(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Immigrants Learn to Lose Their Accents
Some immigrants in the northeastern state of Maine are learning to lose their accents.
Some of the immigrants speak English fluently, but have a difficult time being understood because they have heavy accents, reported the Portland Press-Herald newspaper.
Assouma Nyirabahizi says she left her home and job in Rwanda two years ago, coming to America on a green card "in hopes of a brighter future."
Nyirabahizi has a master's degree in computer science and speaks English fluently. She says all of her classes in Rwanda were taught in English, "but here I have to learn again because of (my) accent."
She attends a free class to reduce her accent with seven other students. The city of Portland conducts the class.
Marta Greenlaw is the teacher. She is also a speech therapist. She says immigrants who reduce their accent have better success at work. And they can communicate more easily with store workers, teachers, doctors and neighbors.
"It's a basic need to be understood," Greenlaw told the newspaper. "It affects every part of their lives."
Greenlaw begins the class by telling students the 44 sounds of the English language. Those sounds include vowels, consonants and other sounds that give American English its unique sound.
Later, students speak about the food in their home countries. Sometimes, Greenlaw corrects their pronunciation. She tells them to pronounce the word "onion" as "unnnn-yunnnnn," and the word "potato" as "poe-TAY-toe." She tells the students "how the lips and jaw work to form the word."
Greenlaw tells the students that some American English pronunciation rules "don't make a lot of sense." But she says they are important to learn if immigrants are to be understood by Americans.
Losing one's accent is especially important for immigrants who live in Maine, which is one of the least diverse states in the country. More than 90 percent of the population of Maine is white. Many people who live in Maine have not heard foreign accents except in movies or on television.
Greenlaw says some Mainers are impatient with people who speak English with a heavy accent. Her students say some Mainers ignore them or are unfriendly toward them because of their accent. They say this makes them less likely to speak.
"Imagine waking up every day knowing you are going to have that struggle," she says.
I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise.
词汇解析
1.heavy accent 口音浓重
Our English teacher speaks fast English with a heavy accent.
我们的英语老师说话很快，而且带有很浓的地方口音。
2.green card 绿卡；绿牌
For warning an offending player,the umpire shows him a green card.
裁判出示绿牌表示警告犯规球员。
3.in hope of 希望；希冀
Some students make up to their teachers in hopes of getting a good grade.
有些学生谄媚他们的老师希望得到好分数。
4.speech therapist 语言治疗师
His speech therapist visited regularly, and I would help him practice his exercises several times daily.
他的语言治疗学家定期来访，同时我帮他每天数次地练习。
内容解析
1.Greenlaw tells the students that some American English pronunciation rules "don't make a lot of sense."
make sense 讲得通；可理解；有意义
These words are jumbled up and don't make sense.
这些词藻堆砌在一起讲不通。
That story has too many gaps in it to make sense.
这个故事脱节的地方太多,意思不完整。
2.They say this makes them less likely to speak.
less likely 更加不可能
Those who expect the worst are less likely to be disappointed.
把事情想得坏的人, 不容易失望。
The Western way of life is less and less likely to become the leading model.
西方生活方式日益难以成为典范。
参考译文
美国移民:如何改掉自己的口音?
缅因州东北镇的一些移民正在努力学习克服口音问题。
据波特兰新闻先驱报报道，一些移民英语虽然说得很流利，但由于浓重的口音，别人很难听懂。
Assouma Nyirabahizi 表示两年前放弃了卢旺达的家和工作，拿到美国绿卡之后便来到美国，“希望能够打拼出美好的未来”。
Nyirabahizi是计算机科学专业的硕士研究生，能够流利地说英语。她表示在卢旺达学到的所有课程都是全英文授课，“但到这儿以后，由于口音问题，我还得重新学习。”
她与另外7名学生一起参加了一门免费的课程，学习如何改掉自己的口音。该项免费课程由波尔兰市组织安排。
Marta Greenlaw是教授这项课程的老师。另外，她还是名语言治疗师。她表示，纠正口音后的移民能够在工作中获得更大成功。也能与商店的工作人员、老师、医生以及邻居更便利地交流。
“语言被人理解是最基本的要求。”Greellaw接受报纸采访时说道，“语言直接影响人们生活的方方面面。”
Greenlaw老师向学生们讲授了英语中的44种基本发音，这些发音包括元音、辅音，以及美式英语的其它独特发音。
随后，学生们谈及本国的特色食物。Greenlaw不时纠正他们的发音。她告诉学生们，onion这个单词发音是unnnn-yunnnnn，而potato这个单词发音是poe-TAY-toe。她向学生们讲述如何利用嘴唇和下巴辅助发音。
Greenlaw告诉学生们，一些美式英语中的发音规则其实并没有太大的意义。
如果移民们想让本土的美国人理解自己讲话，但那么学习这些发音规则还是很重要的。
对于缅因州的移民来说，改掉口音尤为重要。因为缅因州是美国最缺少多样化的州。缅因州90%的居民都是白种人。那里很多人除了在电影或者电视之外，从来没有听过外国口音。
Greenlaw表示，一些本土的缅因州人对口音浓重的外乡人缺乏耐心。她的学生也表示，由于口音问题，有些缅因州人歧视他们，或是对他们不友好。学生们说，这让他们更不敢开口讲话。
她说，“你可以想象一下，每天醒来之后都要经历那种内心的挣扎。”
我是克里斯托弗.琼斯.克鲁斯。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
