"Melting pot" means a place where people from many different ethnic groups or cultures form a united society.
大熔炉是指这样一个地方，在那里来自不同种族或文化的人们形成了一个和谐统一的社会群体。
The idea comes from heating metals in a container.
此概念源自把各种金属放到冶炼容器里一起加热这一工序。
When they melt, the metals unite and become something new and stronger.
当这些金属熔化时，它们就会混合在一起变成更加坚硬的新物体。

The term has been used to describe the United States as a nation created from people who came here from many different countries.
这是一个用来描述美国的术语—因为美国是一个由来自很多不同国家的人共同创建的民族。
A Frenchman who was living in America expressed the idea more than 200 years ago.
200多年前，一位住在美国的法国人就表达了这种思想。
J. Hector de Crevecoeur published a book called "Letters From an American Farmer" in 1782.
赫克托?圣约翰?克雷佛克在1782年出版了一本名叫《美国农人书简》的书，
He wrote that America had people from many different countries.
书里写道美国有很多来自不同国家的人，
He said that they would become a new people whose work would one day change the world.
他们会演变成一个新的民族，并且他们付出的劳动终有一天会改变这个世界。
For many years, Americans generally accepted the idea of their country as a melting pot.
多年以来，美国人普遍地接受了把他们国家比喻为大熔炉的思想。
They welcomed immigrants from many nations.
他们欢迎来自不同国家的移民。
Yet some of those immigrants criticized the melting pot idea.
然而，有些移民批判这种熔炉的思想，
They felt they were forced to lose their culture and language in order to be accepted in America.
他们感觉自己为了融入美国而被迫失去他们的文化和语言。
Other people also criticized the idea.
其他的人也批判这种思想，
They said the aim of the melting pot is to make different cultures disappear into the one representing the largest group.
认为大熔炉旨在让不同的文化由于逐渐被一种代表着最大群体的文化取代而消失无踪。
New groups of immigrants from Asia and Latin America are changing the United States today.
现如今，来自亚洲和拉丁美洲的新移民群体正改变着美国。
Some are resisting learning American culture and language.
其中一些人抵制学习美国文化和语言。
Reports say some Americans fear that the nation is separating into many groups that have no shared purpose.
据报道，一些美国人担心这个民族将会分裂称很多没有共同目标的群体，
Others say the melting pot is no longer changing the nation's immigrants,
其他人则认为文化熔炉不再改变着美国的移民，
but the immigrants are changing America.
而是移民正在改变着美国。
Some experts who study immigration say they now compare American society not with a melting pot,but with a salad bowl.
一些研究移民的专家表示，他们现在把美国比喻成一个色拉碗，而不是大熔炉。
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.
每种食物都保持自己不同的味道，单独分开时也是一种很成功的产品。
In this way, cultural groups keep their customs and language and are still part of American society.
这样的话，文化群体都可以保持他们自身的风俗和语言，而且也仍然是美国文化的一部分。