《英语国家社会与文化入门》（２）美国部分 Unit 10 Social Problems in the United States

Racial Problems 1. A nation of immigrants (1) Racial Problems 1. A nation of immigrants (1). some as refugees from religious and political persecution (逃避宗教和政治迫害的难民) (2). some as adventurers from the Old World seeking a better life(从旧大陆来寻求好生活的冒险家) (3). some as captives brought to American against their own will to be sold into slavery （有一些则是被抓获后违背他们的意愿运到美国，被出卖为奴隶）

Racial Problems (4) Though people all share a common American culture, the nation contains many racial and ethnic subcultures with their own distinctive characteristics. (虽然人们有共同的美国文化，但美利坚民族包含了许多种族和少数民族的亚文化群)。 (5) These differences have contributed to racial conflicts that have been a persistent social problem to American society.（这些差异造成了在美国社会长期存在的种族冲突）

Racial Problems 2. Inequality in American society美国社会的不平等 (1) The America was founded on the principle of human equality, but in practice American society is a stratified (有等级的) one, in which power, wealth, and prestige are unequally distributed.美国是建立在人人平等的原则之上的，但事实上，美国社会是分层社会，权力、财富以及威望的分配都是不平等的。 (2) It is divided into social classes that have varying degrees of access to the reward the society offers. 在美国，人们被分为不同的社会阶层，每个阶层获得社会提供回报的程度大不相同。

Racial Problems 2. Inequality in American society美国社会的不平等 (3) The richest fifth of American individuals and families owns more than three-quarters of the wealth in the U.S., whereas the lowest fifth owns only 0.2% of the wealth. 占美国总人口中最富裕的五分之一人口所分配到的财富占了总财富四分之三以上，而最贫穷的五分之一的人口只能分配到0.2％的财富。 (4) The richest fifth of American families receives over 40% of the national income, whereas the poorest fifth receives only 5.2%.美国最富裕的五分之一家庭的收入占国民收入的40%以上，而最贫穷的五分之一家庭的收入只占5.2%.

Racial Problems 3. Discrimination against blacks (1) In American society, any group other than the dominant white Anglo-Saxon Protestant majority is a minority group. 在美国，除了占多数的信奉新教的盎格鲁撒克逊血统的白人外，其他人都属于少数民族。 (2) The largest of the racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. is the blacks who make up about 11.7% of the population. 非洲裔黑人曾经是美国最大少数民族，占总人口的11.7%（现在排名第二，落后于西班牙裔）。 (3) The myth of the racial inferiority of the blacks was propagated as a justification for their continued subjugation. 所谓黑人种族低劣的神话被广泛传播，并以此作为永远奴役黑人的借口

Racial Problems 3. Discrimination against blacks (4) The Northern states had all outlawed (废除) slavery by 1830, but in the Southern states, it was ended by the Civil War Lincoln’s emancipation of slaves in 1863 (1863年林肯颁布的《解放黑奴宣言》) and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865 （1865年美国通过的第13条宪法修正案） (5) After the abolition of slavery, many states passed segregation(隔离) laws to keep the races apart in schools, housing, restaurants and public facilities, and institutionalized discrimination kept blacks in the lowest-paid jobs.奴隶制废除之后，许多州通过了种族隔离法，规定不同种族的人上不同的学校，住不同的社区，进不同的餐厅和使用不同的公共设施等，制度化的种族歧视使黑人只能干一些收入最低的工作。

Racial Problems 3. Discrimination against blacks (6) Literacy tests were a method used to keep blacks off the voters’ rolls and prevent them from voting.文化水平考试被用来阻止黑人上选民名单，从而阻止他们行使选举权。 (7) Since the 1960s, many black leaders began to disclaim full integration into the American mainstream as the goal of the black minority. 从上世纪60年代开始，许多黑人领袖开始否认将完全融入美国主流文化作为黑人的目标。

