课文解读 下册 UNIT10 Social Problems in the United States 美国的社会问题
UNIT10 Social Problems in the United States 美国的社会问题
种族问题
与大多数其他国家不同，美国主要是一个移民国家。
Racial Problems
Unlike most other countries, the United States is primarily a nation of immigrants. 这些公民或他们的祖先是从世界各地移民过来的——有些是为了躲避宗教和政治迫害的难民，有些是为了寻求更好的生活而从旧世界来的冒险家，有些是为了逃离绝望的经济状况或自然灾害，有些是为了获得更好的教育机会，还有一些是违背自己意愿被带到北美卖为奴隶的俘虏。” The citizens or their ancestors immigrated from many parts of the globe - some as refugees from religious and political persecution, some as adventurers from the Old World seeking a better life, some fleeing a hopeless economic situation or natural disaster, some wanting greater educational opportunities, and some as captives brought to North America against their own will to be sold into slavery.' 虽然现在美国人拥有共同的文化，但这个国家包含许多种族和民族亚文化，这些亚文化各具特色。 Though people now all share a common culture in the US, the nation contains many racial and ethnic subcultures with their own distinctive characteristics. 这些差异在外部观察者看来可能微不足道或无关紧要，但它们助长了种族冲突，而种族冲突一直是美国社会中的一个问题。 These differences might seem trivial or irrelevant to outside observers, but they have contributed to racial conflicts that have been a persistent social problem in US society.美国是建立在人人平等的原则之上的，但在实践中，这个国家与这一理想相去甚远。 The United States was founded on the principle of human equality, but in practice the nation has fallen far short of that ideal. 美国社会是一个分层的社会，权力、财富和声望在人群中分配不均。 American society is a stratified one, in which power, wealth, and prestige are unequally distributed among the population. 这种不平等不仅仅是性别和社会阶层之间的差异; This inequality is not simply a matter of distinctions between gender and social classes; 它也倾向于遵循种族和民族界限，其结果是阶级划分往往与种族划分平行。 it tends to follow racial and ethnic lines as well, with the result that class divisions often parallel racial divisions.第一批来自西北欧“盎格鲁-撒克逊人”的男性定居者迅速控制了美国的经济资产和政治权力，从那以后，他们或多或少地保持着这种控制。The first male settlers from "Anglo-Saxon" northwestern Europe quickly took control of economic assets and political power in the United States, and they have maintained this control, to a greater or lesser degree, ever since.来自欧洲其他地区和世界其他地方的连续浪潮般的移民，必须经过漫长而艰难的斗争，才能融入美国的主流生活。 Successive waves of immigrants from other parts of Europe and elsewhere in the world have had to struggle long and hard to become assimilated into the mainstream of life in the US. 有些人成功了，分享到了“美国梦”; Some have succeeded and have shared in the "American Dream"; 另一些人——尤其是那些在民族或种族特征上与主流群体差异最大的人——则被正式或非正式的障碍排除在充分参与美国生活之外。 others-notably those whose ethnic or racial characteristics differ most markedly from those of the dominant groups-have been excluded by formal and informal barriers from full participation in American life. 这种歧视的结果在美国造成了严重和持续的种族紧张局势，并会定期爆发出公开的暴力事件。 The result of this discrimination has been a severe and continuing racial tension in the United States that has periodically erupted into outright violence. 特别是自20世纪60年代的民权示威、贫民窟骚乱和其他骚乱以来，种族和民族关系一直是社会科学家、政治家和公众关注的主要问题。 Particularly since the civil rights demonstrations, ghetto riots, and other unrest in the 1960s, race and ethnic relations have been a major preoccupation of social scientists, politicians and the general public.
在美国，除了占主导地位的白人盎格鲁-撒克逊新教徒(WASP)之外的任何群体都是社会中的少数群体。” In the United States, any group other than the dominant white Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) majority is a minority group in society. 这些少数种族和民族主要是指非洲裔美国人、美洲原住民或美洲印第安人、西班牙裔美国人和亚裔美国人。 These racial and ethnic minorities mainly refer to African Americans, Native Americans or American Indians, Hispanics, and Asian Americans. 包括亚裔美国人在内的所有种族群体仍在遭受种族歧视和不公正待遇。 All these racial groups including Asian Americans are still suffering from racial discrimination and injustice. 但在这里，我们更仔细地看看一个群体，他们的问题吸引了最多的公众关注:非洲裔美国人。 But here we look more closely at one group whose problems have attracted the most public attention: African Americans.非裔美国人曾经是少数族裔中最大的种族和少数民族群体。 African Americans used to be the largest of the racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. 但最近的人口普查显示，他们现在是仅次于西班牙裔/拉丁裔的第二大少数族裔。 But recent census shows that they are now the second largest, after people of Hispanic/Latino origin. 根据2010年的人口普查，有3760万非洲裔美国人，占人口的12.2%。 According to the 2010 census, there are 37.6 million African Americans, 12.2% of the population. 他们在美国的历史是一段持续压迫、歧视和剥夺基本公民权利和自由的历史。 Their history in the United States has been one of sustained oppression, discrimination, and denial of basic civil rights and liberties.*第一批非洲人在1619年被带到北美。 *The first Africans were brought to North America in 1619. 在几十年内，对他们廉价劳动力的需求导致了大规模的奴隶贸易，最终将大约40万男人和女人运送到这个大陆。 Within a few decades, the demand for their cheap labor led to a massive slave trade that ultimately transported some 400 000 men and women to this continent. 