Americans Take A Worldly View

美国人持的全球观点 （3）



副题：Pragmatism Inspires Interest In Languages and Contacts

美国人越来越认识到世界相互联系的性质和为了不落在后面而进行的务实努力。

如果他们具有另外的技能，他们就能在就业和事业方面走在前面。

美国人对国际新闻的关心程度比过去降低了。

[18]“People, even in middle America, are realizing how they can get ahead in their jobs and careers if they have the extra skill,” she said. “It's globalization.”

[18]她还说：“人们，甚至美国的中产阶级都懂得，如果他们具有另外的技能，他们就能在就业和事业方面走在前面。这就是全球化。”

[19]The growth is goal-oriented: Americans want their children to learn languages like Spanish and Japanese that will make it easier to do business—abroad or at home. The interest in Spanish is fueled『激起；引起』not just by increasing business with Latin American countries but by the rapid growth in the Spanish-speaking community across the nation. One in 10 Americans is now foreign-born, and half of them were born in Latin America.

[19]这种趋势是有目的性的：美国人让他们的孩子学诸如西班牙语和日语之类的外语，这些语言将有助于他们在国内外做生意。对西班牙语的兴趣不仅仅是由于与拉美国家贸易的增长而引起的，而且还是由于全国西班牙语社区的迅速发展。每10个美国人中就有1个是在国外出生，其中一半都是在拉丁美洲国家出生的。

[20]“We can't stock『开设』enough Spanish classes,” said Raymond Erickson, dean of arts and humanities at Queens College in New York.

[20]纽约昆斯学院艺术和人类系主任雷蒙德·埃里克森说：“我们无法开设更多的西班牙语课。”

[21]U. S. direct investment abroad has continued to climb, rising from $640 billion in 1994to $796 billion in 1996, according to the Commerce Department.

[21]据商务部说，美国在国外的直接投资继续上升，从1994年的6400亿美元升至1996年的7960亿美元。

[22]And yet, indications『显示；迹象』are that when it comes to international news, Americans are getting less than in the past. Coverage『报道；新闻报道』of international developments by the American news media has been in decline『下降；减少』for more than two decades, studies show.

[22]然而，美国人对国际新闻的关心程度比过去降低了。调查报告表明，美国新闻媒体对国际事态发展的报道20多年来一直在下降。

[23]The amount of time network television devotes to foreign news declined from 45 percent in the 1970s to 13.3 percent in 1995, according to a survey『调查；民意调查』quoted『引用；援引』by the Columbia Journalism Review.

[23]根据《哥伦比亚新闻学评论》引用的一项调查，电视节目用于播放外国新闻的时间从70年代的45％降到1995年的13.5％。

[24]A new survey by the Pew Research Center confirmed that the public appetite『爱好；兴趣』for both national and international news was waning『减少；衰减』, and the trend is likely to continue. Only 33 percent of Americans aged 18-29 said they enjoyed keeping up with the news a lot, the survey found, while 68 percent of older Americans like following the news.

[24]皮尤研究中心的一项新的调查证实，公众对国内和国际新闻的爱好在减退。调查发现，在18－29岁的美国年轻人中，只有33％的人喜欢长期收听或收看新闻，而在较年长的美国人中，有68％的人喜欢跟踪新闻。

[25]Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter, said he found the trend perplexing『困惑的；费解的』.

[25]前总统吉米·卡特的国家安全顾问布热津斯基说，他觉得这个趋势令人迷惑不解。

[26]"This country is on a binge『狂欢作乐；狂热』of preoccupation『使人全神贯注的事；使人入神的事』with entertainment," he said. "The dominant『支配的；占首位的』action in this country, other than eating and working, which are necessities, is seeking entertainment."

[26]他说：“这个国家是喜欢狂欢作乐的，它的主要活动除了必需的吃饭和工作外就是寻欢找乐。”

[27]“I'd bet you that many more Americans know about the last Seinfeld episode『一集连续剧』than about the Indian bomb or the Indonesian crisis.”

[27]“我敢打赌，许多美国人都知道上一集《Seinfeld》的剧情却不知道印度核弹和印度尼西亚危机的情况。”

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