返回首页

MichaelRain_2017S-_身为移民的孩子是什么滋味_
I remember one morning when I was in the third grade, my mom sent me to school with a Ghanaian staple dish called "fufu." 我记得当我三年级的时候,有一天早上, 我妈妈让我带着一种迦纳的 主食叫做「富富」去上学。
staple:n.主要产品; adj.主要的,常用的; v.把…分级;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Fufu is this white ball of starch made of cassava , and it's served with light soup, which is a dark orange color, and contains chicken and/or beef. 富富是一种白色淀粉球, 由树薯粉做成, 通常会搭配轻淡的汤, 这种汤是暗橘色的, 内有鸡肉和／或牛肉。
starch:n.淀粉;刻板,生硬;vt.给…上浆; cassava:n.木薯(等于cassawa);
It's a savory , flavorful dish that my mom thought would keep me warm on a cold day. 它是种美味可口的菜肴, 那天很寒冷,我妈妈认为 富富能让我保持温暖。
savory:adj.可口的;风味极佳的;味美的;n.开胃菜;香薄荷; flavorful:adj.可口的(等于flavourful);充满…味道的;有香味的;
When I got to lunch and I opened my thermos , releasing these new smells into the air, my friends did not react favorably . 要吃午餐时,我打开了保温盒, 释放出了一种新的气味到空气中, 我朋友们的反应并不很友善。
thermos:n.热水瓶; releasing:n.释放;松释动作;脱扣释放;v.释放;排放;(release的现在分词); react:v.起反应;回应;(对食物等)有不良反应,过敏;起化学反应; favorably:adv.顺利地;亲切地;好意地;
(Laughter) （笑声）
'"What's that?" one of them asked. 其中一个人问:「那是什么？」
'"It's fufu," I responded . 我回答:「那是富富。」
responded:v.回答,回应;作出反应;响应;反应灵敏;(respond的过去式和过去分词)
(Laughter) （笑声）
'"Ew, that smells funny. What's a fufu?" they asked. 他们问:「恶,它闻起来 好怪。富富是什么？」
Their reaction made me lose my appetite . 他们的反应让我也失去了胃口。
reaction:n.反应,感应;反动,复古;反作用; appetite:n.食欲;嗜好;
I begged my mother to never send me to school with fufu again. 我求我妈妈再也不要 让我带富富去上学。
I asked her to make me sandwiches or chicken noodle soup or any of the other foods that my friends were eating. 我请她为我做三明治或鸡肉汤面, 或我的朋友会吃的任何其他食物。
And this is one of the first times 这是我最早开始注意到
I began to notice the distinction between what was unique to my family and what was common for everyone else, what was Ghanaian and what was African and what was American. 我家跟别人家有显着的不同, 甚么对别人来说才是「正常的」, 也开始会注意什么是迦纳的, 什么是非洲的, 什么是美国的。
distinction:n.区别;区分;差别;卓越; unique:adj.独特的,稀罕的;[数]唯一的;n.独一无二的人或物;
I'm a first-generation American. 我是第一代美国人。
first-generation:adj.出生在美国的;原件第一代;
Both of my parents are immigrants . 我的父母都是移民。
immigrants:n.移民(immigrant的复数);
In fact, my father, Gabriel, came to the US almost 50 years ago. 事实上,我爸爸,加百列, 在近五十年前来到美国。
He arrived in New York from a city called Kumasi in a northern region of Ghana, in West Africa. 他抵达纽约, 来自西非迦纳北部的一个城市, 叫庫马西。
region:n.地区;范围;部位;
He came for school, earning his bachelor's degree in accounting and eventually became an accountant . 他来读书,取得会计学士学位, 最终成为会计师。
eventually:adv.最后,终于; accountant:n.会计;会计师;
My mother, Georgina, joined him years later. 我妈妈,乔吉娜, 几年后也加入他的行列。
She had a love of fashion and worked in a sewing factory in lower Manhattan, until she saved up enough to open her own women's clothing store. 她热爱时尚, 在曼哈顿下城的一间缝制工厂, 直到她存够了钱, 开了她自己的女性服饰店。
sewing:n.缝纫;缝制中的衣物;v.缝;做针线活;缝制;缝补;(sew的现在分词)
I consider myself an American and an African and a Ghanaian. 我把我自己视为是美国人, 以及非洲人, 以及迦纳人。
And there's millions of people around the world who are juggling these different classifications . 全世界有数百万人 都属于这些不同的分类。