这些奴隶被邻近的部落捕获，然后卖给白人商人，在极其拥挤的条件下被运到加勒比海，然后运到美国，在那里像牛一样被拍卖。 Captured by neighboring tribes in their native villages and then sold to white traders, the slaves were shipped in wretchedly crowded conditions to the Caribbean and then to the United States, where they were sold like cattle at auctions. 他们的种族低人一等的虚构故事- -不负责任、懒惰和智力低下- -被不遗余力地传播，作为他们继续被奴役的理由。 The myth of their racial inferiority - their irresponsibility, laziness and lower intelligence — was assiduously propagated as a justification for their continued subjugation. 暴徒用鞭刑或私刑来维护既定秩序，打击反抗的奴隶，加强对奴隶的社会控制。 The whip or the lynch mob served to assert social control over slaves who challenged the established order.到1830年，北方各州都宣布奴隶制为非法，但在奴隶劳动已经成为经济支柱的南方各州，一直保留着这一制度，直到南北战争、林肯1863年的《解放奴隶宣言》和1865年宪法第13修正案才最终结束。 "The Northern states had all outlawed slavery by 1830, but the Southern states, in which slave labor had become the backbone of the economy, maintained the institution until it was finally ended by the Civil War, Lincoln's emancipation of slaves in 1863, and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. 但是，即使在废除奴隶制之后，对非洲裔美国人的大规模歧视仍然存在。 But even after the abolition of slavery, wholesale discrimination was practiced against African Americans. 许多州通过了种族隔离法，在学校、住房、餐馆和其他公共设施中将种族隔离开来，而制度化的歧视迫使非洲裔美国人从事最低收入的工作。 Many states passed segregation laws to keep the races apart in schools, housing, restaurants, and other public facilities, while institutionalized discrimination kept African Americans in the lowest-paid jobs.' 各种各样的方法，如受操纵的“读写能力”测试，被用来将他们排除在选民名单之外，从而阻止他们行使政治权利。 A variety of methods, such as rigged "literacy" tests, were used to keep them off the voters' rolls and thus prevent them from exercising their political rights. 直到20世纪50年代，种族隔离法仍在南方各州执行; Segregation laws continued to be enforced in Southern states until the 1950s; 在北方，隔离通常是非正式的——但一般同样有效。” in the North informal methods were used — often just as effectively."
20世纪60年代发生了伟大的民权运动，其目标是彻底废除种族隔离法，为非裔美国人争取平等权利。 The 1960s saw the great civil rights movement whose goals were to end segregation laws completely and fight for the equal rights for African American people. 许多非裔美国人开始有了新想法。 Many African Americans began to have a new mood. 他们有自豪感; They had feelings of pride; 他们宣称“黑色是美丽的”; they declared that "black is beautiful"; 非裔美国人社区表现出前所未有的自信。 and the African American community showed signs of unprecedented self-confidence. 同样重要的是，许多非裔美国人领导人开始否认完全融入美国主流社会是非裔美国少数民族的目标。 Equally important, many African American leaders began to disclaim full social integration into the American mainstream as the goal of the African American minority.相反，他们认为，非裔美国人应该在一个多元社会中与其他群体共存，这个社会包含了相互尊重的不同的和独特的社区。 Instead, they argued, African Americans ought to coexist with other groups in a plural society containing different and distinctive communities living in mutual respect.然而，非洲裔美国人的现状呈现出一幅复杂的画面。 The current status of African Americans presents a mixed picture, however. 消除阻碍她们晋升的法律障碍是一项重大进展，但制度化的歧视仍然很普遍。 The elimination of legal barriers to their advancement has been a major gain, but institutionalized discrimination is still commonplace. 特别是住房，仍然高度隔离:绝大多数非洲裔美国人仍然住在黑人占绝大多数的社区，而大多数白人住在白人占绝大多数的社区。 Housing in particular, remains highly segregated: the great majority of African Americans continue to live in neighborhoods that are overwhelmingly black, and most whites live in neighborhoods that are overwhelmingly white. 校车和其他旨在进行种族融合的学校项目对市中心地区产生了一些影响，但对以非洲裔美国人为主的城市中心与以白人为主的郊区和周边小城镇之间存在的种族隔离几乎没有任何影响。 Busing and other programs aimed at integrating the schools have had some impact on inner-city areas but have made virtually no difference to the segregation that exists between predominantly African American urban centers and the predominantly white suburbs and small towns that surround them.“非裔美国人在教育方面取得了相当大的进步; "African Americans have achieved considerable educational gains; 1966年只有4.6%的大学生是黑人，而2014年则有14%的大学生是黑人。 black enrollment in colleges rose dramatically between 1966, when only 4.6% of college students were black, and 2014, when 14% were black. 非裔美国人家庭收入中位数从1960年的3230美元上升到2013年的33321美元，但白人家庭收入中位数的增长速度至少与非洲裔美国人一样快，而且近年来两种群体的收入差距有所扩大。 Median family income of African Americans rose from $3230 in 1960 to $33321 in 2013, but the median income of white families rose at least as fast, and the income gap between the two groups has widened in recent years. 女性的收入差距也很大，在同样或类似的工作中，男性每挣1美元，女性只能得到76美分，非裔美国女性的收入差距更大。 There is also great disparity in the earnings of women, who receive 76g for every dollar earned by men in the same or similar job, and is even greater ford African American women. 造成这种差异的一个主要原因是，非裔美国人往往被禁止担任比其他工人更有权威的职位，而是被限制在职场等级下层的低薪工作中。 A major source of this differential is the fact that African Americans tend to be barred from positions of authority over other workers, and are restricted instead to lower-paying jobs further down the work-place hierarchy. 仅这一因素就占了黑人与白人总收入差距的三分之一。 This factor alone accounts for about a third of the total black-white income gap. 非裔美国人的政治影响力正在增强，在南方，他们的投票人数空前多，在北部、中西部和西部的主要城市，他们也是主要的投票群体，在某些情况下，他们占多数。 The political influence of African Americans is increasing, both in the South, where they are voting in unprecedented numbers, and in the major cities of the North, Midwest, and West, where they are a major voting bloc and, in some cases, a majority. 到2010年，在巴拉克·奥巴马成为美国第一位非洲裔总统后， By 2010, after Barack Obama became the first African American President of the United States,
