VOA慢速英语2021 亚裔美国人当选两座大城市市长

"Because if we truly want to deliver change, we need every one of us shaping our future. Thank you for placing your trust in me to serve as the next mayor of Boston."

“如果我们真的想实现变革，就需要我们每一个人共同塑造我们的未来。感谢您信任我担任下一任波士顿市长。”

That is Michelle Wu, a 36-year-old Taiwanese American, who will be Boston's next mayor. She is the northeastern city's first woman and first Asian American leader.

这就是36岁的中国台湾裔美国人吴弭，她将成为波士顿下一任市长。她是这座美国东北城市的第一位女性市长和第一位亚裔市长。

Wu was the city's first Asian American city council member. She defeated Annissa Essaibi George, who is Arab and Polish.

吴弭曾经是该市第一位亚裔市议员。她击败了阿拉伯人和波兰人安妮莎·埃塞比·乔治。

In the southern Ohio city of Cincinnati, Aftab Pureval, whose parents are Tibetan and Indian, will be the new leader.

在俄亥俄州南部城市辛辛那提，阿夫塔布·普里瓦尔将成为新任市长，他的父母是藏族人和印度人。

He said some Democratic Party leaders did not think he would be able to win the mayoral election because his name would not look good on election materials for voters in a mostly white part of Ohio.

他说，一些民主党领导人认为他无法赢得市长选举，因为俄亥俄州大部分地区以白人为主，他的名字印在选举材料上看上去不太友好。

"When you're Asian, when you have an ethnic¹ name, it's just harder. You've got to be creative, you've got to work harder, you've got to knock on more doors," he told the Associated Press.

他对美联社表示：“当你是亚洲人，又有个具有民族特色的名字，那就更难了。你必须富有创造力，你必须更努力地工作，你必须敲更多的门。”

Celebrating his victory over a former United States law maker² on Tuesday night, Pureval told his supporters: "Tonight, we made history. ... Cincinnati is a place where no matter what you look like, where you're from, or how much money you have, if you come here and work hard you can achieve your dreams."

在周二晚上庆祝他战胜一位美国前议员时，普里瓦尔对支持者表示：“今晚，我们创造了历史。辛辛那提不管你长什么样，来自哪里，有多少钱，如果你到这里来努力工作，你就能实现你的梦想。”

The Asian American victories are notable³ in the U.S. In the last two years, there has been an increase in crimes against Asian Americans.

这些亚裔美国人的胜选在美国非常重要。过去两年里，针对亚裔美国人的犯罪活动有所增加。

In Seattle, Washington, the mayoral race is not yet decided⁴. Bruce Harrell has a small lead over Lorena Gonzalez. Harrell is Japanese American and Black.

在华盛顿州西雅图市，市长竞选尚未最终落定。布鲁斯·哈雷尔略领先于洛雷娜·冈萨雷斯。哈雷尔是日裔美国人和黑人。

The Associated Press notes that in the past, Asian American political candidates have been successful in places with large Asian populations such as Hawaii and California. But success in cities like Boston and Cincinnati shows that Asian American voters are spread throughout the U.S. and feeling "empowered" to have a voice in politics.

美联社指出，过去，亚裔政治候选人在夏威夷和加州等亚裔人口众多的地方取得了成功。但是在波士顿和辛辛那提等城市的成功表明，亚裔选民遍布美国各地，并自认有权在政治上发表意见。

Pureval said his win in an Ohio city without many Asian Americans shows people of Asian ancestry⁵ "can run and win anywhere."

普里瓦尔表示，他在俄亥俄州一座没有太多亚裔美国人的城市获胜表明，亚裔血统人士可以在任何地方参与竞选并获胜。

In Dearborn, Michigan, a city close to Detroit, Abdullah Hammoud became the first Arab American mayor. Dearborn has about 100,000 residents and one of the largest Arab American populations in the U.S.

在靠近底特律市的密歇根州迪尔伯恩市，阿卜杜拉·哈姆德成为第一位阿拉伯裔市长。迪尔伯恩市大约有10万居民，这里有着美国最多的阿拉伯族群之一。

Varun Nikore is president of the Asian American Pacific Islander Victory Fund, an organization that raises money for political candidates. He called the wins in Boston and Cincinnati "a new day in America at the local level."

瓦伦·尼克雷是亚太裔胜利基金会的主席，这是一家为政治候选人筹集资金的组织。他称波士顿和辛辛那提的胜利是美国在地方层面的崭新一天。

He said Asian American leaders in big cities can cause a "ripple⁶ effect that lasts — in some cases — decades."

他说，大城市的亚裔领导人可能会造成在某些情况下持续数十年的连锁反应。

James Lai is a professor at Santa Clara University in California. He studies Asian Americans and their work in city politics.

詹姆斯·赖是加州圣塔克拉拉大学的教授。他研究亚裔美国人及其在城市政治方面的工作成果。

Lai said the mayoral victories are a good example of how Asian Americans are gaining in U.S. politics. Beyond city leaders, he said, Asian Americans are winning jobs in smaller cities and towns.

赖表示，当选市长是亚裔在美国政治中取得进步的一个优秀例子。他说，除了市级领导人，亚裔还在小城镇赢得职位。

Nikore said the victories will push aside the idea that Asian Americans do not belong in the U.S.

尼克雷表示，这些胜利将会推翻亚裔不属于美国的观念。

During the campaign, Pureval used humor to make voters more comfortable about his differences. He called himself "a brown dude with a funny name."

在竞选期间，普里瓦尔幽默地让选民对他的不同更加满意。他称自己是个有着搞笑名字和棕色皮肤的家伙。

If more Asian Americans become political leaders, he said, he hopes future candidates "won't have to think through that."

他说，如果有更多亚裔成为政治领导人，他希望未来的候选人将不必考虑这些因素。

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 notable   

adj.值得注意的，著名的；n.名人，要人

参考例句：

• His achievement is very notable.他的成就是非常显著的。
• He wrote and published the essay under notable's name.他假托名人写文章发表。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

6 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。