評論
打印
Text 1
閱讀1
In spite of “endless talk of difference, ” American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people.
不管我們如何喋喋不休地談論差別，美國社會實際上是一臺同化人們的神奇的機器。
There is “the democratizing uniformity of dress and discourse, and the casualness and absence of deference” characteristic of popular culture.
這就是民主化的著裝和言談，并且還有種隨意和缺乏尊重感，這些構成了通俗文化的特性。
People are absorbed into “a culture of consumption” launched by the 19th-century department stores that offered “vast arrays of goods in an elegant atmosphere. Instead of intimate shops catering to a knowledgeable elite, ”
人們被一種消費文化所吸引了，這種文化是由十九世紀在高雅的氛圍中陳列著琳瑯滿目的商品的百貨商店所開始的，不是為了迎合有知識的精英們而開設的專門商店，
these were stores “anyone could enter, regardless of class or background.
而是創建了“不分階層和背景人人都可以進入”的大眾商店。
This turned shopping into a public and democratic act.”
這使得購物成為一種大眾的、民主的行為。
The mass media, advertising and sports are other forces for homogenization.
大眾傳媒、廣告和體育也是協助人們均質化的推動力。
Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous.
盡管這種文化并不算高雅，但也算不上有害，移民們很快就融入了這種共同文化。
Writing for the National Immigration Forum, Gregory Rodriguez reports that today's immigration is neither at unprecedented levels nor resistant to assimilation.
Gregory Rodriguez 為美國移民研討會撰文指出，今天的移民既不是處于空前的水平，也不抵制同化。
In 1998 immigrants were 9. 8 percent of population; in 1900, 13. 6 percent.
在 1998 年，移民占全國人口的 9.8%；在 1900 年為 13.6%。
In the 10 years prior to 1990, 3. 1 immigrants arrived for every 1, 000 residents;
在 1990年以前的十年之中，在每千位居民當中，有千分之 3.1的新來的移民；
in the 10 years prior to 1890, 9. 2 for every 1, 000.
而在 1890 年以前的十年之中，每千位居民當中就有千分之 9.2 的移民。
Now, consider three indices of assimilation -- language, home ownership and intermarriage.
現在，讓我們來看一下三個同化指標——語言、擁有產權住房和異族結婚情況。
The 1990 Census revealed that “a majority of immigrants from each of the fifteen most common countries of origin spoke English 'well' or 'very well' after ten years of residence. ”
1990年的人口普查透露：“來自十五個移民數量最多的國家的移民在到美國十年后英語說得‘好’或‘很好’?！?/p>
The children of immigrants tend to be bilingual and proficient in English.
移民的子女幾乎都說兩種語言，且精通英語。
“By the third generation, the original language is lost in the majority of immigrant families. ”
“到了第三代，在大多數移民家庭，他們的母語就消失了?！?/p>
Hence the description of America as a “graveyard” for languages.
因此，有人就把美國描 述成了“語言的墳場”。
By 1996 foreign-born immigrants who had arrived before 1970 had a home ownership rate of 75. 6 percent, higher than the 69. 8 percent rate among native-born Americans.
到了 1996 年，出生于國外的、在 1970 年以前到達美國的移民有 75.6%購置了自己的住房，這個數字高出土生土長的美國人的擁有自己所有權住房的百分比——69.8%。
Foreign-born Asians and Hispanics “have higher rates of intermarriage than do U. S. -born whites and blacks. ”
在國外出生的亞裔和西班牙裔移民“與美國本土白人和黑人相比，與異族通婚的比率要高?！?/p>
By the third generation, one third of Hispanic women are married to non-Hispanics,
到了第三代，有三分之一的西班牙裔女性與非西班牙裔男性結婚，
and 41 percent of Asian-American women are married to non-Asians.
而有41%亞裔美國婦女與非亞裔男性結婚。
Rodriguez notes that children in remote villages around the world are fans of superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth Brooks,
羅得里格斯寫道，即使那些住 在世界各地偏僻村莊的的孩子們都是諸如阿諾·施瓦辛格和加思·布魯克斯等明星的星迷，
yet “some Americans fear that immigrants living within the United States remain somehow immune to the nation's assimilative power. ”
然而“一些美國人卻害怕住在美國的移民不知怎樣才能免受美國的同化力量影響” 。
Are there divisive issues and pockets of seething anger in America? Indeed.
在美國是否存在不和以及潛在的不安？答案是肯定的，
It is big enough to have a bit of everything.
因為這個國家足夠大以至于什么現象都存在。
But particularly when viewed against America's turbulent past, today's social indices hardly suggest a dark and deteriorating social environment.
但是與美國動蕩狂暴的過去相比，如今的社會基本不能說明美國的社會環境正在惡化，變得黑暗。
