parents. Or, parents of marriageable children will get together and arrange their marriages. 父母。或者,父母的结婚的孩子会聚集并安排他们的婚姻。
Of course, some marriages come about through dating just as in America—young people meet,
当然,某些婚姻发生的通过约会就像在America-young人的满足,
fall in love, and decide to marry. Yet, despite or because of arranged marriages, the Korean 坠入爱河,并决定结婚。然而,尽管还是因为包办婚姻,韩国
divorce rate is very low compared with American divorces. This may be due largely to the 离婚率非常低与美国离婚。这可能是很大程度上因为 strong family bonds in Korea. 很强的家庭债券在韩国。
On the other hand, young people in America are allowed the greatest freedom in choosing 另一方面,美国的年轻人在最伟大的自由可以选择
their partners; they base marriages almost entirely on love, never through matchmakers. And 他们的合作伙伴,其中的婚姻,几乎完全取决于爱,摒弃媒人。和
a very strong trend, nowadays, is for two persons to live together for a while before 一个非常有力的趋势,如今,是两个人一起住了一段时间才能 getting married, though many never formally marry. 结婚,尽管很多人从未正式结婚。
Despite these differences between our cultures, I 've realized that Koreans and Americans 尽管有这些差异我们的文化,我立刻就来。我明白韩国人和美国人
have much in common. We tend to seek freedom, share the same excitement at a new birth, and
有许多共同之处。我们倾向于追求自由,分享相同的而感到非常兴奋,新生
want to make good friends. Also, we place a high value on hard work, often spending long 想让好朋友。同时,我们很看重艰难的作品,往往花长
hours at our own businesses in order to send our children to good colleges; we want to give 时间自己的公司为了将自己的孩子送去不错的大学;我们想给你们
them opportunities earlier generations could only dream of. If we can learn to accept 机遇更早的一代只能在梦中想象。如果我们能学会接受
cultural differences as unique values, the world may be more peaceful. We need to put aside 文化差异为独特的价值,世界可能更和平的。我们需要放在一边
our often unfounded attitudes of superiority and prejudice against other cultures. 我们经常没有根据的优势和偏见的态度,其他国家的文化。
Americans and Food 美国人、食品
An unusual but timely cartoon recently appeared in the local newspaper. The single panel 一罕见但及时卡通最近出现在当地的报纸。单一的面板
showed a gravel-pit operation with piles of raw earth and large cranes. Next to one of the 显示使用成堆的原料采石场具体情况地球和大型起重机。在之一
cranes stood the owner of the gravel pit—a grizzled, tough-looking character, hammer in 起重机站在业主的砾石pit-a头发斑白的tough-looking而言,锤
hand, pointing proudly to the new sign he had just tacked up. The sign read, \ 一方面,自豪地对新标志指向他刚刚钉。标志是这样写的:“福瑞德填满
Dirt and Croissants.\ 灰尘和牛角。”卡通说明了一个有趣的现象:改变食物
habits of Americans. Our meals used to consist of something like home-cooked pot roast, 美国人的习惯。我们将由吃饭过去通常像亲手做的炖肉,
mashed potatoes laced with butter and salt, a thick slice of apple pie topped with a healthy 马铃薯泥装有黄油和盐,穿着厚片苹果派配上了一个健康的
scoop of vanilla ice cream—plain, heavy meals, cooked from scratch, and eaten leisurely at 勺香草冰cream-plain,难以消化的食物,都是从最初开始烹饪,而且悠闲吃
home. But America has changed, and as it has, so have what we Americans eat and how we eat
回家。但是美国已经改变,并且作为它,所以有什么我们美国人吃并且我们怎么吃 it. 它。
We used to have simple, unsophisticated tastes and looked with suspicion at anything more 我们以前有,古朴味道,看起来以怀疑的眼光看待在其他东西了
exotic than a hamburger. Admittedly, we did adopt some foods from the various immigrant 异国情调的比一个汉堡包。诚然,我们所做的是采取一些食物,从各种各样的移民 groups who flocked to our shores. We learned to eat croissants, those small, sweet French 群体涌向我们的海岸。我们学会了羊角面包吃,那些小、温馨的法语
bread rolls, and also Chinese food and pizza, but in the last few years, the international 面包卷,也是中国食品和比萨,但在过去的几年里,国际赛
character of our diet has grown tremendously. We can walk into any mall in Middle America 我们的饮食的特点就突飞猛进。我们可以走到任何购物中心在美国中部
and buy Mexican food like pita bread and tacos. Such foods are often changed on their 买墨西哥玉米饼和塔饼之类的食物。这类食品通常是改变了对他们的
journey from exotic imports to ordinary \ 旅程从异国情调的进口,以普通的“美国”饮食,但进口仍然是一个长 way from hamburger on a bun. 从汉堡在一个小圆髻。
Why have we become more worldly in our tastes? For one thing, television blankets the 为什么我们要有变得更世俗的在我们的风味吗?首先,电视毯子
