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VOA-美国移民学习丢掉口音
[原文&译文]
Immigrants Learn to Lose Their Accents
美国移民学习丢掉口音
Some immigrants in the northeastern state of Maine are learning to lose their accents.
美国东北部缅因州的一些移民正学习丢掉他们的口音
Some of the immigrants speak English fluently, but have a difficult time being understood because they have heavy accents, reported the Portland Press-Herald newspaper.
波特兰新闻先驱报报道称，有一些移民说一口流利的英语，但是他们很难被理解，因为他们有很重的口音。
Assouma Nyirabahizi says she left her home and job in Rwanda two years ago, coming to America on a green card 'in hopes of a brighter future.'
Assouma Nyirabahizi表示，两年前她使用绿卡从卢旺达弃职离乡来到美国，就是希望获得更光明的前景。
Nyirabahizi has a master's degree in computer science and speaks English fluently. She says all of her classes in Rwanda were taught in English, 'but here I have to learn again because of (my) accent.'
Nyirabahizi有计算机科学硕士学位，说一口流利的英语。她说她在卢旺达的所有课程都是英语授课，她说“但是因为我的口音，我要重新学习”
She attends a free class to reduce her accent with seven other students. The city of Portland conducts the class.
她跟7个同学参加了一个免费课程来减弱她的口音，波特兰市开展的这些课程。
Marta Greenlaw is the teacher. She is also a speech therapist. She says immigrants who reduce their accent have better success at work. And they can communicate more easily with store workers, teachers, doctors and neighbors.
Marta Greenlaw是一位老师，也是语言治疗师。她说减轻移民口音在工作上能更成功。他们跟店员，老师，医生和邻居沟通更容易。
'It's a basic need to be understood,' Greenlaw told the newspaper. 'It affects every part of their lives.'
Greenlaw对该报表示“被理解是一种基本需求，它影响着他们生活的各个方面”
Greenlaw begins the class by telling students the 44 sounds of the English language. Those sounds include vowels, consonants and other sounds that give American English its unique sound.
Greenlaw从教学生们英语的44种发音开始。这些发音包括元音、辅音，以及美式英语的其它特别的发音。
Later, students speak about the food in their home countries. Sometimes, Greenlaw corrects their pronunciation. She tells them to pronounce the word 'onion' as 'unnnn-yunnnnn,' and the word 'potato' as 'poe-TAY-toe.' She tells the students 'how the lips and jaw work to form the word.'
随后，学生们讨论他们本国的食物。有些时候Greenlaw会纠正他们的发音。她告诉学生们，onion这个单词发音是unnnn-yunnnnn，而potato这个单词发音是poe-TAY-toe。她告诉学生们嘴唇和下颚是怎么配合来发出这个单词的声音。
Greenlaw tells the students that some American English pronunciation rules 'don't make a lot of sense.' But she says they are important to learn if immigrants are to be understood by Americans.
Greenlaw告诉学生们，一些美式英语发音规则没有什么太大意义。但她说，如果移民想被美国人理解，学习它们是很重要的。
Losing one's accent is especially important for immigrants who live in Maine, which is one of the least diverse states in the country. More than 90 percent of the population of Maine is white. Many people who live in Maine have not heard foreign accents except in movies or on television.
对居住在缅因州的移民来说，丢掉口音尤为重要，因为缅因州是美国最缺少多样化的州之一。缅因州90%以上的人口是白人。居住在缅因州的很多人除了在电影或电视上就没听过外国口音。
Greenlaw says some Mainers are impatient with people who speak English with a heavy accent. Her students say some Mainers ignore them or are unfriendly toward them because of their accent. They say this makes them less likely to speak.
Greenlaw表示，一些缅因州人对英语口音很重的人缺乏耐心。她的学生说，因为他们的口音，一些缅因州人无视他们，或是对他们不友好。学生们说，这让他们更不可能开口说话。
'Imagine waking up every day knowing you are going to have that struggle,' she says.
她说，“想象一下每天醒来就知道自己将要面临那种挣扎。”
[实战应用]
01
词汇解析
immigrants n. 移民
brighter future n. 更光明的未来
speech therapist n. 语言治疗师
vowels n. 元音
consonants n. 辅音
jaw n. 下巴
diverse adj. 多样化的
02
句型解析
读完整篇文章，同学们是不是觉得有些句子不好理解？接下来我就为大家解析一下比较难的一个：
Losing one's accent is especially important for immigrants who live in Maine, which is one of the least diverse states in the country.
【译文】对居住在缅因州的移民来说，丢掉口音尤为重要，因为缅因州是美国最缺少多样化的州之一。
【解析】典型的which引导的限制性定语从句，修饰前面的整句。Losing one's accent is especially important动名词短语做主语，主系表结构，especially做副词修饰表语。
03
写作词句
小编从文中找出一些适合放在写作中的词句，希望对大家有所帮助。
1. have a difficult time doing sth 做某事很困难，是不是比 it’s difficult to do sth 好很多呢？
2. don’t make a lot of sense 等同于it doesn’t make any sense. 都是美国口语出现频率比较大的短语。
3. one of the… …中的一个；其中之一
4. less likely to do sth 更不可能做某事。
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