VOA标准英语2011--Third Great Migration Might be in Progre

Third Great Migration¹ Might be in Progress

In the early 20th Century, more than two million African-Americans left their homes and small farms in the South and moved to northern industrial cities to escape overt² racism³ and search for better work and happier lives.
One-half of the large African-American population left Beaufort County, South Carolina, for example, and headed north.
The massive exodus⁴ came to be called "The Great Migration," and a second one followed in the years after World War II.
By 1970, when census⁵-takers found that 80 percent of African-Americans lived in big cities, black America had become an overwhelmingly urban population.
Now there's a massive reverse migration of blacks back to what the USA Today newspaper calls "their Southern roots." Between 2000 and 2010, for instance, Florida's African-American population grew by 587,000, Georgia's by 579,000, and North Carolina's by 297,000.
"It's all about quality of life," Mike Morton told USA Today. The retired⁶ corrections officer, left New York City for the small town of Palm Coast, Florida. "When I visit New York now, it's culture shock. I don't hear car horns down here. As soon as you get to New York, you're hearing thousands of them."
The 2010 U.S. Census found that 57 percent of American blacks now live in southern states. That's the highest percentage in half a century.
Some African-Americans tell interviewers that they moved back - or to the South for the first time - for warmer weather, to distance themselves from high urban crime, to reunite with southern relatives or to take advantage of lower home prices and taxes.
But others say they regret the move. Too many retirees about, they say. Not enough job opportunities, public transportation, or cultural attractions that appeal to them.
The next decennial census in 2020 should tell us whether the influx⁷ of African-Americans into the South will be large enough to be considered a third Great Migration.

1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 overt   

adj.公开的，明显的，公然的

参考例句：

• His opponent's intention is quite overt.他的对手的意图很明显。
• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。

3 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

4 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

5 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。