country with information about new food products and trends. Viewers in rural Montana know
国家新食品产品信息和发展方向。观众在农村蒙大拿知道
that the latest craving in Washington, D.C. is Cajun cooking and that something called tofu ,最新的渴望是在华盛顿特区,烹饪和卡津所谓的豆腐
is now available in the local supermarket. Another reason for the growing international 现在可以在当地超市。发展中的国际的另一个原因
flavor of our food is that many young Americans have traveled abroad and gotten hooked on 我们的食物味道是许多年轻美国人去国外旅游,并取得上了
new tastes and flavors. Backpacking students and young professionals vacationing in Europe 新味道和香味。背包学生和年轻的专业人士在欧洲度假
come home with a taste for authentic French bread or German beer. Finally, continuing waves 回家和口味正宗法式面包和德国啤酒。最后,继续波
of immigrants settle in the cities where many of us live, causing significant changes in 移民定居在城市的许多人活着,造成重大的变化
what we eat. Vietnamese, Haitians, and Thais, for instance, bringing their native foods and 我们吃什么。越南、居住以及泰国的,比如,带着当地食物
cooking styles with them and eventually open small markets or restaurants. In time, the new 烹饪风格与他们最终会选择小市场或餐馆。新,
food will become Americanized enough to take its place in our national diet. 食物会变得美国化足以代替它在我们国家的饮食。
Our growing concern with health has also affected the way we eat. For the last few years, 越来越多的关注健康也影响了我们吃。在最近几年,
the media have warned us about the dangers of our traditional diet, high in salt and fat, 媒体已经警告我们的危险。我们的传统饮食、高盐和脂肪,
low in fiber. The media also began to educate us about the dangers of processed foods pumped
低纤维。媒体也开始教育我们的加工食品的危险,等等
full of chemical additives. As a result, consumers began to demand healthier foods, and 充满化学添加剂。因此,消费者开始要求更健康的食物,和
manufacturers started to change some of their products. Many foods, such as lunch meat, 制造商开始改变了一些他们的产品。许多食物,如午餐肉,
canned vegetables, and soups, were made available in low-fat, low-sodium versions. Whole- 罐装蔬菜,汤,分别取得可在低脂肪、低盐的版本。,全世界
grain cereals and high-fiber breads also began to appear on the grocery shelves. Moreover, 粮食谷物和高纤面包也开始出现在杂货店货架。此外,
the food industry started to produce all-natural products—everything from potato chips to 食品工业开始制作products-everything可以从薯片
ice cream—without additives and preservatives. Not surprisingly, the restaurant industry 冰cream-without添加剂和防腐剂。毫不奇怪,餐饮业
responded to this switch to healthier foods, luring customers with salad bars, broiled fish, 来响应这个切换到更健康的食物,吸引客户,色拉柜台,烧鱼。 and steamed vegetables. 和清蒸的蔬菜。
Our food habits are being affected, too, by the rapid increase in the number of women 我们的饮食习惯受到还人数的迅速增长的女人
working outside the home. Sociologists and other experts believe that two important factors 外工作的家里。社会学家和其他专家相信有两个重要的因素
triggered this phenomenon: the women 's movement and a changing economic climate. Women were
触发现象:女性的源流迁徙和变化的经济气候。妇女
assured that it was acceptable, even rewarding, to work outside the home; many women also 相信它是可以接受的,甚至是有益的,走出家门去工作,许多妇女们也
discovered that they had to work just to keep up with the cost of living. As the traditional 发现他们不得不工作只是为了跟上生活费用方面的。与传统的
role of homemaker changed, so did the way families ate. With Mom working, there wasn't time
家庭主妇的角色,也有了改变的方式吃。家庭和妈妈一起工作,没有时间了
for her to prepare the traditional three square meals a day. Instead, families began looking 她准备传统的一天三顿。相反,家庭开始观察
for alternatives to provide quick meals. What was the result? For one thing, there was a 在寻找提供迅速的饭菜。取得了什么结果?首先,有一个
boom in fast-food restaurants. The suburban or downtown strip that once contained a lone 快餐店的繁荣。带近郊或市中心一旦包含了一个单身
McDonald 's now features Wendy 's, KFCs, Burger King, and Pizza Hut. Families also began to
麦当劳已经蔓延的s,KFCs温迪,汉堡王,必胜客餐厅。家庭也开始
depend on frozen foods as another time-saving alternative. Once again, though, demand 依靠冷冻食品作为另一个省时的选择。再一次的,虽然,需求
