也是一種很成功的產品。
In this way, cultural groups keep their customs and language and are still part of American society.
這樣的話，文化群體都可以保持他們自身的風俗和語言，而且也仍然是美國文化的一部分。
