瘋小貓的華麗冒險

在報上看到一篇淺顯易懂的社論，很興奮，貼在這邊當筆記。

unravel [ʌn'rævl] (拆散、解體)

By Robert J. Samuelson

這個困惑我已久的疑問終於在上上禮拜的報紙兒童版找到解答 -- 雖然不是太好的解答，總算是發現有人和我一樣困惑，所以讓我為自己的困惑稍稍釋懷...（什麼心態呀... :p）

報紙的套色不佳，掃描後不利閱讀，原文轉錄於下：

在寫作時引用別人的話，應該怎麼寫呢？什麼時候要用逗號、什麼時候用句點呢？直接引用別人的話叫作『Quoted Speech』或『Direct Speech』；引用第三者的話則是『Indirect Speech』或『Reported Speech』。這個章節是『名詞子句』裡的一部份，如果你還不知道名詞子句是什麼，最好先讀讀上一篇。

Quoted Speech 的注意事項：
1. 引用內容要用引號

『名詞子句』就是『作用等同於名詞的子句』。如果你不知道什麼是子句，請參考《形容詞子句》的第一段。

例句：
I don't know it

累積三十多年的教學經驗，Peggy 彷彿有個取用不盡的教學百寶箱，就像小叮噹的口袋，總能變出各種新玩意兒新話題。我總是為她的妙點子讚嘆不已：『哇，這個也是很棒的討論題材耶！』這幾天，我們在討論各種 non-verbal language -- 無聲的言語。

無聲的言語可不僅是指聾人使用的手語哦，一般人每天都會用到這些無聲的語言，只是你可能沒意識到它的存在：手勢（gesture）、表情（facial expression）、語調（tone）、眼神接觸（eye contact）、語助詞（paralanguage）、身體接觸（touch）、肢體動作（kinesics）、距離感（proxemics）、默劇（pantomime）、儀態（manners）、外表（appearance）...等等這些都是。

這是演講的最後一段。

53There is one story in particularly that I'd like to leave you with today - a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King's birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.

54There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion (每個人都可以輪流發言的平等會議) where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.

55And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go (被解僱) and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.

56She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish (酸黃瓜醬) sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.

57She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.

58Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks who were on welfare (靠社會福利金救濟過活) and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn't. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.

59Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up (談到、拋出[議題, 問題等] ) a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley."

60"I'm here because of Ashley." By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.

61But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.

(The End)

讓我們拒絕模糊焦點，正視我們該關注的議題。

45For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle (對付、處理) race only as spectacle (表演作秀、奇觀) -- as we did in the OJ trial (辛普森殺妻案) -- or in the wake of (= as a result of, after. 此處 wake 是名詞，意指『船隻行過之水痕』) tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina (卡翠娜颶風) -- or as fodder (牛飼料，引申為『滿足觀眾胃口的沒營養話題』) for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on (抓住、逮住) some gaffe ([gæf] 失禮、失態) by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock (群聚) to John McCain in the general election (美國總統大選) regardless of his policies.

46We can do that.

47But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

48That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling (破碎崩壞) schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

49This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on (to take...on = to fight against, to challenge 挑戰) if we do it together.

50This time we want to talk about the shuttered (倒店、停止營業) mills (工廠) that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life (行業). This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

51This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged (開展、進行，只用於戰爭), and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

52I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.

將黑白兩方都稍稍安撫、表達理解與同情之後，開始嚴辭以對。

40For the African-American community, that path (前情提要：the path of a more perfect union) means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure (方法手段) of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances (埋怨牢騷) -- for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs -- to the larger aspirations (理想抱負) of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling (暗喻: 突破性別不平等的限制), the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives -- by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to ([sə'kʌm] 屈服) despair or cynicism (譏諷); they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.

41Ironically, this quintessentially (最精髓最重要的) American -- and yes, conservative -- notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright's sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on (開始、著手) a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.

42The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country -- a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably (不可挽回的) bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen -- is that America can change. That is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope -- the audacity (大膽無畏) to hope -- for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

43In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails (使苦惱) the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt ( [o'vɝt] 明顯的) than in the past - are real and must be addressed (處理、解決). Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.

44In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand -- that we do unto (給予) others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture (聖經的經文) tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in (to have stake in...片語，意指休戚與共的利害關係。stake 原意是賭金，引申為押了賭注所以最後結果好壞都參有一份) one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.

長久以來的種族歧見不只造就了黑人的憤怒，同時也累積了白人的憤怒。

35In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged (給予特權) by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away (悄悄溜走); in an era of stagnant (停滯的) wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus (用校車/公車接送) their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing (撈到、弄到) a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment (憤怒) builds over time.

36Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company (交際場合). But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking (揭露) bogus (假造的、不實的) claims of racism while dismissing legitimate (合法合理正當的) discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.

37Just as black anger often proved counterproductive (產生不良後果的), so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits (罪犯) of the middle class squeeze -- a corporate (公司的) culture rife (充滿著) with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists (說客) and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.

38This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy -- particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

39But I have asserted a firm conviction (信念) -- a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people -- that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.

歐巴馬會以什麼角度切入棘手的『種族問題』呢？

25Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork (漸漸消失、漸漸被遺忘). We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank (瘋子怪人) or a demagogue (['dɛməgɔg] 煽動家), just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro【註1】, in the aftermath (事件結束後的時期) of her recent statements, as harboring (心懷...、懷有) some deep-seated racial bias.

26But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America - to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.

27The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through (成功處理、解決) -- a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.

28Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite (詳述) here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities (不相等，尤其指地位不公平造成的不同) that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal (殘忍的) legacy of slavery and Jim Crow【註2】.

29Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board (委員會) of Education【註3】, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive (普遍的) achievement gap between today's black and white students.

30Legalized discrimination -- where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA (Federal Housing Association 聯邦住屋協會) mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments -- meant that black families could not amass (積聚) any meaningful wealth to bequeath (遺贈) to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty (密集的貧窮區域) that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.

31A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families -- a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods -- parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat (警察的轄區), regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement (強制執行建築法規) -- all helped create a cycle of violence, blight (枯萎荒蕪) and neglect that continue to haunt us.

32This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age (長大成人) in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds (克服不可能的困境); how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.

33But for all those who scratched and clawed their way (努力扒出一條路，意指奮力提升社會地位) to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it -- those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations -- those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing (衰弱消沉) in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited (利用) by politicians, to gin (誘捕) up votes along racial lines, or to make up for (補償) a politician's own failings (缺失、弱點).

34And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit (教堂的講壇) and in the pews (教堂的長椅). The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism (真理) that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing (誠實正面地面對) our own complicity (共犯結構) in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging (建立...關係) the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm (深淵) of misunderstanding that exists between the races.