【英语时差8,16】美国残疾人法案

 The Americans with Disabilities Act – on Today's Congressional Moment. The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, was signed into law on July 26, 1990. At the time the bill was enacted¹, there were over 43 million disabled Americans, and that number continues to grow. Congress recognized that disabled Americans were at an enormous disadvantage. Not only were they disabled, they were often discriminated² against — in their access to public institutions, their educational opportunities, and their ability to find employment. The ADA prohibits employers from denying jobs, training, advancement³ or benefits to any individual because of a disability. The act also improved the access of disabled persons to public buildings and facilities, and required that public busses be wheel–chair accessible. Closed–captioning on TV came about as a result of the ADA. As the impact of this landmark⁴ act becomes more fully⁵ felt with each passing year, American society continues to benefit from the talents and skills of individuals with disabilities. Leaders of the Congressional effort to pass the ADA included Senator Robert Dole⁶ — who lost the use of his right arm during World War II — and Senator Tom Harkin — whose brother had a profound hearing loss. As Senator Harkin said, “People with disabilities ought to be judged on the basis of their abilities. They should not be judged nor discriminated against based on unfounded fear, prejudice, ignorance, or mythologies⁷.” STANDARD CLOSING: This is Lee Hamilton. Congressional decisions impact all our lives. To find out more about how Congress works, or to get involved in your government, visit the Center On Congress website at congress.indiana.edu.

1 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

3 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

4 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。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 dole   

n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给

参考例句：

• It's not easy living on the dole.靠领取失业救济金生活并不容易。
• Many families are living on the dole since the strike.罢工以来，许多家庭靠失业救济金度日。

7 mythologies   

神话学( mythology的名词复数 )； 神话（总称）； 虚构的事实； 错误的观点

参考例句：

• a study of the religions and mythologies of ancient Rome 关于古罗马的宗教和神话的研究
• This realization is enshrined in "Mythologies." 这一看法见诸于他的《神话集》一书。