今天分享的是美国最有影响力的非裔美国女性的故事.

One of the most influential African-American women to live in the United States was the great Maya Angelou. She was an accomplished author, poet, and entertainer, who had a major impact on modern American culture. She was considered an international, renaissance woman for her life work that included civil rights activism. Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. She experienced racial discrimination during her early years, but leaned on her upbringing and culture to get her through the dark times of her life.
生活在美国最有影响力的非裔美国女性当属伟大的玛雅·安吉罗。她是一位有成就的作家、诗人和演员，对现代美国文化产生了重大影响。由于她毕生的工作以及民权运动，她被认为是一个国际性的文艺复兴女性。Angelou于1928年4月4日出生在密苏里的圣路易斯。她早年就经历过种族歧视，但凭借着自己的教养和文化，她度过了人生的黑暗时期。
She first became interested in the arts as a teenager. She won a dance and drama scholarship at San Francisco's Labor School. However, at the age of 14, she dropped out of the school, and took a job as the city's first African-American female cable car operator. She had a child at an early age, and supported her son by working as a waitress, and cook, but her love of the arts soon consumed her.
她十几岁时开始对艺术感兴趣。她在三藩劳动学校获得舞蹈和戏剧奖学金。然而，在她14岁的时候，她辍学了，并成为了该市第一位美国非裔女缆车接线员。她小小年纪，就有一个孩子，靠做服务员和做饭来抚养儿子，但她对艺术的热爱很快就让她沉浸其中了。
During the mid-1950s, Angelou was involved in several theatrical performances, which prompted her move to New York City in 1958. In New York, she became an accomplished writer, but circumstances surrounding blacks in the next decade changed her focus. She began working tirelessly for the civil rights movement. The assassination of civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on her birthday affected her deeply. After King's death, Angelou began concentrating on writing her life story. Her first autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings received critical acclaim. It chronicled her early years growing up as black in a predominantly white American culture. In all, Angelou wrote seven autobiographies, and her work is considered an integral part of American culture.
在20世纪50年代中期，Angelou参与了一些文艺演出，这促使她1958年搬到纽约。在纽约，她成为了一个有成就的作家，但在接下来的十年里，周围黑人的境遇改变了她的生活重心。她开始为民权运动不知疲倦地工作。在她生日那天，民权运动领袖马丁.路德.金遇刺，深深地影响了她。金死后，Angelou开始专心写自己的人生经历。她的第一部自传，《我知道为什么笼子里的鸟儿歌唱》受到好评。记录了她这个黑人早年在以白人为主的美国文化的成长经历。Angelou一共写了七部自传，她的作品被认为是美国文化的一个不可或缺的一部分。


想知道卡卡老师的发音秘诀?关注微信公众号 卡卡课堂