changed the kind of frozen food available. Frozen food no longer consist of foil trays 改变了种冰冷的食物可供选择。冷冻食品不再由铝箔底盘
divided into greasy fried chicken, watery corn niblets, and lumpy mashed potatoes. 分为油腻的炸鸡、湿润的玉米niblets,奢侈土豆泥。
Supermarkets now stock a range of supposedly tasty frozen dinners. 超市现在是股票的一个范围的冷冻美味。
It may not be possible to pick up a ton of fill dirt and a half-dozen croissants at the same 它不可能去接一吨的填满灰尘和几个在牛角一样
place, but America 's food habits are definitely changing. If it is true that \ 地方,但美国的饮食习惯肯定是变化的。如果这是真的,“你是什么 you eat,\ 你吃”,那么美国的身份是进化随着它的饮食。 Unit 5 单元五
Everyday Cruelty
日常残忍
Last week, I found myself worrying less about problems of world politics, and national crime 上周,我发现自己担心世界政治的问题有关的少,国家犯罪
and more about smaller evils. I came home one day with a bad taste in my mouth, the kind I 小多源。我回家的时候,有一天在一个糟糕的滋味,是那种我
get whenever I witness the little cruelties that people inflict on each other. On this 每当我看到得到小残酷的,人们给对方。在这
particular day, I had seen three especially mean-spirited things happen. 一天,我看到三个特别是卑鄙的事情发生。
I first thought about mean-spirited people as I walked from the bus stop to the office where 我第一次想到人们卑鄙,当我走离公共汽车站到办公室去哪里
I work. I make this walk every day, and it's my first step away from the comforts of home 我的工作。我每天步行,这是我的第一步家里的舒适
and into the tensions of the city. For me, a landmark on the route is a tiny patch of ground 和城市的紧张关系。对我来说,一个里程碑一小片路径的层面甚广
that was once strewn with rubbish and broken glass. The city is trying to make a \ 曾是到处是垃圾和碎玻璃。这个城市正在努力做一个“口袋里
park\ 这件事公园”种植树木和花草。每一天,这个春天,我看着这么回事
saplings put out tiny leaves. When I walked past, I always noted how big the tulips were 小树伸出微小的叶子。当我走过,我总是意识到大郁金香是什么
getting and made bets with myself on when they would bloom. But last Wednesday, as I reached
对自己越来越使投注在那时他们也许会开花。但是上个星期三,当我到达
the park I fell sick. Someone had knocked the trees to the ground and trampled the budding 公园里我病倒了。有人撞翻了树在地上,践踏萌芽的
tulips into the dirt. Someone had destroyed a bit of beauty for no reason. 郁金香在泥土上。有人破坏了一些美丽,不需要理由。
At lunchtime on Wednesday, I witnessed more meanness. Along with dozens of other hungry, 在周三中午,我所亲眼目睹更卑鄙。随着许多其他的饿了,
hurried people, I was waiting in line at McDonald 's. Also in line was a young mother with 匆忙的人,我排队时麦当劳的。同样遵循的是一位年轻的母亲
two tired, impatient children clinging to her legs. The mother was trying to calm the 两个累,不耐烦的儿女都能抓住她的双腿。母亲在试图平息
children, but it was obvious that they were about to start crying. The lines barely moved, 孩子,但很显然,他们正准备开始哭了起来。线条几乎一动不动,
and the lunchline tension was building. Then, one of the children began to cry and scream. 和lunchline张力的建筑。然后,一个小孩哭起来,尖叫。
The little boy 's yells resounded through the restaurant, and people stared angrily at the 这个小男孩很喊响彻那家餐馆,而且气愤地瞧人们凝视着
helpless mother. Finally, one man turned to her and said, \ 无奈母亲。最后,一个人转向她,说:“女士,你不应该把你的
kids to a public place if you can't control them.\ 孩子们去公共场所假如你无法控制他们。”女人就又累又饿。
Someone in line could have helped her with her problem. Instead, even though many of the 有人在线也将会帮助她和她的问题。相反,尽管许多
customers in the restaurant were parents themselves, they treated her like a criminal. 客户在餐厅被父母对她自己,像犯人一样。
The worst incident of The worst incident of mean-spiritedness that I saw that day happened 最糟糕的事件mean-spiritedness最严重的事件说,我看见那一天发生的事
after I left work. As I walked to the bus stop, I approached an old woman huddled in a 在我离开工作。当我走向巴士站,靠近的时候,聚集在一个老女人
doorway. She was wrapped in a dirty blanket and clutched a cheap vinyl bag packed with her 门口。她用一条脏毯子,手里紧紧握着一只便宜的乙烯基箱子
belongings. She was one of the \ 物品。她也是一个“贫民窟居民我们的社会留给自我保护。
The United States, the richest country on earth, should not allow such suffering. Some of 美国,地球上最富有的国家,不应该允许这样的痛苦。一些
these victims even live in cardboard boxes during the coldest winters. Approaching the woman
这些受害者甚至住在硬纸板箱包装在最寒冷的冬天了。接近女人