VOA标准英语2010年-US Leaders Mark 20th Anniversary of Am

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, right, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Md., attend an event on Capitol Hill in Washington 26 Jul 2010 to celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act, also called ADA, is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of mental or physical disabilities. It regulates federal and local programs, transportation, public accommodations and commercial facilities, and has, by wide accounts, transformed the lives of the disabled. On Monday, as one disabled activist¹ commemorated² the passage of the act, she also dreamed of what more can be done. 

It was 20 years ago, when U.S. President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law.

"I now lift this pen to sign this Americans with Disabilities Act and say let the shameful³ wall of exclusion⁴ finally come tumbling down," said Mr. Bush.

That landmark⁵ act was commemorated in Washington, as lawmakers and the disabled celebrated⁶, looking backwards⁷ and ahead.

Congressman⁸ Jim Langevin is the first quadriplegic elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.  He is paralyzed from the waist down.

"My God how the world has changed with the passage of this bill," said Jim Langevin. "So many barriers have been brought down, so many doors have been opened, so many opportunities created."

Sitting in the back of the room at this Washington press conference was Marca Bristo. She broke her neck diving into a lake and was paralyzed at the age of 23. 

She says passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act changed her life forever.

"One time I went to the planetarium⁹ and you had to ride the garbage elevator, and there were no lights and it was kind of scary, and one time I rode up that elevator with a big old rat and I don't have to do that anymore," said Marca Bristo.

Bristo runs the U.S. International Council on Disabilities which works to improve laws governing the lives of people with disabilities here and abroad.  She says being disabled in some countries is a curse.

"People with disabilities are living in the streets in some countries," she said. "In some countries it is deemed you have been possessed¹⁰ by the devil, put out on the street as being a shame to your family and really having to live very subhuman lives."

She says employment is the next big challenge.  And that lawmakers and businesses should help develop better work opportunities for the disabled, move them out of institutions and into the community, and make the Internet more accessible.  But for Bristo, that is a job for tomorrow. 

Today was for celebrating.

"Telecommunications have opened up for people who are deaf, ATMs are readable by people who are blind, it's been a real revolution," said Marca Bristo.

 

1 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。

2 commemorated   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Lincoln commemorated the soldiers killed in the battle in his address. 林肯在演说中表扬阵亡将士。 来自辞典例句
• You'll be commemorated for killing a spy, and be specially discharged. 你们每杀一个间谍将会被记录到特殊档案。 来自电影对白

3 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

4 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

5 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

6 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

7 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

8 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

9 planetarium   

n.天文馆；天象仪

参考例句：

• The planetarium staff also prepared talks for radio broadcast.天文馆的工作人员还要准备讲稿给电台广播。
• It landed in a shallow basin fifty yards from the planetarium.它降落在离天文馆五十码处的一个浅盆地中。

10 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。