第一单元课文翻译及重难点范文
-
选修八第一单元
CALIFORNIA
美国加州
课文翻译及重难点分析
California is
the third largest
state in
the USA
but has the largest
population
.
加州是
美国
第三大
州，但
人口
最多。
It also has the
distinction of being the most multicultural state
in the USA,
having
attracted
people
from
all
over
the
world
.
The
customs
and
languages of the immigrants
live on
in their new
home.
加州与众不同之处在于它也是美国最具多元文化的
一个州，
它吸引了
来自世界各地的人们
。
这些移民的风俗习惯以及语言在他们的新家都
得以
延续
。
。
This diversity of culture is not
surprising when you know the history of
California.
当你了解了加利福尼亚的历史后，你就不会对此感到惊讶了。
AMERCANS
美洲土著人
Exactly when the first people arrived
in
what we now know as
California
, no one really
knows.
最早的一批人具体是在什么时候来到
我们现在所
知道的加利
福尼亚地区
的，谁也说不清楚。
However,
it
is
likely
that
Native
Americans
were
living
in
California at least fifteen thousand
years ago.
然而，
很可
能
至少在
15 ,000
年以前美洲土
著人就住在加利福
尼亚了。
Scientists believe that these settlers
crossed the Bering Strait in the Arctic
to
America
by
means
of
a
land
bridge
[
which
existed
in
prehistoric
times].
< br>科学家们认为，这些迁居者
通过
一条
史前时代曾经存在的
大
陆桥穿越北极地区的白令海峡到达美
洲。
In the 16th
century,
after the arrival of the
Europeans, the native
people
suffered greatly
Thousands
were killed or forced into slavery.
.
欧洲人
在
16<
/p>
世纪
来到这儿后，
土著人
遭受了极大的苦难
，
成
千上万
的人被杀害或被迫成为奴隶。
In
addition,
many
died
from
the
diseases
[brought
by
the
Europeans. ]
此外
，欧
洲人带来了疾病，使许多人
染病而死
，
However,
some survived these
terrible times, and today
there
are
more Native Americans
living in
California than in
any other state.
不过
，还是
有一些人
在经历了这些恐怖时期后
活下来
了。今
天住在加利福尼亚的美洲土著人比任何其他州的都要多。
SPANISH
西班牙人
In
the
18th
century
California
was
ruled
by
Spain.
Spanish
2
soldiers first
arrived in South America
in the early
16th century
, when
they
fought against the native people and took their
land.
在
18
世纪的时候，加利福尼亚是由西班牙统治的西班牙士兵最早是
在
1 6
世纪初期
来到南美洲的，他们同土著人打仗，并
夺去了他们的
土地
.
Two
centuries
later
,
the
Spanish
had
settled
in
most
parts
of
South
America and along the northwest coast
of
what we now call the United
States
.
< br>两个世纪以后
，
西班牙人在南美洲的大部分地区定居下来
，
而且还在
我们现在称之为美国的西北沿海地区
住下来
.
Of the first
Spanish to go to California,
the
majority
were religious men,
whose ministry was to teach the
Catholic religion to the natives.
在首批移居加州的西班牙人中，
大部分是宗教人士，
他们的职
责是向原住民传授天主教。
In
1821,
the
people
of
Mexico
gained
their
independence
from
Spain.
California then
became part of Mexico.
1821
年，墨西哥人从西班牙
获得了
独立
-
加利福尼亚于是成了墨西哥
的一部分。<
/p>
In
1846
the
United
States
declared
war
on
Mexico,
and
after
the
war
won by
the USA, Mexico had to give California to the USA.
1846
年美国
向
墨西哥
宣战
，美国赢得战争胜利后，墨西哥被迫把加
利福尼亚割让给美国。
3
However
, there is still a
strong Spanish
influence
in
the state.
That is
why
today over 40% of Californians speak
Spanish as a first or second
language.
但是，这个州至今仍然保留着很强的西班牙的
影响
。
这就是为什么
今天还有
4
0%
的加利福尼亚人仍然把西班牙语作为第一或第二语言
的缘故
。
NS
俄罗斯人
In the early
1800s,
Russian
hunters
,[
who had
originally
gone
to Alaska,
began settling in
California
.]
19
世纪初期
，
[
一批
最初
到阿拉斯加的俄罗斯猎人
]
开始在加利福尼亚
定居下来。
Today
there
are
about
25,000
Russian-Americans
living
in
and
around
San Francisco.
今天，住在圣弗朗西斯科（旧金山）及其周边地区的美籍俄罗斯人约
有
25,000
人。
4
.
GOLD MINERS
淘金矿工
In
1848,
not
long
after
the
American-Mexican
war,
gold
was
discovered in California.
<
/p>
1848
年，在美国同墨西哥开战之后
不
久
，在加利福尼亚发现
了金矿。
The
dream
of
becoming
rich
quickly
attracted
people
from
all
4