(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Today, we tell about life in the United States during the nineteen nineties. Many experts describe the nineteen nineties as one of the best periods in United States history. During almost all that time, America was at peace. The frightening and costly military competition with the Soviet Union had ended. The threat of a nuclear attack seemed greatly reduced, if not gone. Military officials said America's defenses were strong. The economy improved from poor to very good. Inflation was low. So was unemployment. Production was high. Scientists and engineers made major progress in medicine and technology. The Internet computer system created a new world of communications. America grew by almost thirty-three million people during the nineteen nineties. This is the most the United States has ever grown during a ten-year period. Some minority groups are growing faster than the white population.
For the first time in seventy years, one in ten Americans was born in another country. During the past ten years, there was a huge increase in immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. More than two hundred eighty million people lived in the United States by the end of the twentieth century. This population was getting older, however, and needing more costly health care. And, America had other problems in the nineteen nineties. Some people feared crime in the streets. People were shot and killed in offices and schools. Divisions grew between rich people and poor people. Racial tensions remained high. In nineteen ninety-nine, Congress impeached the president of the United States. President Clinton was accused of lying to courts about a sexual relationship with a young woman who worked in the White House. Bill Clinton was found not guilty. Still, the trial and the events leading to it caused deep concern among some Americans. American families changed in the nineteen nineties.
More people ended their marriages. The rate of these divorces increased. So did the percentage of children living with only one parent. Children in such families were more likely to be poor or get into trouble. Many American children did not live with their parents at all. The number of children living with grandparents increased greatly. Test scores and national studies during the nineteen nineties showed that many public school students were not learning as they should. The nation needed more and better teachers. Racial divisions in America were a continuing and serious problem. In nineteen ninety-one, an African-American man named Rodney King was fleeing from police in Los Angeles, California. The police had chased his speeding car for miles before stopping him. They say he reacted violently when they tried to seize him. Police officers beat and kicked Mister King as he lay on the ground. A man who lived nearby filmed the beating with a video camera. He took the video to a local television station. Soon people all over the country were watching the police repeatedly striking Rodney King.
The four white police officers were arrested for their actions. They were tried outside Los Angeles at their request. A jury in a nearby wealthy, conservative community found them not guilty. Within a short time, angry African-Americans began rioting on the streets of Los Angeles. The unrest lasted three days. Fifty-five people died in the violence. More than two thousand others were injured. One thousand buildings lay in ruins. Another major court trial divided black people and white people. O.J. Simpson had been a football hero and an actor. In nineteen ninety-four, Simpson was accused of killing his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and a male friend of hers. Simpson is African-American. Nicole Brown Simpson was white. Many legal experts believed the case against him was strong. Still, the mainly African-American jury judged him not guilty. Later, a mainly white jury found him guilty in a civil damage case. Studies showed that white people believed Mister Simpson had killed his former wife and her friend.
Black people thought he was not guilty. During the nineteen nineties, scientists worked to map the position of all the genes in the human body. Research on this human genome map progressed slowly at first. Then it speeded up. The goal was to help scientists study human health and disease. The discovery was expected to change the way some diseases are treated. Since nineteen eighty, doctors had made important progress in treating diseases like cancer, AIDS and Parkinson's disease. But they still could not cure them. They hoped treatments developed from knowledge of human genes would help. Computer technology also had progressed greatly in the nineteen eighties. During the next ten years computers became even more important in American life. People depended on computers both at work and at home. They used the Internet to send electronic messages, get information and buy all kinds of products. They completed and sent their income tax forms. They read newspapers and books.
They even listened to music. Americans continued to attend classical music concerts and operas. However, many more people enjoyed popular music. One popular music form was called rap. Rap music is spoken quickly rather than sung to the music of recorded rhythms. Some rap songs suggest violent actions. Others contain sexual suggestions that many people found offensive. But rap music was very popular with many young people. So was a form of rock music called grunge. During the nineteen nineties, Americans watched traditional television programs as well as new kinds of shows. Millions of people liked weekly dramas like "ER" that takes place in a busy hospital emergency room. A program called "Law and Order" tells about the work of police officers, lawyers and judges. "NYPD Blue" shows the work of police officers in New York City. A show called "Seinfeld" also told about life in New York City.