越来越多受过良好教育的非裔美国人在地方和中央政府、商界和媒体中担任重要职务。 an increasing number of well-educated African Americans had already moved into important positions in local and national government, the business world and in the media.黑人和白人之间的种族关系仍有许多有待改进的地方，尽管有确凿的证据表明人们的态度有所改善。 Race relations between black and white still leave much to be desired, although there is unmistakable evidence of some improvements in attitudes.然而，在消除歧视方面取得了多大进展的问题上，种族之间存在着尖锐的分歧。 However, there is a sharp divergence between the races on the question of how much progress has been made in ending discrimination. 大多数白人认为，在消除歧视方面取得了很大进展，但超过一半的非洲裔美国人认为没有多大真正的变化。 The majority of whites believe that there has been a lot of progress in getting rid of discrimination, but more than half of the African Americans feel that there has not been much real change. 只有不到20%的白人认为，许多非洲裔美国人在他们的城市因为歧视而失去了工作和晋升机会。 Only less than 20% of the whites believe that many African Americans miss out on jobs and promotion in their city because of discrimination. 许多非洲裔美国人仍然对种族关系的进展持悲观态度。 Many African Americans are still pessimistic about progress in race relations. 然而，皮尤研究中心2010年1月12日发表的一项调查显示，近一半的非西语裔美国人认为歧视不是阻碍黑人取得社会进步的原因。 A Pew Research Center study published on January 12, 2010, however, indicates that nearly half of non-Hispanic African Americans do not think discrimination is responsible for keeping blacks from getting ahead in society.对这两个群体看法不同的一个原因可能是，非裔美国人更加敏锐地意识到，自20世纪60年代以来，他们中的许多人未能分享到非裔美国人所取得的更普遍的成就 One reason for the difference in the perceptions of the two groups may be that African Americans are more acutely aware that a great many of their members have failed to share in the more general gains made by African Americans since the 1960s.20 一些非洲裔美国人，可能多达三分之一，已经努力进入了中产阶级，在这个过程中，他们经常从“贫民窟”搬到郊区或城市里更好的住房中。 Some African Americans, perhaps as many as one-third, have worked their way into the middle class, in the process often moving from the "ghetto" to the suburbs or tc better housing within the cities. 但其他非裔美国人却被抛在了后面，城市贫民区现在包含了一群长期贫困的“下层阶级”，他们是习惯性失业或未充分就业的非裔美国人。 But other African Americans have been left behind, and urban ghettos now contain a permanently impoverished "underclass" of habitually unemployed or underemployed African American people. 这个“下层阶级”的许多成员都很年轻，没有技能。 Many members of this "underclass" are young and unskilled. 他们所居住的城市里，青少年黑人工人的失业率高达50%，大约是美国劳动力整体失业率的8倍。 They live in cities where the unemployment rate for teenage black workers runs as high as 50%, or about 8 times the rate for the American work force as a whole. 即使在没有种族歧视的情况下，这个“下层阶级”也可能继续存在，其方式与其他贫困群体的存在大致相同- -即由于社会阶级不平等的原因 This "underclass" could continue to persist, even in the absence of racial discrimination, in much the same way as other pockets of poverty persist— that is, for reasons of social-class inequality. 无论如何，过去十年所取得的进步并没有给黑人“下层阶级”带来什么好处。 In any event, such progress as has been made in the past decade has brought little benefit to the black "underclass." 生活在贫穷、衰败、犯罪、吸毒、失业和绝望的环境中，这个城市的底层阶级有可能在未来爆发危机。 Living in an environment of poverty, decay, crime, drug addiction, joblessness, and hopelessness, this inner-city underclass offers the potential to explode in the future. 随着2008年巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)当选美国总统，许多美国人很快就开始宣称，种族主义结束了。 Many people in the US were quick to claim that racism was over with the election of Barack Obama in 2008. 当然，事实并非如此，因为种族主义是一个系统性和制度化的问题，自美国建国以来就一直盛行 Of course this wasn't the case, since racism is a systemic and institutionalized problem that has flourished since the origins of the country
而且可能永远不会被彻底根除。 and might never be comprehensively eradicated. 白人至上主义在美国确实仍然是一个严重的问题，唐纳德·特朗普的言论证明了这一点，许多人批评特朗普欢迎所谓“另类右翼”运动领袖、被怀疑是白人至上主义者的史蒂夫·班农进入他的核心顾问圈子，并进入国家安全委员会。 White supremacy is indeed still a significant problem in the US, as evidenced by the rhetoric of Donald Trump, whc many criticized for welcoming a suspected white supremacist, Steve Bannon, a leader of the so-called "alt-right" movement, into his inner circle of advisers and also onto the National Security Council.
