2015英语六级考试巅峰阅读：美籍华人的历史

　　美籍华人的历史

　　The History of Chinese Americans

　　Chinese have been in the United States for almost two hundred years. In fact. the Chinese had business relations with Hawaii prior to relations with the mainland when Hawaii was not yet part of the United States. But United States investments controlled the capital of Hawaii at that time. In 1788,a ship sailed from Guangzhou to Hawaii. Most of the crewmen were Chinese. They were considered the pioneers of Hawaii. The Immigration Commission reported that the first Chinese arrived in the United States in 1820. eight in 1830 and seven hundred and eighty in 1850. The Chinese population gradually increased and reached 64,199 in 1870.

　　For many years it was common in the United States to associate Chinese Americans with restaurants and laundries. People did not realize that the Chinese had been driven into these occupations by the prejudice and discrimination that faced them in this country.

　　The First Chinese to reach the mainland United States came during the California Gold Rush of 1849. Like most of the other people there, they had come to search for gold. In that largely unoccupied land,the men staked a claim for themselves by placing markers in the ground. However. either because the Chinese were so different from the others or because they worked so patiently that they sometimes succeeded in turning a seemingly worthless mining claim into a profitable one, they became che scapegoats of their envious competitors. They were harassed in many ways. Often they were prevented from working their claims; some localities even passed regulations forbidding them to own claims. The Chinese therefore started to seek out other ways of earning a living. Some of them began to do che laundry for the white miners; others set up small restaurants. (There were almost no women in California in those days,and the Chinese filled a real need by doing this“woman's work”.) Some went to work as farmhands or as fishermen.

　　In the early 1860's many more Chincse arrived in California.This time the men were imported as work crews to construct the first transcontinental railroad.They were sorely needed because the work was so strenuous and dangerous, and it was carried on in such a remote part of the country that the railroad company could not find other laborers for the job. As in the case of their predecessors,these Chinese were almost all males; and like them, too, they encountered a great deal of prejudice. The hostility grew especially strong afrer the railroad project was complete, and the imported laborers returned to California-thousands of them, all out of work. Because there were so many more of them this time,these Chinese drew even more attention than the earlier group did. They were so very different in every respect: in their physical appearance, including a long“pigtail”at the back of their otherwise shaved heads; in the strange, non-Western clothes they wore; in their speech (few had learned English since they planned to go back to China); and in their religion. They were contemptuously called “heathen Chinese” because there were many sacred images in their houses of worship.

　　When times were hard. they were blamed for working for lower wages and taking jobs away from white men. who were in many cases recent immigrants themselves. Anti-Chinese riots broke out in several cities. culminating in arson and bloodshed. Chinese were barred from using the courts and also from becoming American citizens. Californians began to demand that no more Chinese be permitted to enter their state. Finally. in 1882. they persuaded Congress to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act, which stopped the immigration of Chinese laborers. Many Chinese rerurned to their homeland, and their numbers declined sharply in the early part of this century. However. during the World War II,when China was an ally of the United States. the Exclusion laws were ended; a small number of Chinese were allowed to immigrate each year, and Chinese could become American citizens. In 1965, in a general revision of our immigration laws,may more Chinese were permitted to settle here,as discrimination against Asian immigration was abolished.

　　From the start,the Chinese had lived apart in their own separate neighborhoods, which came to be known as “Chinatowns”. In each of them the residents organized an unofficial government to make rules for the community and to settle disputes. Unable to find jobs on the outside, many went into business for themselves-primarily to serve their own neighborhood. As for laundries and restaurants. some of them soon spread to other parts of the city,since such services continued to be in demand among non-Chinese, too. To this day. certain Chinatowns. especially those of San Francisco and New York. are busy. thriving communities, which have become great attractions for tourists and for those who enjoy Chinese food.

