(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
This November, Lowell, Massachusetts will hold city council elections. Lowell is home to the second-largest Cambodian population in the United States. Four Cambodian-Americans are competing for positions on the city council.
Since 1999, only four candidates from Asian or Hispanic communities have been elected to the City Council. And voters have never chosen a minority candidate for the Lowell School Committee.
Last May, a group of residents of Lowell brought legal action against the city. The group accused the city of discrimination against minorities in its electoral system. Elections for all council seats are city wide. The group says the system favors white candidates.
A major issue currently before the city council is whether to move Lowell High School or remodel it in place. Residents have strong feelings for and against moving the school.
Sokhary Chau is one of four Cambodian-American candidates. He called the election "crucial."
The good thing is a lot of people are going to get involved in this election. The bad is the city is dividing, he said.
Vesna Noun is another of the Cambodian-American candidates. He won a council seat in 2010 but lost two reelection efforts.
Noun agrees that the high school is an issue of serious debate. But, he said there is also still serious public division over the issue of minority representation and the legal action brought in May. He said the council needs to settle that privately.
It will affect the reputation of the city, if this matter is handled at the federal court, he said.
Candidate Sokhary Chau agrees.
It is better to change from the inside, he said.
Chau, and others, are calling for a change in the government leadership.
There is a lot of dissatisfaction and disconnection to the local government, Chau said. I hope to bring diversity and new ideas, pretty much new faces to the city.
Mathew LeLacheur, a white candidate for City Council, said he wants to see minority involvement at all levels of government.
LeLacheur said he would like to see more Cambodian-Americans on the local boards and commissions.
I'm John Russell.
词汇解析
1.resident n.居民
The archbishop called on the government to build more low cost homes for local residents.
这位大主教呼吁该政府为当地居民建更多的廉价住宅。
2.crucial adj.关键的
He had administrators under him but made the crucial decisions himself.
尽管他手下有许多官员，但重要的决定还是他自己做。
3.diversity n.多样性
...the cultural diversity of Latin America.
…拉丁美洲文化的多样性。
4.commission n.委员会
The government has set up a commission to look into those crimes.
政府已成立一个委员会调查那些罪行。
内容解析
1.Lowell is home to the second-largest Cambodian population in the United States.
be home to... 是……的根据地/大本营，含有……
However, it is home to ten language families, including at least three families that have only one language each.
不过，它是十个语族的家园，且其中至少三个语族只剩一种语言。
This Kamchatka Peninsula lake is home to hundreds of bears, and visitors can see them tuck into a feast during the wild salmon run, one of Earth’s greatest.
堪察加半岛的这个湖是数百只熊的家园，游客们可以看到，它们在野生鲑鱼游动期间，尽情地享用地球上最大的盛宴之一。
2.Four Cambodian-Americans are competing for positions on the city council.
compete for 竞争，参选
People cannot only rely on their skills in this market. They want to look refreshed and youthful so they can compete for jobs," he said.
在这个市场人们无法仅仅依靠其工作技能，他们还必须看起来精神而又年轻，才能在职场具有竞争力。
Teams compete for prizes of one million dollars to help an organization with efforts to solve problems like hunger, poverty and disease.
各支队伍竞争一百万美元奖金，以帮助一个组织致力于解决贫困、饥饿、疾病等问题的。
参考译文
今年11月，马萨诸塞州的洛厄尔市将进行市政府选举。洛厄尔是美国柬埔寨人口第二多的城市。有4名柬埔寨裔美国人也准备在市政府选举中竞选职位。
自1999年以来，只有4名来自亚洲和拉丁社群的候选人当选过市政府职位。而选民们从来没有为洛厄尔教育委员会选定过少数种族的候选人。
去年5月份，洛厄尔当地的一些市民与该市政府对簿公堂。这些市民指责该市政府在选举体系中歧视少数种族。虽然所有选举席位是面向全市开放的，但该团体表示，选举体系还是倾向于白皮肤的候选人。
现在该市政府目前面临的一个主要问题是是否撤销洛厄尔教育委员会或对其进行重组。对于是否撤销该委员会，赞成之声和反对之声都很强烈。
Sokhary Chau是4名柬埔寨裔美国候选人之一。他认为这次选举很“关键”。
好处是：很多人都将参与到此次选举中。而坏处是：洛厄尔愈发分化，他如是说道。
韦斯娜 努恩是另一名柬埔寨裔美国候选人。他在2010年的选举中赢得了一个席位，但失去了两次再选举的机会。
努恩认为，高中的问题是需要严肃讨论的问题。但他也表示，在少数种族代表性的问题上以及5月份所采取的法律行动的问题上，公众依然分化严重。他表示，政府需要私下解决这件事。
他表示，如果在联邦法院上处理此事，将会影响到该市的声誉。
候选人Sokhary Chau对这一点也表示同意。
他表示，最好能从内部发生改变。
Chau和其他一些人都在呼吁对政府领导班子进行改变。
Chau表示，人们对当地政府有很多不满和沟通不当。我希望能带来多样化和新观点，为洛厄尔带来很多新的面孔。
马修是市政府的一名白人候选者，他表示他希望看到少数种族参与到各级政府的工作中。
马修还表示，他想要看到更多的柬埔寨裔美国人出现在当地的各种董事会和委员会中。
John Russell为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