贫困问题 Poverty
按照许多标准，美国都是历史上最富有的社会。
By many standards the United States is the most fabulously wealthy society in history.
然而，2015年，有4310万人(约占美国人口的13.5%)生活在官方贫困线以下，联邦政府认为他们的收入不足以满足衣食住行等基本需求。 Yet in 2015, 43.1 million people, or about 13.5% of Americans were living at or below the official poverty line, on incomes that the federal government considered insufficient to meet basic requirement of food, clothing, and shelter. 这些人并不是美国唯一的穷人; These people are not the only poor in the United States; 还有数百万人生活水平略高于贫困线，他们的处境也好不到哪里去。 there are millions more, living slightly above the poverty line, whose plight is not much better. 尽管美国享有盛名的富裕，但与大多数工业化国家相比，美国的社会福利并不尽如人意 Despite its celebrated affluence, social services in the United States compare unfavorably with those in most industrializedd societies. 此外，富裕的大多数人有时似乎对人口中最贫穷部分的问题漠不关心。 Furthermore, the affluent majority sometimes seems indifferent to the problems of the poorest section of the population. 在经济低迷或衰退时期，这种情况更糟。 This situation is worse during times of economic downturns or recession. 例如，在2008年开始的经济衰退期间，贫困率从2003年的12.5%上升到13%或14%。 For example, the poverty level rose to 13 or 14% from 12.5% in 2003 during the recession that began in 2008.美国的贫困并不仅仅意味着穷人的生活不如其他公民好。 Poverty in the United States does not simply mean that the poor do not live quite as well as other citizens. 这意味着许多老人吃猫狗粮来补充他们的食谱。 It means many old people eating dog and cat food to supplement their diets. 这意味着成千上万的儿童营养不良和贫困。 It means malnutrition and deprivation for hundreds of thousands of children. 这意味着更容易患病、酗酒、成为罪犯的受害者以及精神失常。 It means greater susceptibility to disease, to alcoholism, to victimization by criminals, and to mental disorders. 它通常意味着不稳定的婚姻、贫民窟、文盲、无知、医疗设施不足和预期寿命缩短。 It often means unstable marriages, slum housing, illiteracy, ignorance, inadequate medical facilities, and shortened life expectancy. 贫穷可能意味着自卑、绝望和对人类潜能的抑制。 Poverty can mean low self-esteem, despair, and stunting of human potential.美国的贫困问题之所以加剧，是因为它发生在一个财富(财产和其他资本)和收入(工资、薪金和其他收入)的总体分配非常不平等的社会。 The problem of poverty in the United States is aggravated because it occurs in a society in which the overall distribution of wealth (property and other capital) and income (wages, salaries, and other earnings) is very unequal. 和除了最简单的社会之外的所有社会一样，美国的特点是社会分层，也就是说，不同社会阶层从社会中获得利益的程度不同。 Like all but the simplest societies, the United States is characterized by social stratification, that is, it is divided into social classes that have varying degrees of access to the rewards the society offers. 据估计，在20世纪70年代，如果美国的财富平均分配，每个成年人的净资产将在2.5万美元左右。 It was estimated in the 1970s that if the wealth in the United States were evenly distributed, every adult would have a net worth of around $25 000. 但是, But, the
财富分配极不平等。 distribution of wealth is highly unequal. 例如，过去十年取得的进步并没有给黑人“下层阶级”带来任何好处，他们生活在一个贫穷、腐朽、犯罪、吸毒、失业和绝望的环境中。 For example, such progress as has been made in the past decade has brought no benefit whatever to the black "underclass," who are living in an environment of poverty, decay, crime, drug addiction, joblessness, and hopelessness. 这些财富中的大部分并不是通过现在享受这些财富的人的辛勤工作或富有想象力的技能积累起来的。 Most of this wealth has not been accumulated through the hard work or imaginative skills of those who now enjoy it.它是遗传的。 It has been inherited. 就像穷人的孩子出生在贫困中，而且往往会一直贫困下去一样，富人的孩子往往会享受一生的富裕。 Just as the children of the poor are born into poverty and tend to remain there, so the children of the rich tend to enjoy a lifetime of affluence.美国的收入分配也遵循类似的模式。 The distribution of income in the United States follows a similar pattern. 2013年，最富有的20%的美国人拥有全国72%的财富，而最贫穷的20%的美国人只拥有3%的财富。 In 2013, the top 20% of the population own 72% of the nation's wealth, whereas the poorest 20% of the US population only own 3% of the wealth. 至少自第二次世界大战以来，这种模式几乎没有改变。 This pattern has remained virtually unchanged at least since World War II. 普通员工需要工作一个多月才能挣到CEO一小时的工资。 The average employee needs to work more than a month to earn what the CEO earns in one hour. 企业高管还享受公司提供的许多其他免税福利，比如使用汽车和私人飞机、报销账户、医疗保健以及伪装成商务旅行的假期。 Corporate executives enjoy many other tax-free benefits from their companies, such as the use of cars and private jets, expense accounts, medical care, and vacations disguised as business trips. 这些免税福利可以很容易地换算为每月数百甚至数千美元的收入。 These untaxed benefits can easily represent the equivalent of hundreds or even thousands of dollars of income every month. 调查发现，最昂贵的餐厅80%的支票和超过三分之一的百老汇剧院门票都是由公司报销的。 It was found that 80% of the checks at the most expensive restaurants and over a third of Broadway theater tickets were covered by corporate expense accounts. 自2008年经济衰退开始以来，公众对美国公司高管们的巨额薪酬产生了强烈反应。 Since the recession began in 2008, there has been a strong public reaction against the enormous amounts paid to top executives in the Us.在一个普遍富裕的美国社会中，贫困的持续存在引发了严重的道德问题，并不可避免地造成了激烈的利益冲突和许多政治争议。 The continued existence of poverty in a generally affluent American society raises serious moral questions— and inevitably creates fierce conflicts of interest and many political controversies.