　　Most of today's Chincse Americans are the descendants of some of the early miners and railroad workers. Those immigrants had come from the vicinity of Canton in Southeast China. where they had been uneducated farm laborers.The same kind of young men,from the same area and from similar humble origins,migrated to Hawaii in those days. There they fared far better, mainly because they did not encounter hostility. Some married native Hawaiians, and other brought their wives and children over. They were not restricted to Chinatown and many of them soon became successful merchants and active participants in general community affairs.

　　Chinese Americans retain many aspects of their ancient culture. even after having lived here for several generations. For Example, their family ties continue to be remarkably scrong (encompassing grandparents. uncles, aunts, cousins. and others). Members of the family lend each other moral support and also practical help when necessary. From a very young age children are imbued with the old values and attitudes. including respect for their elders and a feeling of responsibility to the family. This helps co explain why there is so little juvenile delinquency (少年犯罪 ) among them.

　　The high regard for education which is deeply imbedded in Chinese culture.and the willingness to work very hard to gain advancement, are other noteworthy characteristics of theirs. This explains why so many descendants of uneducated laborers have succeeded in becoming doctors. lawyers, and other professionals.(Many of the most outstanding Chinese American scholars,scientists, and artists are more recent arrivals, who come from China's former upper class and who represent its high cultural traditions.)

　　Chinese Americans make up only a tiny fraction of our population; there are fewer than half a miilion, living chiefly in California. New York. and Hawaii. As American attitudes toward minorities and toward ethnic differences have changed in recent years, the long-reviled Chinese have gained wide acceptance. Today, they are generally admired for their many remarkable characteristics, and are often held up as an example worth following. And their numerous contributions to their adopted land are much appreciated.

　　参考译文

　　美籍华人的历史

　　华人已经在美国生活差不多200年了。事实上，在与美国大陆开始商业往来之前，华人就与夏威夷有生意往来。那时，夏威夷还不是美国的一部分，但美国投资者控制着夏威夷的资本。1788年，一艘轮船由广州开往夏威夷，上面大部分船员是华人。他们被人们看成是夏威夷的开拓者。据移民署称，1820年首位华人低达美国，1830年有8人，1850年780人。华人数量逐渐增加，到1870年达64199人。

　　[1]多年来，在美国人们普遍将美籍华人与餐馆、洗衣房联系起来。人们没有认识到，华人是因为在这个国家遭受偏见、歧视才沦落到这些行业的。

　　1849年加利福尼亚淘金热风靡时，首批华人抵达美国大陆。像大多数其他民族的人一样，华人原来也是来淘金的。在那片人烟稀少的土地上，人们在地上插上标记，圈出自己的地盘。然而，也许是因为华人与其他民族秉性不同，又或者是因为他们太耐心工作，有时他们会把看似不名一文的地盘变成一块赚钱的宝地。他们成了炉火中烧的竞争对手眼里的替罪羔羊，在很多事情上受到刁难。人们常常不让他们在拥有的地盘上淘金;有些地方甚至通过法规禁止他们占据地盘。因此华人开始另辟谋生之路。一些人开始为白人矿工洗衣服;还有一些人开起了小餐馆。([2]那时加利福尼亚几乎没有女人，华人填补了这一实际需求，干起了“女人活”。)也有些人去当了农场工人或渔夫。

　　[3]19世纪60年代初，更多华人抵达加利福尼亚。这次这些人是作为劳工输入，来建设首条横贯美国大陆的铁路。之所以需要他们这些人，只是因为这项工作太累、太危险，而且工作的地方太偏远，铁路公司根本找不到其他的劳工来干这个工作。与他们的前辈一样，这些华人几乎都是男性;也像前辈一样，他们遭遇了许多偏见。铁路修完后，这些输入的劳工返加加利福尼亚----几千人，都没有工作。这时人们对他们的敌意变得特别强烈。因为这一次数量大幅增加，这些华人比以前引人注目。他们处处与众不同：外表不同，包括脑门后本应剔掉的长“辫子”;穿着非西式的奇怪服装;语言不同([4]没几个人学习英语，因为他们都计划要返回中国);还有宗教信仰也不同。他们的庙堂里供奉着众多神像，所以人们鄙夷地称他们为“未开化的中国人”。

