英语一阅读翻译2006.pdfVIP

2006 Text 1 In spite of “endless talk of difference”，American society is an amazing machine for homogenizing people. There is “the democratizing uniformity of dress and discourse，and the casualness and absence of deference” characteristic of popular culture. People are absorbed into “aculture of consumption ”launched by the 19th—— century department stores that offered “vastarrays of goods in an elegant atmosphere. Instead of intimate shops catering to a knowledgeable elite, ” stores “anyone could enter, regardless of class or background. This turned shopping into a public and democratic act. ” The mass media, advertising and sports are other forces for homogenization. 不管我们如何喋喋不休地谈论差别， 美国社会实际上是一台同化人们的神奇的机 器。这就是民主化的着装和言谈， 并且还有种随意和缺乏尊重感， 这些构成了通 俗文化的特性。 人们被一种消费文化所吸引了， 这种文化是由十九世纪在高雅的 氛围中陈列着琳琅满目的商品的百货商店所开始的。 他们不是为了迎合有知识 的精英们而开设的专门商店， 而是创建了 “不分阶层和背景人人都可以进入” 的 大众商店。这使得购物成为一种大众的、民主的行为。大众传媒、广告和体育也 是协助人们均质化的推动力。 Immigrants are quickly fitting into this common culture, which may not be altogether elevating but is hardly poisonous. Writing for the National Immigration Forum, Gregory Rodriguez reports that todays immigration is neither at unprecedented levels nor resistant to assimilation. In 1998 immigrants were 9.8 percent of population; in 1900, 13.6 percent .In the 10 years prior to 1990, 3.1 immigrants arrived for every 1， 000 residents; in the 10 years prior to 1890, 9.2 for every 1, 000. Now, consider three indices of assimilation–language, home ownership and intermarriage. 尽管这种文化并不算高雅， 但也算不上有害， 移民们很快就融入了这种共同文化。 Gregory Rodriguez 为美国移民研讨会撰文指出， 今天的移民既不是处于空前的水 平，也不抵制同化。在 1998 年，移民占全国人口的 9.8%；在 1900 年为 13.6%。 在 1990 年以前的十年之中，在每千位居民当中，有千分之 3.1 的新来的移民； 而在 1890 年以前的十年之中，每千位居民当中就有千分之 9.2 的移民。现在， 让我们来看一下三个同化指标——语言、拥有产权住房和异族