VOA慢速英语--副总统卡马拉·哈里斯给美国政治带来历史性变化

Kamala Harris has become the first female Vice¹ President in American history.

The former senator from California took the oath of office Wednesday. President Joe Biden was sworn in minutes later.

Harris not only became the first female vice president in the nation's history. She is also the first Black person and the first Asian American to hold the office.

After taking the oath, the 56-year-old Harris hugged her husband, Douglas Emhoff, and then gave Biden a fist bump. She is taking over as vice president just four years after coming to Washington as a senator from California.

Harris used two Bibles to take the oath of office. One belonged to Supreme² Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the late civil rights leader whom Harris has often said inspired her. The other belonged to Regina Shelton, who helped raise Harris during her childhood in the San Francisco area.

Harris entered the race for president in 2019 along with Biden and others, but later ended her campaign. Biden chose her as his vice presidential candidate.

Supporters say Harris' path is especially meaningful because she takes office at a time of deep reflection for Americans about their past and future.

Demonstrations³ across the country aimed at directing attention to racial injustice⁴ and police violence marked 2020. The United States also is dealing⁵ with the coronavirus health crisis. Experts say the pandemic has affected⁶ Black and minority communities more than others.

Lateefah Simon is a civil rights activist⁷ and longtime friend of Harris. "In many folks' lifetimes, we experienced a segregated⁹ United States," she told The Associated Press. "You will now have a Black woman who will walk into the White House not as a guest but as a second in command of the free world."

Harris is the child of immigrants, a stepmother of two and the wife of a Jewish man. She "carries an intersectional¹⁰ story of so many Americans who are never seen and heard," said Simon.

Biden, in his acceptance speech, commented on the 1913 march for women's suffrage¹¹ the day before President Woodrow Wilson took office. He said some marchers were attacked. "Today, we mark the swearing in of the first woman in American history elected to national office, Vice President Kamala Harris," he said. "Don't tell me things can't change."

Harris' roots in India

Harris' mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a cancer researcher who came to America from India. Her father was an economist¹² from Jamaica. The two met at the University of California, Berkeley and married in 1963. They split in 1971, when Kamala was seven.

Harris has often spoken about the deep relationship she had with her mother, whom she has described as her single biggest influence.

"I was raised to not hear ‘no,'" she recently told CBS News. "Let me be clear about it...it wasn't like, oh, the possibilities are immense. Whatever you want to do, you can do,'" Harris said. "I was raised to understand many people will tell you, ‘It is impossible,' but don't listen," she added.

In India, people in the small village where Harris has family roots gathered to celebrate her taking the oath of office. A ceremony was held at a Hindu temple in Thulasendrapuram, where Harris' grandfather on her mother's side was born.

After completing religious activities inside the temple, villagers went outside to cheer and clap, while some held up pictures of Harris.

"We are feeling very proud that an Indian is being elected as the Vice President of America," said Anukampa Madhavasimhan, a teacher.

Words in This Story

oath – n. a formal promise to tell the truth

descent – n. people who were your ancestors

fist bump – n. to lightly strike closed hands with someone as a greeting

inspire – v. to cause someone to want to do something or to take action

reflect – v. to think carefully about something

segregate⁸ – v. to separate groups because of race or for some other reason

intersectional –adj. between groups or communities of certain areas

suffrage – n. the right to vote in an election

immense – adj. extremely large

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

4 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

8 segregate   

adj.分离的，被隔离的；vt.使分离，使隔离

参考例句：

• We have to segregate for a few day.我们得分离一段日子。
• Some societies still segregate men and women.有的社会仍然将男女隔离。

9 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

10 intersectional   

adj.交叉（点）的，区际的

参考例句：

• Psychology as an intersectional science is affected by the time spirit apparently. 作为交叉学科的心理学，受时代精神或者社会思潮的影响是很明显的。 来自互联网

11 suffrage   

n.投票，选举权，参政权

参考例句：

• The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance.妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
• The voters gave their suffrage to him.投票人都投票选他。

12 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。