Drug Abuse
药物滥用在美国已被视为该国面临的最具挑战性的社会问题之一。
Drug abuse in the United States has come to be regarded as one of the most challenging social problems facing the nation. 事实上，“毒品”这个词本身就能激起强烈的情绪，自20世纪60年代末以来的民意调查显示，“毒品问题”被大多数美国人视为对社会的主要威胁，尤其是对年轻人的威胁。 Indeed, the very word "drug" excites strong emotions, and opinion polls since the late 1960s have shown that the "drug problem" is perceived by most Americans as a major threat to the society, particularly to its younger members.药物滥用在美国是一个社会问题，因为它具有广泛的社会成本或功能失调——有些是明显的、可衡量的，有些是隐藏的、难以量化的 Drug abuse in the United States is a social problem because it has a wide range of social costs, or dysfunctions—some obvious and measurable, some hidden and difficult to quantify.
Crime 犯罪问题
物质滥用与犯罪之间有着密切的联系。 There is a strong association between some forms of drug use and crime. 例如，饮酒与暴力犯罪高度相关; The use of alcohol, for example, is highly correlated with violent crime; 超过一半的谋杀和其他暴力袭击犯在犯罪前喝过酒。 more than half of those committing murder and other violent assaults have consumed alcohol immediately before the crime. 海洛因成瘾是21世纪全国的流行问题，它也与犯罪有关，尽管与暴力没有那么直接的关系。 Heroin addiction, which is a 21st century epidemic across the country, is also related to crime, although not so directly to violence. 海洛因成瘾者每天可能需要超过100美元来维持他们的习惯，大多数成瘾者发现他们必须偷窃才能筹集这笔钱。 Heroin addictsd may need more than $100 a day to support their habit, and most addicts find that they must steal in order to raise these sums. 海洛因成瘾者在农村社区和郊区中产阶级社区中出现的可能性是一样的。 Heroin addicts are equally likely to be in rural communities as suburban, middle-class communities. 美国目前的海洛因成瘾危机正在挑战“对药物滥用采取严厉措施”的观念，因为成瘾者主要是白人。 The current heroin addiction crisis in the US is challenging notions of "getting tough on drug abuse" because the addicts are mainly white. 美国的刑事司法系统，以及历来利用“毒品战争”迫害年轻非洲裔美国男性的共和党政客，对白人海洛因成瘾者却出人意料地充满同情。 The US criminal justice system, and Republican politicians who have historically used the "War on Drugs" to persecute particularly young African American males, have surprisingly found a lot of compassion in their hearts for white heroin addicts. 现在，他们更喜欢治疗毒瘾而不是监禁。（白人多会去像疗养院一样的戒毒所） 30 Now, they favor treatment over incarceration.
汽车事故
饮用酒精直接导致成千上万的公路事故和伤害;
Automobile accidents
Alcohol use is directly responsible for tens of thousands of highway accidents and injuries; 每年道路交通死亡人数中有一半是由酒驾造成的。 the drug is blamed for half of the annual total of road traffic fatalities. 在所有因车祸致死的司机中，约有60%的人血液中酒精浓度超过0.05%，这一水平在国家安全委员会看来足以损害人的驾驶能力，超过35%的人血液中酒精浓度超过0.15%，这一水平足以导致中毒。 Some 60% of all drivers fatally injured in auto accidents have a blood-alcohol concentration of over 0.05%, a level that the National Safety Council considers sufficient to impair driving ability, and over 35% have a concentration of over 0.15%, a level high enough to cause intoxication. 与酒精有关的汽车事故造成的财产损失和医疗费用每年总计约10亿美元。 The cost of property damage and medical expenses due to alcohol-related automobile accidents totals about $1 billion each year.
对个人的影响
药物依赖对个人健康和安全造成了严重的损害
Effect on individuals
Drug dependence takes a significant toll in terms of personal health and safety. 无论是有意还是无意，重度吸毒者比一般人更容易被杀害或自杀。 The heavy user of drugs is much more likely than a member of the general population to be killed or to commit suicide, either deliberately or accidentally. 例如，酗酒者的死亡率几乎是一般人群的三倍; Alcoholics, for example, have a death rate nearly three times higher than that of the general population; 自杀人数占所有自杀人数的三分之一， they represent a third of all suicides and are seven times more likely than
遭受致命事故的概率比不喝酒的人高七倍。 non-alcoholics to suffer fatal accidents. 使用海洛因会增加一个人因过量服用而过早死亡的几率，还会导致肝炎、艾滋病等传染病或自杀。 Use of heroin increases one's chances of premature death through overdose, infectious diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS or suicide. 许多药物对精神和身体健康都有严重的、有时是不可逆转的影响。 Many drugs have severe and sometimes irreversible effects on mental as well as physical health. 药物依赖也可能影响个人生活的其他方面，从家庭到工作场所到与朋友的个人关系。 Drug dependence, too, may affect other areas of the individual's life, ranging from the home to the work place to personal relationships with friends.