juggling:v.玩杂耍;尽力同时应付;有效利用;(juggle的现在分词) classifications:n.[生物][图情]分类(classification的复数形式);分级;
They might be Jamaican-Canadians or Korean-Americans or Nigerian-Brits. 可能有牙买加裔加拿大人、韩裔 美国人,或奈及利亚裔英国人。
But what makes our stories and experiences different is that we were born and raised in a country different than our parents, and this can cause us to be misunderstood when being viewed through a narrow lens . 但我们的故事和经验 之所以和别人不同, 是因为我们和我们的父母 是在不同的国家出生和长大的, 当别人用比较偏颇的眼光在看 这个状况时,可能会产生误解。
different than:不同于; misunderstood:adj.被误解的;v.误解,误会(misunderstand的过去式); narrow:adj.狭窄的; v.使窄小; n.峡谷; (场所,物品等的)狭窄部分; lens:n.透镜,镜头;晶状体;隐形眼镜;汽车的灯玻璃;v.给…摄影;
I grew up in New York, which is home to the largest number of immigrants anywhere in the United States. 我在纽约长大,这是美国最多移民 居住的地方。
United:adj.联合的; v.联合,团结; (unite的过去分词和过去式)
And you would think growing up in a place like New York, it would be easy for a first-generation person to find their place. 你们可能会认为, 在像纽约这样的地方长大, 对于第一代美国人来说, 可以很容易找到自己的定位。
But all throughout my childhood , there were these moments that formed my understanding of the different worlds I belonged to. 但在我的整个童年, 有许多时刻,渐渐让我了解到 我属于不同的世界。
throughout:adv.自始至终,到处;全部;prep.贯穿,遍及; childhood:n.童年;幼年;孩童时期
When I was in the fifth grade, a student asked me if my family was refugees . 当我五年级时,有一个学生问我, 我的家人是不是难民。
refugees:n.避难者;逃亡者;难民;(refugee的复数)
I didn't know what that word meant. 我不知道「难民」是什么意思。
He explained to me that his parents told him that refugees are people from Africa who come to the US to escape death, starvation and disease . 他向我解释,他的父母告诉他, 难民就是为了脱离 死亡、饥饿,以及疾病, 而从非洲逃到美国来的人。
starvation:n.饿死;挨饿;绝食; disease:n.病,[医]疾病;弊病;vt.传染;使…有病;
So I asked my parents, and they laughed a bit, not because it was funny but because it was a generalization . 所以,我去问我父母, 他们笑了一下, 不是因为这件事好笑, 而是因为这就是种一般化。
generalization:n.概括;普遍化;一般化;
And they assured me that they had enough to eat in Ghana and came to the US willingly . 他们向我保证,他们 在迦纳时食物很充足, 且是出于自愿来美国的。
assured:adj.确定的;自信的;n.被保险人;v.保证;确实;(assure的过去分词和过去式); willingly:adv.欣然地;愿意地,乐意地;
(Laughter) （笑声）
These questions became more complex as I got older. 随着我长大, 这些问题变得更复杂。
complex:adj.复杂的;合成的;n.复合体;综合设施;
Junior high school was the first time 国中是我第一次
Junior high school:初中;
I went to school with a large number of black American students, and many of them couldn't understand why I sounded differently than they did or why my parents seemed different than theirs. 到一所有大量黑人学生的学校, 许多黑人学生不了解为什么 我听起来和他们不一样, 或是为什么我的父母 和他们的父母似乎不同。
'"Are you even black?" a student asked. 一个学生问: 「你真的是黑人吗？」
I mean, I thought I was black. 我以为我是黑人。
(Laughter) （笑声）
I thought my skin complexion settled that. 我以为我的皮肤颜色 就能澄清这一点。
complexion:n.肤色;面色;情况;局面;v.使增添色彩; settled:adj.稳定的; v.结束; (settle的过去分词和过去式)
(Laughter) （笑声）
I asked my father about it, and he shared his own confusion over the significance of that when he first came to the US. 我拿这件事去问我爸爸, 他分享他的困惑经验, 他说初到美国时 也对这意义感到困惑。
confusion:n.困惑;混淆;混同;困窘; significance:n.意义;重要性;意思;