　　时世艰难的时候，人们怪他们接受低薪工作，抢走白人的饭碗，而这些白人自己也是新移民。几个城市爆发了反华骚乱，最终引发纵火、流血事件。人们不允许华人诉诸法律手段，也不允许其成为美国公民。加州人开始要求不再允许华人进入该州。1882年，加州人终于说服国会通过《排华法案》，该法案不再允许华人劳工移民美国。许多华人返回家乡，本世纪初华人数目骤减。[5]但第二次世界大战期间，当中国成为美国的盟军后，排华法终止了;每年允许少数华人移民，华人也可以成为美国公民。1965年，在对移民法做了全面修改后，取缔了对亚洲移民的歧视，允许更多华人定居美国。

　　华人从一开始就与外界隔离，生活在自己独立的社区内。这些社区后来被称为“唐人街”。在每一个这样的社区内，居民组织一个非正式的政府来制订社区规则、解决争端。因为在外面找不到工作，许多人自己做起了生意-----主要是为自己社区的人服务。至于洗衣房和餐馆，有些很快开到了城市的其他区域，因为华人以外的人也仍然需要这样的服务。[6]现在，有些唐人街，特别是旧金山和纽约的唐人街，己成了生意兴隆、一片繁忙的社区，深深地吸引着游客和喜欢吃中国菜的人。

　　今天大部分美籍华人是早期矿工和铁路工人的后代。这些移民来自中国东南部广州的周边地区，都是没受过教育的农民。[7]那时来自相同地区、出身同样卑微家庭的年轻人移民到夏威夷后，生活过得好很多，主要是因为没有遭遇敌视。有些人与夏威夷本地人结婚，有些人将妻儿带过去。他们没有局限在唐人街里，许多人很快成为成功的商人，积极参加整个地区的事务。

　　即使是在美国生活几代后，美籍华人仍保留其古代文化的诸多方面。例如，他们的家庭关系还是坚不可摧(包括祖父母、叔伯、姑婶、堂兄弟和其他亲戚)。在需要的时候，家庭成员互相给予道义上的支持和实际的帮助。[8]孩子们从小就被灌输古代的价值观与看问题的方法，包括尊敬长者及对家庭的责任感。这可以解释为什么华人中少年犯罪很少。

　　对教育的推崇在中国文化中根深蒂固，人们也愿意努力打拼、出人头地。这些是华人另外一些特别令人瞩目的特点。这也可以解释为什么那么多没文化的劳工的子孙后代却可以成功地跻身医学、法律和其他专业领域。([9]许多杰出的美籍华人学者、科学家、艺术家都是新近来美国的，他们来自中国以前的上层阶级，代表的是上流文化传统。)

　　美籍华人只占美国人口中很少的一部分，人数不足50万，主要生活在加利福尼亚、纽约和夏威夷。近年来，随着美国人对少数族裔、种族差异态度的转变，长期以来倍受侮辱的华人得到了人们的广泛认可。现在，他们许多不凡之处普遍受到人们的赞美，常常被当作值得仿效的榜样。[10]人们非常感谢他们为这片接纳了他们的土地所做出的贡献。

　　测试题

　　1.Most Chinese Americans worked in restaurants and laundries because of______________.

　　A)the skills they acquired at the motherland

　　B)local people's discrimination against them

　　C)their high employment rates

　　D)their comparatively high pay

　　2. During the California Gold Rush.restaurant and laundry were regarded as________________.

　　A)unprofitable work B)comfortable work

　　C)woman's work D)Chinese work

　　3. In the early l860's, more Chinese were shipped to California to work as________________.

　　A)gold miners B)railroad builders C)steelworkers D)farmhands

　　4.Few Chinese learned English at that time because_________________.