经济损失
仅酗酒每年造成的事故、医疗费用、生产损失等损失就超过2500亿美元。
Economic losses
The cost of alcohol abuse alone totals over $250 billion a year in accidents, medical bill, lost production, and so on. 然而，很难估计吸毒的总经济成本。 It is difficult, however, to estimate the total economic costs of drug use. 一个原因是，社会必须支付许多间接成本来支持依赖毒品的人。 One reason is that there are many indirect costs society must pay to support drug-dependent people. 治疗和控制药物滥用消耗了大量执法机构资源和其他的公共资源。 Treatment and control of drug abuse constitute a major drain on law-enforcement and other public resources. 例如，长期滥用药物的人可能会失业，并最终进入福利保障名单。 Chronic drug abusers, for example, may become unemployable and end up on the welfare rolls. 到2016年，联邦政府每年花费超过130亿美元用于治疗各种药物滥用者。 By 2016, the federal government was spending over $13 billion per year on the treatment of various drug abusers.
大规模监禁
犯罪被认为是国家面临的最严重的社会问题。
Mass Incarceration
Crime is considered to be of the most serious social problems facing the nation.前总统尼克松曾在多个场合表示，犯罪是“头号敌人”，“我们必须向它宣战”。 Former President Nixon remarked on several occasions that crime is the "number one enemy" and that "we must declare war against it." 具有讽刺意味的是，尼克松总统和他的许多高级行政官员后来因与水门事件有关而面临刑事指控，其中一些人被监禁。 Ironically, President Nixon and many of his top administrative officials later faced criminal charges-with some being imprisoned— in connection with the Watergate Affair. 具有讽刺意味的是，尼克松总统利用“毒品战争”攻击非洲裔美国人社区，并以惊人的速度监禁年轻黑人男性，这一点现在已经变得很明显。 Also, ironically, it has now become apparent that President Nixon used the "War on Drugs" to attack African American communities and imprison young black males at alarming rates.这个问题被许多人贴上了“大规模监禁”的标签，米歇尔·亚历山大(Michelle Alexander)和她颇具煽动性的原创著作《新吉姆·克劳法》(The New Jim Crow)或许是最重要的标志。 This problem has been labeled "mass incarceration" by many people, perhaps most importantly by Michelle Alexander in her provocatively original book The New Jim Crow. 这本书解释了美国的法律和执法系统是如何最大化囚犯数量的，尤其是非洲裔美国人和西班牙裔囚犯。 This book explains how there is a system of laws and enforcement in the US designed to maximize the number of prisoners, particularly African American and Hispanic prisoners. 非洲裔美国人和西班牙裔美国人约占美国人口的30%，但却占监狱人口的60%以上。 African Americans and Hispanics constitute roughly 30% of the US population but over 60% of the prison population.有200多万囚犯——几乎占成年人的1%——还有近500万人处于缓刑或假释中。 There are over 2 million prisoners— almost 1% of adults-and almost 5 million people on probation or parole.
美国人口约占世界人口的5%，但囚犯数量却占世界的25%。 The US has roughly 5% of the world's population but 25% of the world's prisoners.所有这些都是令人惊讶的，因为在2015年，美国的犯罪率连续第14年下降。 All of this is most surprising because in 2015, crime in the United States decreased for the 14th consecutive year. 2016年，只有15696起凶杀案，而1996年有19645起(同一时期，美国人口从2.65亿增加到3.21亿——因此，尽管人口增长了20%，但凶杀案减少了20%)。 And in 2016, there were only 15 696 homicides whereas in 1996 there were 19645 (the US population rose from 265 to 321 million people in the same time period—so there were 20% fewer homicides despite the population growing 20%). 犯罪被捕的人不成比例地大概率是男性、年轻人、少数族裔成员和城市居民。 Those arrested for crimes are disproportionately likely to be male, young, a member of a racial minority, and a city resident. 男性被逮捕的几率是女性的四倍。 Males are arrested about four times as often as females. 只有在青少年离家出走和卖淫案件中，女性被逮捕的频率高于男性。 Only in juvenile runaway cases and prostitution are females arrested more often than males. 男性更常被逮捕有两个主要原因。 There are two major reasons why males are more often arrested. 一种是性别角色刻板印象，它鼓励男性更积极、更大胆，而女性则被鼓励更被动、更循规蹈矩。 One is the sex role stereotyping which encourages males to be more aggressive and daring, while females are encouraged to be more passive and conforming to rules and norms. 第二个原因是警察和法院倾向于更宽容地对待女性罪犯。 The second reason is the tendency of police officers and the courts to deal more leniently with female offenders. 然而，应该指出的是，在过去十年中，女性犯罪的增长速度比男性快得多，这是由于妇女挑战被动和顺从的传统性别角色而产生的负面影响。 However, it should be noted, in the past decade, crime among females has been increasing at much faster rate than among males, a negative side effect which has been attributed to women challenging the traditional sex roles of passivity and conformity.少数族裔群体的成员被逮捕的比例高得不正常。Members of racial minority groups have a disproportionately higher rate of arrests. 黑人的被捕率是白人的三倍。 The arrest rate for the black population is three times higher than for whites. 这一比率较高的一个原因是黑人人口中穷人或失业者的比例较高; One reason for this higher rate is that a higher proportion of the black population is poor or unemployed; 贫困(和失业)与 联邦调查局认定的最严重的几种犯罪类型之间存在高度相关性。 and there are high correlations between poverty (and unemployment) and the types of crime classified by the FBI as most serious. 少数族裔被捕率较高的另一个原因可能是种族偏见。 An additional reason for the higher arrest rates among minority groups may be racial prejudice. 许多研究表明，因犯罪行为而被逮捕、起诉、定罪和监禁的可能性随着罪犯社会地位的提高而降低。 