He explained to me that, when he was in Ghana, everyone was black, so he never thought about it. 他向我解释,当他在迦纳时, 人人都是黑人, 所以他从来不会想这件事。
But in the US, it's a thing. 但到美国,就有差了。
(Laughter) （笑声）
But he would say, "But you're African. 但他会说:「但是你是非洲人。
Remember that." 记住这点。」
And he would emphasize this, even though many Africans in the continent would only consider me to be just an American. 他会强调这点, 即使在非洲大陆上的 许多人只会把我视为 一个美国人。
emphasize:v.强调;重视;着重;使突出; continent:n.大陆,洲,陆地;adj.自制的,克制的;
These misconceptions and complex cultural issues are not just the inquiries of children. 这些错误观念以及复杂的文化议题 并不只是孩子的好奇询问。
misconceptions:n.迷思概念;错误的想法; cultural:adj.与文化有关的;文化的;与艺术、文学、音乐等有关的; issues:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;(issue的第三人称单数和复数) inquiries:n.询问;查询;打听;调查;(inquiry的复数)
Adults don't know who immigrants are. 成人不知道移民是什么人。
If we look at current trends , if I asked you: What's the fastest-growing immigrant demographic in the United States, who would you think it was? 如果我们看看目前的趋势, 如果我问你们:美国成长 最快速的移民是哪一种？ 你们认为呢？
trends:n.趋势;倾向;动态;动向;(trend的第三人称单数和复数) demographic:adj.人口统计学的;人口学的;
Nine out of 10 people tell me it's Latinos , but it's actually African immigrants. 十个人当中有九个人 会说是拉丁裔, 但其实是非裔移民。
Latinos:n.拉丁美洲人(Latino的复数);
How about in academics ? 那么学历呢？
academics:n.学术水平;学术知识;专业学者;
What's the most educated immigrant demographic? 教育程度最高的移民是哪一种？
A lot of people presume it to be Asians , but it's actually African immigrants. 许多人会假设是亚裔, 但其实是非裔移民。
presume:v.假定;推测;擅自;意味着; Asians:adj.亚洲的;亚洲人的;n.亚洲人;
Even in matters of policy , did you know that three out of the eight countries in the so-called "travel ban " 甚至在政策方面, 你们是否知道, 八个有三个是非洲国家？
policy:n.政策,方针;保险单; so-called:adj.所谓的;号称的; ban:v.下令禁止;查禁;n.禁令;
are African countries? 八个有三个是非洲国家？
A lot of people assume those targeted Muslims only live in the Middle East , but a lot of those banned people are Africans. 许多人假设旅行禁令只是 针对住在中东的穆斯林, 但许多被禁的人都是非洲人。
assume:v.承担;假定;采取;呈现; Middle East:n.中东(包括亚洲西南部和非洲东北部); banned:v.明令禁止;取缔;禁止(某人)做某事;(ban的过去分词和过去式)
So on these issues of education and policy and religion, a lot of things we presume about immigrants are incorrect. 所以,在这些教育、政策, 以及宗教的议题方面, 我们有许多关于移民的假设不正确。
Even if we look at something like workplace diversity and inclusion , if I asked you what gender-ethnicity combination is least likely to be promoted to senior managerial positions, who would you think it was? 即使我们看看像是工作场所 多样性和包容这类事情, 如果我问你们,哪种 「性别—人种」的组合 最不可能被提拔升职到 资深经理职位, 你们觉得是哪一样呢？
workplace:n.工作场所;车间; diversity:n.差异(性):多样性:多样化: inclusion:n.包含;内含物; combination:n.结合;组合;联合;[化学]化合; promoted:v.促进:促销:提升:(promote的过去分词和过去式) senior:adj.大;级别(或地位)高的;成人的;高级水平的;n.上级;上司;较…年长的人; managerial:adj.经理的;管理的;
The answer is not Africans this time. 这次答案并不是非洲人。
(Laughter) （笑声）
And it's not black women or men, and it's not Latin women or men. 不是黑人女性或男性, 不是拉丁裔女性或男性。
It's Asian women who are least likely to be promoted. 是亚洲女性最不可能升职。
Capturing these stories and issues is part of my work as a digital storyteller that uses tech to make it easier for people to find these stories. 捕捉这些故事和议题, 是我工作的一部分, 我是个数位小说作家, 我用科技让大家 更容易找到这些故事。