Racial Problems ４. The black “underclass”(“最低层”黑人) (1) The majority of the blacks today have failed to share in the general gains(收获) of progress made since 1960s. 如今，大多数黑人并没有分享到20世纪60年代以来黑人所取得的广泛成果。 (2) Urban ghettos（城市贫民区）now contain a permanently（不变地）impoverished (贫穷的)“underclass” of habitually unemployed or underemployed black people. Many of them are young and unskilled. 城市贫民区居住着那些长期穷苦的“最低层”黑人，他们常常处于失业或半失业状态，他们中大多数是没有特别技术的年轻人。

Racial Problems ４. The black “underclass”(“最低层”黑人) (3) They live in cities where the unemployment rate for teenage black workers runs as high as 50% or about 8 times the rate for the American work force. 在城市里，青少年黑人的失业率高达50%,　是美国劳动人口平均失业率的8倍。 (4) This “underclass” could continue to persist, even in the absence of racial discrimination, in much the same way as other pockets of poverty persist—that is, for reasons of social-class inequality. 这些“最低层”黑人将长期存在，就是在没有种族歧视时也不会有什么变化，因为这种情况和其他贫困地区的一样是源于社会阶级的不平等。

Racial Problems ４. The black “underclass”(“最低层”黑人) (5) Living in an environment of poverty, decay, crime, drug addiction, joblessness, and hopelessness, this ghetto underclass offers an explosive potential for the future.  这些最低层黑人生活在贫穷衰退、犯罪与失业率高、药物成瘾、无望的环境之中，有可能引发更剧烈的社会问题。

II. Poverty 1. Current situation (1) The U II. Poverty 1. Current situation (1) The U.S is one of the most wealthy countries in the world. 美国是世界上最富裕的国家之一。 (2) 35.9 million people or about 12.5% of the population are living at or below the official poverty line, on incomes that the federal government considers insufficient to meet basic requirement of food, clothing, and shelter. (According to a survey in 2003)根据2003年所做所调查，美国有3590万人（约占总人口的12.5%)生活在官方贫困线或贫困线之下；根据联邦政府标准，他们的收入不足于维持基本的衣食与住所的花费。

II. Poverty 1. Current situation (3) There are millions more, living slightly above the poverty line, whose plight is not much better. 还有数百万人口生活仅仅稍高于贫困线，他们的处境也非常艰难。 (4) Social services in the U.S compare unfavorably with those in most industrialized societies. 美国的社会服务化比不上大多数工业化国家。 (5) The affluent majority seems indifferent to the problems of the poor. 富裕的多数有时对贫困问题漠不关心。

II. Poverty 2. The consequences The problem of poverty raises some serious moral problems and inevitably creates fierce conflicts of interest and many political controversies. 贫困问题引发了严重的道德问题，并不可避免地导致了不同利益之间的激烈冲突和许多政治争端。

III. Drug Abuse毒品泛滥 1. Current situation (1) Drug abuse in the U. S III. Drug Abuse毒品泛滥 1. Current situation (1) Drug abuse in the U.S. has come to be regarded as one of the most challenging social problems.毒品泛滥被认为是美国最具挑战的社会问题之一。 (2) The drug issue always excites strong emotions of Americans because drug abuse is perceived as a major threat to American society, particularly to its younger members. 毒品泛滥问题激起了民众的强烈不满，因为他们认为这是对美国社会，特别是对年轻人的主要威胁。

III. Drug Abuse毒品泛滥 2. Social cost社会代价 (1) Drug is closely related with crime, automobile accidents.毒品泛滥与犯罪以及交通事故密切相关。 (2) It has serious effects on individuals physically and mentally.毒品泛滥会给个人的身心健康带来具大危害。 (3) Drug abuse has caused great economic losses. 毒品泛滥还造成了巨大的经济损失。

IV. Crime 1. The profile of a typical criminal (典型的罪犯形象)    (1) According to the reports given by the FBI, those arrested for crimes are disproportionately(不成比例的) likely to be male, young, a member of a racial minority, and a city resident. 根据美国联邦调查局的报告，来自少数族裔、居住在城市的年轻男性在罪犯中占的比重非常大。 (2) The Serious Crime Index of UCR focuses on crimes which are more apt to be committed by persons of lower social and economic status.但是美国联邦局重案报表的重点是那些社会和经济地位较低的人，认为他们更有可能犯罪。