　　A)they seldom used Engiish in Chinatown

　　B)they were too old to learn a new tongue

　　C)they couldn't find good English teachers

　　D)they wouldn't stay in America for long

　　5.The Chinese Exclusion Act came to an end_________________.

　　A)by the California governor then B)after a massive bloodshed

　　C)during WWII D)in 1965

　　6.One of the Chinatowns as a busy and thriving community now is located in________________.

　　A)Florida B)Hawaii C)New Jersey D)New York

　　7. Chinese immigrants to Hawaii found that they________________.

　　A)were treated without discrimination

　　B)were provided with fewer job choices

　　C)couldn't travel to mainland America

　　D)could only live or work in Chinatown

　　8.The old values and attitudes imparted into the young Chinese Americans effectively help prevent_______________.

　　9.China's high cultural traditions are represented by the Chinese American_____________.

　　10.The contributions made by Chinese to America had gained much_____________.

　　答案详解

　　1.[B][定位]根据题干中的restaurants and laundries定位到第2段。

　　解析：第2段首句提到了中国移民被迫到餐厅和洗衣房打工，第2句则揭示了个中的原因，B的内容在第2句中提及，为本题答案。

　　2.[C][定位]根据题干中的California Gold Rush，restaurant和laundry定位到第3段倒数第2、3句。

　　解析：原文该句中的this“woman's work”指的就是前一句提到的laundry和restaurant的工作，可见本题应选C。

　　3.[B][定位]根据题干中的In the early 1860's定位到第4段开头两句。

　　解析：原文该段第2句中的work crews to construct the first transcontinental railroad表明那时候华人到美国是为了修建铁路，可见本题应选B。

　　4.[D][定位]根据题干中的Few和learned English定位到第4段倒数第2句。

　　解析：原文该句中括号里的内容明确表明很少华人学习英语的原因是他们都计划要回中国，也就是他们没想过要长久留在美国，因此本题应选D。

　　5.[C][定位]根据题干中的The Chinese Exclusion Act定位到第5段倒数第2句。

　　解析：原文该句中的during the World War II... the Exclusion laws were ended明确表明本题应选C。干扰项D中的1965在原文该段末句提及，但与Chinese Exclusion Act无关，故不能选。

　　6.[D][定位]根据题干中的Chinatowns和busy and thriving community定位到第6段末句。

　　解析：原文该段提到繁荣的Chinatown时，只提到了San Francisco和New York，D正是其中一个，其他选项均未提及。

　　7.[A][定位]根据题干中的immigrants和Hawaii定位到第7段第3、4句。

　　解析：原文该段第4句中because引出的原因从句表明华人在夏威夷“没有遭到敌视”，A“没有受到歧视”与原文该句意思一致。所以本题应选A。

　　8.[juvenile delinquency]

　　[定位]根据题干中的old values and attitudes定位到第8段最后两句。

　　解析：空白处应为名词(词组)。原文该段最后两句表明孩子们从小就被灌输古代的价值观与看问题的方法，这使他们在青少年时期很少犯罪，也就是说，这些价值观与看问题的方法可有助于减少“青少年犯罪”，即juvenile delinquency。

　　9.[scholars,scientists,and artists]

　　[定位]根据题干中的high cultural traditions和represented定位到第9段末句。

　　解析：空白处应为名词(词组)。原文该段末尾的who represent its high cultural traditions中的who指的是末句开头提到的Many of the most outstanding Chinese American scholars，scientists，and artists。题目将段末的定语从句改写为被动语态，所以who所指的内容就是本题答案，即scholars，scientists and artists。

　　10.[appreciation]

　　[定位]根据题干中的contributions定位到末段末句。

　　解析：空白处应为不可数名词。题目是对原文该句的同义改写，所不同的是，原文的谓语部分是are much appreciated.而题目的是had gained much...，作答时要将appreciated改为其名词形式appreciation，才可作题目中gained的宾语。