Capturing:v.俘虏;捕获;攻占;夺得;(capture的现在分词) digital:adj.数字的;手指的;n.数字;键; storyteller:n.说故事的人;故事作者;短篇小说作家;
This year, I launched an online gallery of portraits and firsthand accounts for a project called Enodi. 今年,我推出了一个线上画廊, 里面有画像以及第一手资料, 这个专案计画叫做「Enodi」。
launched:v.发射;发起;开展;开始;(launch的过去式和过去分词) gallery:n.画廊;走廊;旁听席;地道;v.在…修建走廊;挖地道; portraits:n.肖像;半身照;详细的描述;描绘;(portrait的复数) firsthand:adj.直接的;直接采购的;直接得来的;adv.直接地;
The goal of Enodi is to highlight first-generation immigrants just like me who carry this kinship for the countries we grew up in, for the countries of origin and for this concept called " blackness ." Enodi 的目标是要强调出 像我一样的第一代移民, 我们这类移民和我们 长大的国家以及原生国家 都有着亲密的关系存在, 我们也带着这个所谓「黑」的概念。
highlight:vt.突出;强调;使显著;加亮;n.最精彩的部分;最重要的事情;加亮区; kinship:n.[法]亲属关系,家属关系;亲密关系; origin:n.起源;起因;源头;出身; blackness:n.黑色;阴险;
I created this space to be a cyberhome for many of us who are misunderstood in our different home countries. 我创造的这个空间是个网路之家, 提供给许多像我们这种 在不同祖国中被误解的人。
There are millions of Enodis who use hyphens to connect their countries of origin with their various homes in the US or Canada or Britain or Germany. 有数百万的 Enodi 人 用连字号把他们的原生国家 和他们在美国、加拿大、英国, 或德国的各种家园连结起来。
hyphens:[计][语]连字符;
In fact, many people you might know are Enodi. 事实上,许多你认识的人 都是 Enodi 人。
Actors Issa Rae and Idris Elba are Enodi. 演员易沙瑞和伊卓瑞斯艾巴 都是 Enodi 人。
Colin Powell , former Attorney General Eric Holder , former President of the United States, Barack Obama, are all the children of African or Caribbean immigrants. 科林鲍尔（前美国国务卿和上将）、 前任司法部部长埃里克霍尔德、 前美国总统欧巴马 都是非洲的孩子或是加勒比移民。
Powell:n.鲍威尔(英国物理学家); Attorney General:n.司法部长;总检察长;首席检察官; Holder:n.持有人;所有人;固定器;(台,架等)支持物; Caribbean:adj.加勒比海的;加勒比人的;加勒比语的;n.加勒比海;
But how much do you know about us? 但你们对我们的了解有多少？
This complicated navigation is not just the experience of first-generation folks. 这种复杂的系统指引 不仅仅是第一代族群的经验。
complicated:adj.复杂的;难懂的;v.使复杂化;(complicate的过去分词和过去式) navigation:n.导航;航行;领航;
We're so intertwined in the lives and culture of people in North America and Europe, that you might be surprised how critical we are to your histories and future. 我们和北美及欧洲人的 生活与文化密切交织, 我们对于你们的历史 与未来的关键程度 会让你大吃一惊。
intertwined:adj.缠绕的;错综复杂的;v.使缠结,缠绕(intertwine的过去式); North America:n.北美洲; critical:adj.鉴定的;[核]临界的;批评的,爱挑剔的;危险的;决定性的;评论的;
So, engage us in conversation; discover who immigrants actually are, and see us apart from characterizations or limited media narratives or even who we might appear to be. 所以,让我们参与对谈; 去发掘移民到底是什么样的人, 不要用特性描述、受限的媒体叙述, 或甚至我们的外表, 来判断我们是怎样的人。
engage:v.吸引,占用;使参加;雇佣;使订婚;预定; characterizations:特性; limited:adj.有限的; n.高级快车; v.限制; (limit的过去分词和过去式) media:n.媒体;媒质(medium的复数);血管中层;浊塞音;中脉; narratives:n.叙述,故事;叙述的手法(narrative复数);
We're walking melting pots of culture, and if something in that pot smells new or different to you -- 我们是活生生的文化融炉, 如果融炉中有什么让你觉得 很新颖或很不同——
melting:adj.感人的;v.(使)熔化,融化;(melt的现在分词)
(Laughter) （笑声）
don't turn up your nose. 别瞧不起。
Ask us to share. 而要请我们分享。
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （掌声）