VOA标准英语2013--Obama Visit to Soweto Seen as Bow to Struggle for Freedom

 

Obama Visit to Soweto Seen as Bow to Struggle for Freedom

The images from a 1976 student uprising in the township of Soweto remain searing to this day: apartheid police firing at, and beating back, black students rebelling against a deliberately¹ racist² educational system, imposed by the powerful apartheid government.

South African Ambassador to the U.S. Ebrahim Rasool said this is when Soweto rose to the global stage and gave birth to a long and difficult - but ultimately successful - struggle to end government-mandated racial segregation³.

“In a way, it has come to embody⁴ the symbol of resistance, that you do not have to accept injustice⁵ and wrong," said Rasool.

It is much like the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1960’s.  

“Civil rights leaders said we must be free at home. But we also must defend the right of those abroad to be free as well, especially those in southern Africa,” said Johnnie Carson, former U.S. diplomat⁶ for foreign affairs.

Carson said a visit to Soweto by the first black U.S. president sends an especially powerful message to all those who struggled against racial discrimination.

“It is a tribute to all of those who lived there and who fought against apartheid, sacrificed their lives, sacrificed their community, sacrificed their development in order to change the system,” said Carson.

Soweto is no longer the collection of shantytowns it was when South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela, took office in 1994.

It is now a center for tourism, culture, and a growing middle-class.

“There is this creativity, there is this dynamism, there is this growth that is taking place," said South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool.

Rasool acknowledged there still are many challenges, including poverty, unemployment and housing problems in Soweto. He noted⁷ there is a renewed hope, though, especially among young people who are pushing ahead with astounding⁸ speed.

“Soweto has almost moved directly from the drum to the cell phone without too many fixed⁹ lines in between. In much the same way it is going from counting on our fingers in Soweto to using the tablets and iPads and all of those kinds of modern technologies. No personal computers in between. I think that this is the energy that you must see,” he said.

Rasool said that Soweto today offers a window to a new Africa - and symbolizes¹⁰ not only resistance, but resilience. 

1 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

2 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

3 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

4 embody   

vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录

参考例句：

• The latest locomotives embody many new features. 这些最新的机车具有许多新的特色。
• Hemingway's characters plainly embody his own values and view of life.海明威笔下的角色明确反映出他自己的价值观与人生观。

5 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。

6 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

10 symbolizes   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The use of light and dark symbolizes good and evil. 用光明与黑暗来象征善与恶。
• She likes olive because It'symbolizes peace. 她喜欢橄榄色因为它象征着和平。 来自《简明英汉词典》