A number of studies have shown that the probability of arrest, prosecution, conviction, and incarceration for an offense that is committed decreases as the social status of the offender increases.在一项研究中，36名法官拿到了一个假想案件的情况说明书，并被要求建议适当的量刑。 In one study, 36 judges were given fact sheets on a hypothetical case and asked to recommend an appropriate sentence. 案情报告包含以下信息:“乔·卡特”，27岁，承认犯有殴打罪。 The fact sheets contained the following information:"Joe Cut", 27, pleaded guilty to battery. 他用弹簧刀划伤了他的同居妻子的手臂。 He slashed his common-law wife ond the arms with a switchblade. 他有扰乱治安、醉酒和肇事逃逸的前科。 His record showed conviction for disturbing the peace, drunkenness, and hit-run driving. 他告诉一名缓刑官，他的妻子用扫帚柄袭击了他，他是出于自卫。 He told a probation officer that he acted in selfdefense after his wife attacked him with a broom handle. 检察官建议 The prosecutor recommended
不超过5天监禁或100美元罚款。 not more than 5 days in jail or a $100 fine. 一半的情况说明中把"乔·卡特"认定为白人，另一半认定他是黑人。 Half the fact sheets identified "Joe Cut" as white, and the other half identified him as black. 认为他是白人的法官建议判他3到10天，而认为他是黑人的法官建议判他5到30天。 The judges who thought he was white recommended a sentence of 3 to 10 days, while those who thought he was black recommended a sentence from 5 to 30 days. 必须指出的是，UCR的严重犯罪指数侧重于社会和经济地位较低的人更容易犯下的罪行。 It must be noted that the Serious Crime Index of UCR focuses on crimes which are more apt to be committed by persons of lower social and economic status. 它不包括高收入群体通常犯下的犯罪类型; It does not contain the types of crimes typically committed by higher income groups; 欺诈、虚假广告、企业锁定价格、贿赂、贪污、工业污染、逃税等等。 fraud, false advertising, corporate price fixing, bribery, embezzlement, industrial pollution, tax evasion, and so on. 如果白领犯罪被纳入犯罪指数，如果当局在执法方面更加有力，那么典型罪犯的形象很可能比犯罪指数所显示的更年长、更富有、更白人、更郊区。 If white-collar crimeswere included in the Crime Index, and if authorities were more vigorous in their enforcement, the profile of a typical criminal would be very likely older, wealthier, whiter, and more suburban than suggested by the Crime Index. 总之，联邦调查局的严重犯罪指数提供了美国某些犯罪的比率和趋势的指示。 In summary, the Serious Crime Index of the FBI provides an indication of the rates and trends of certain crimes in the United States. 然而，这些忽略了白领犯罪的统计数据受到警方报告做法的影响，必须与许多犯罪未报告的事实相对照。 Yet these statistics that overlook white-collar crimes are affected by police reporting practices and have to be viewed against the fact that many crimes are unreported. 进一步看来，穷人、受教育程度低的人和少数民族不仅是选择性执法的受害者，而且是犯罪统计数据误导的受害者。 It further appears that the poor, the undereducated, and minorities have been the victims not only of selective law enforcement, but also of misleading statistics on crime. 一些社会学家认为，由于高收入阶层更多地参与白领犯罪(这一点经常被执法机构忽视)，高收入阶层实际上可能比低收入阶层的犯罪率更高。 Some sociologists have contended that, since higher-income classes are far more involved in white-collar crime (which is often ignored by law enforcement agencies), the higher classes may actually have a higher rate of crime than the lower classes.
大学校园性暴力
侵害妇女的暴力行为在美国社会的各个领域都是一个问题，对男性、儿童和老人的性暴力也是一个问题，而对女大学生的性暴力是一种流行行为，正在21世纪得到重视。 Sexual Violence on College Campuses
While violence against women is a problem in all areas of US society, and sexual violence against men, children, and the elderly is also a problem, sexual violence against female college students is an epidemic which is being addressed in the 21st century.人们普遍认为，20%的女性在大学期间会遭到性侵犯。 It is widely accepted as fact that 20% of women will be sexually assaulted ind college. 此外，90%被性侵犯的人不会报案。 Moreover, 90% of those who are sexually assaulted will not report it. 造成这种情况的原因有很多:尴尬、害怕受到指责，或者认为起诉不太可能成功。 There are many reasons for this: embarrassment, fear of being blamed, or an expectation that successful prosecution is unlikely. 美国的许多学院和大学 Many colleges and universities around the US are
目前正在接受教育部的调查，原因是未能为女学生提供一个安全的环境，让她们能够与男学生一样追求平等的教育机会。 currently being investigated by the Department of Education for failing to provide a safeenvironment for female students to pursue equal educational opportunities as malestudents. 理由是，如果不安全，女学生就无法发挥她们的学术潜力。 The rationale is that female students cannot reach their academic potential ifthey are not safe.关于大学校园性侵犯的一个重要问题是，尽管所有女学生都被反复告知，“不要在晚上独自行走”，这表明最大的风险来自隐藏在黑暗中的攻击者，但事实是，大多数女学生都知道攻击者的名字。 One important point about sexual assault on college campuses is that even thoughall female students are told, repeatedly, "don't walk alone at night," which suggeststhe greatest risk comes from attackers hiding in the dark, the truth is that most female students will know the name of their attacker. 攻击他们的人可能来自他们的宿舍、同学或朋友。 Their attacker will be someone from theirdormitory, a classmate, or a friend. 这以前被称为“约会强奸”，但现在更恰当地名称为“熟人强奸”。 This was previously called "date rape," but is nowmore appropriately known as "acquaintance rape."