IV. Crime 2. Racial prejudice in the high rate of arrests从高被捕率看种族歧视    More blacks are arrested for crime than white people because黑人被捕率远高于白人原因主要有: (1) a higher proportion of the black population is poor or unemployed; 贫穷与失业人口在黑人中所占的比例非常大； (2) there are high correlations between poverty and the types of crime classified by the FBI as most serious贫困问题与联邦调查局划分的最严重的罪行有很大关系 (3) racial discrimination in the enforcement of law（执法）causes more arrests of racial minority people. 执法人员的种族偏见

IV. Crime 3. white-collar crimes (白领阶层的犯罪) (1) White-collar crimes are those committed by higher income groups such as the crimes of fraud, false advertising, corporate price fixing, bribery, embezzlement, industrial pollution, tax evasion, etc. 白领犯罪是指那些收入较高者更容易犯的罪行，比如：欺诈、虚假广告、控制市场价格、行贿、挪用公款、偷税漏税、工业污染、逃税等。 (2) The statistics provided by the FBI tend to overlook white-collar crimes. (3) White-collar crimes are often ignored by law enforcement agencies. (4) Some sociologists argue that the higher classes may actually have a higher rate of crime than the lower classes.

V. The abuse of power滥用权力 1 V. The abuse of power滥用权力 1. The abuse of power by government政府滥用权力   (1) People believe that: A. public organizations in the U.S. sometimes work in concert(共同) to advance their own interests rather than those of the people美国的公共机构有时共同致力于为自己获取更多利益，而不是为民众服务。 B. government in America is widely distrusted for the lack of answerability（负责任）由于缺乏责任感，美国政府经常受到民众的质疑。 C. Americans were convinced that the Johnson and Nixon administrations were deliberately and systematically lying to the people in the war against Vietnam and in the Watergate scandal. 美国民众认为约翰逊和尼克松政府曾分别在越南战争和水门事件中故意欺骗人民。

(2) Richard Nixon A. Former president of U. S. A 　 (2) Richard Nixon A. Former president of U.S. 　A. In 1970s, he was involved in the Watergate scandal, for which he was forced to resign from the presidency. (3) The FBI Two of the illegal acts by the FBI are: burglaries of presumed critics of the administration and widespread illegal wiretapping.美国联邦调查局两种常用的违法行为：非法闯入持不同政见者家中。非法使用窃听器。

V. The abuse of power滥用权力 (4) The CIA美国中央情报局 A V. The abuse of power滥用权力 (4) The CIA美国中央情报局 A. It infiltrated the civil rights and antiwar movements and compiled dossiers on many Americans. 美国中央情报局渗透到民权和反战运动中，给数以千计的美国人私立档案。 B. The CIA had tested variety of drugs, including LSD, on many people who were unaware that they were being used as guinea pig, and had caused several deaths in the process. CIA还在许多人身上进行各种实验，包括实验可使脑神经紊乱的麻醉药LSD, 被试验的人自己完全不知道他们被当试验品。在实验过程中曾发生过几起死亡事件。

2. The abuse of power by corporations公司滥用权力 (1) These corporations are concerned with their own profits than with social responsibility, the quality or price of their products, or the truth of their advertising. 大公司更关心的是自己的利益而不是社会责任、产品的质量及价格或广告的真实性。 (2) They maintain professional lobbyists lobbyist(说客)in Washington to influence public officials behind the scenes.他们利用职业说客在幕后对政府官员施加影响。

(3) They argue for legislation to serve their own ends, influence the appointment of officials, block reforms they consider undesirable, and often seem to have more say in the councils of government than the ordinary voter. 他们经常为某些立法争辩从而达到自己的目的；他们对官员的任命施加影响，他们阻碍那些会对自己不利的改革措施，他们在政府各种委员会中似乎比普通选民拥有更多的发言权。 (4) Many Americans believe that “big business” has taken the reins of government away from Congress and the Administration”, and that “government is run by a few big interest groups looking after themselves.” 许多美国人认为“大公司已经从国会和政府行政部门手中篡夺了领导权”，“政府被一些只顾自己利益的在利益集团所操控”。