But this program was very funny. "Seinfeld" was the most popular television show of the decade. Another funny and popular show was the animated series called "The Simpsons." Cable television programs also grew in popularity. One of the most popular was MTV. It showed music videos and other programs for young people. At the movies, Americans saw popular films like "Titanic." It told about the sinking of the famous passenger ship on its first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in nineteen twelve. Two young people are shown falling in love during this tragic event. Another popular film was "Jurassic Park." It brought ancient, frightening dinosaurs to life. As usual, Americans enjoyed sports. Public interest in baseball decreased sharply, however, after a players' strike in nineteen ninety-four. The strike cancelled the championship World Series games that year. In nineteen ninety-eight, interest in baseball increased when two great players competed to hit the most home runs.
Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire helped restore the popularity of baseball. In basketball, experts say Michael Jordan became the best player in history. He led the Chicago Bulls team to win many championships. As the nineteen nineties ended, some experts worried about computers making the change to the year two thousand. They feared that computer failures might cause serious problems for everyday life. But midnight of December thirty-first passed with only a few incidents of computer trouble. Millions of people celebrated the beginning of a new century and another one thousand years. Life in the nineteen nineties had been good for many Americans. They hoped for even better days to come.
重点解析
1.African-American非洲裔美国人
They have constituencies they need to worry about, and some 20 to 25 percent of the Democratic base is the African-American vote.
他们也有自己的选区需要担心 。 大约百分之20到25的民主党的基础是非洲裔美国人的选票 。
2.White House 白宫
He was the first pope to visit the White House.
他是访问白宫的第一位教皇 。
3.Latin America拉丁美洲
He disappeared to the Latin America.
他逃到拉丁美洲去了 。
4.Los Angeles洛杉矶
They resettled in Los Angeles in 1998.
他们在1998年重新定居于洛杉矶 。
5.falling in love 坠入情网
Burgos, 34, comes from Madrid and converted to Islam after falling in love with Azizi.
34岁来自马德里的布尔戈斯与阿齐兹坠入情网之后皈依了伊斯兰教 。
参考译文
今天,我们为您讲述20世纪90年代的美国生活
1999年,国会弹劾了美国总统
。克林顿总统被控在与一名年轻白宫女性发生性关系的事情上向法院撒了谎 。比尔·克林顿被判无罪 。尽管如此,审判和丑闻仍然引起了一些美国人的深切关注 。20世纪90年代,美国家庭发生了变化,更多的人结束了婚姻 。离婚率和单亲家庭孩子的比例上升 。这些孩子更有可能生活贫困或者陷入困境 。在美国,许多孩子根本不和父母住在一起,和祖父母住在一起的孩子数量大幅度增加 。20世纪90年代,考试成绩和国家研究表明,许多公立学校的学生没有好好学习 。国家需要更多更优质的教师 。美国的种族分裂一直是个严峻的问题 。1991年,一位名叫罗德尼·金的非裔美国人从加利福尼亚洛杉矶警察手中逃离 。罗德尼·金超速行驶,警察追赶好几英里才把他拦住 。警察表示,当他们试图抓住他时,罗德尼·金的反应非常激烈 。警察们在地上对其拳打脚踢 。住在附近的一名男子将整个殴打过程拍摄了下来 。他把视频带到当地电视台 。很快,全国各地的人都看到了警察反复殴打罗德尼·金 。四名白人警察因此被捕 。应其要求,他们在洛杉矶外接受了审判 。附近一个富裕的保守社区的陪审团判定这些警察无罪 。短时间内,愤怒的非裔美国人开始在洛杉矶街头发动暴乱
20世纪80年代,计算机技术也取得了重大进展
。在接下来的十年里,计算机对于美国人的生活更加重要 。人们的工作和家庭都离不开电脑 。他们利用互联网发送电子信息,获取信息和购买各种产品,填写并寄出了所得税申报表,阅读报纸和书籍,甚至听音乐 。美国人继续听古典音乐,看歌剧 。然而,更多的人喜欢流行音乐,一种叫做饶舌音乐的音乐形式流行起来 。饶舌音乐的节奏很快,它不是跟着节奏演唱 。一些饶舌歌词含有暴力和性的内容,很多人觉得不堪入耳 。但是饶舌音乐备受年轻人青睐 。还有一种叫做grunge的摇滚乐也颇受年轻人喜爱 。20世纪90年代,美国人看传统的电视节目和新类型节目 。数以百万计的人喜欢每周上映的戏剧比如《急诊室》,讲述的是在繁忙的医院急诊室里发生的故事 。一档名为《法律与秩序》的节目讲述了警察、律师和法官工作的内容 。《纽约重案组》展示了纽约市警察的工作 。《宋飞正传》内容也是关于纽约的生活,但是很有趣 。《宋飞正传》是这十年来最受欢迎的电视节目
译文为可可英语翻译,未经授权请勿转载!