政府和企业的权力滥用
政府和企业的一个关键问题是权力及其滥用。
The Abuse of Power by Government and Corporations
A crucial problem of government and corporations concerns power — and theabuse of it. 美国人的生活被大型公共和私人组织所支配。 American lives are dominated by large public and private organizations.公共组织，主要是政府机构，几乎影响到他们生活的每一个领域。 Public organizations, primarily government agencies, affect almost every area of their experience. 甚至在“大数据”时代之前，政府就开始登记出生信息，提供教育和社会保障，记录婚姻，规范许多就业条件，征收税收，通过成千上万的法律影响生活的无数方面，最后登记死亡。 Even before the era of "big data," the government began to register births, provide education and social services, record marriages, regulate many of theconditions of employment, collect taxes, influence countless aspects of lives throughthousands of laws, and finally register deaths.在乔治·w·布什总统任期内，联邦政府颁布了所谓的“爱国者法案”，该法案批准了基于高科技的新方法来侵犯美国公民的隐私。 During the presidency of George W. Bush, the federal government enacted the so-called "Patriot Act," which sanctioned new, technology-based ways to invade theprivacy of US citizens. 其中包括但不限于，在没有法院授权的情况下窃听普通公民的电话，甚至要求知道某人从当地图书馆借了什么书。 These included, but were not limited to, wiretapping phonesof private citizens without a court warrant and even demanding to know what books someone has borrowed from the local library. 在9/11恐怖袭击之后，大多数人都被压制得无法反击，而那些反击的人则被批评为不爱国。 Most people were too subdued after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 to fight back, and those who did were criticized for being unpatriotic. 毕竟，这项立法被称为“爱国者法案”，所以反对它一定是不爱国的。 After all, the legislation was called the Patriot Act, so to oppose it must beunpatriotic. 这就提出了“爱国主义”到底是什么意思的问题，一些勇敢的人提出：质疑政府的行为实际上是爱国公民的一项职责。 This raised the question of what "patriotism" really meant, and some bravedpeople advanced the argument that questioning the government was in fact the duty of a patriotic citizen.美国人的生活在很大程度上是由大型机构监控的，无论是公共机构还是私人机构。 Life in the US is largely tracked by big organizations, whether public or private.美国的大多数连锁店都会给每位顾客发一个追踪装置，顾客愿意在收银台出示追踪装置以获得小额折扣。 Most chain stores in the US issue a tracking device to each customer, to be presentedwillingly at the cash register to receive small discounts. 然而这些组织， Yet these organizations,
最初是为了满足需求和提高生活质量而建立的，但往往给人的感觉是压迫、反应迟钝、没有人情味、效率低下、傲慢甚至腐败。 originally established to satisfy needs and improve the quality of lives, are oftend experienced as oppressive, unresponsive, impersonal, inefficient, arrogant, and even corrupt.最近的丑闻围绕着企业通过侵入性策略收集个人数据，包括互联网cookie、智能手机和面部识别软件。 Recent scandals have revolved around corporate collection of personal data through invasive tactics involving internet cookies, smartphones, and facial recognition software. 许多公司可能随时知道我们在哪里以及我们在做什么，这是对大多数美国公民非常珍视的隐私的可怕侵犯。 It is possible for many companies to know where we are at all times and what we are doing, which is a frightening invasion of the privacy that most US citizens hold so dear. 现在，汽车保险公司甚至在私家车上安装跟踪装置，作为收集数据的一种手段。 Now, car insurance companies are even placing tracking devices in private cars as a means of collecting data. 优步(Uber)等拼车公司也因在客户完成行程后仍在追踪他们的行踪而受到批评。 Ride-sharing companies such as Uber have also been criticized for tracking the movement of their customers even after their trip has been completed. “对于企业来说，人们普遍认为他们更关心自己的利润，而不是社会责任、产品的质量或价格，或者广告的真实性。 "As for corporations, they are widely believed to be more concerned with their own profits than with social responsibility, and the quality or price of their products, or the truth of their advertising. 为了扩大自己的利益，大公司在华盛顿特区雇佣着专业的游说者，在幕后影响政府官员。 To further their interests, large corporations maintair professional lobbyists in Washington, D.C. to influence public officials behind the scenes. 他们主张立法以达到自己的目的，影响官员的任命，阻挠他们不欢迎的改革，而且他们在政府委员会中似乎比普通选民有更多的发言权。 They argue for legislation to serve their own ends, influence the appointment of officials, block reforms they consider undesirable, and they seem to have more say in the councils of government than the ordinary voters. 现在华盛顿有近1万名专业游说者，代表着各种经济和其他特殊利益集团。 There are now almost 10 000 professional lobbyists in Washington, representing a variety of economic and other special-interest groups. 他们每年花费超过30亿美元来影响立法者和立法。 They spend more than $3 billion annually to influence legislators and legislation. 举个例子，投票确认特朗普总统教育部长提名人的美国参议员中，几乎有一半从她或她的家人那里得到了钱。 As an example, almost half of the US Senators who voted to confirm President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education had received money from either her or her family. 尽管政治学家可能会争论捐款的作用，但这一事实对激发人们对政府的信任的作用微乎其微。 Even though political scientists may debate the role of contributions, this fact does very little to inspire trust in the government.
