VOA标准英语2013--Gun Violence Makes Pakistani-Americans Wary of Future

 

Gun Violence Makes Pakistani-Americans Wary¹ of Future

Events of mass-murder like December's school killings² in the state of Connecticut have horrified³ people throughout the Unites States. But they are especially distressing⁴ to immigrants who came here to escape violence - hoping for peace and a better future.

Gul-Afshan Haque is a Pakistani-American, who moved to the US in 2006 to live with her parents. For her, the events have cast a pall⁵ on her American dream.

"When I was in Pakistan and I came here, I had a dream of a peaceful living but, nowadays, because of these incidents, though the dream is still there, but it is not at the same level as it is, was before," she said.

The violence directed at others has made her fearful for her own future.

"We're not the victim now. But we might be the victim in the future. We might be the next one," she said.

A survey by the Weekly Pakistan News, a New York-based newspaper that publishes in seven major U.S. cities, reveals that most South Asian immigrants want tougher gun laws.

"Mostly, not only Pakistani, but Indians and Bangladeshis, one point they are agree that gun control should be changed," said Mujeeb Lodhi, the newspaper's chief editor.

The survey resonates with Gul’s uncle, Ainul Haque, who fears for the future of his nieces and nephews.

"I suspect that they might experience in their schools but I hope, I pray by the grace of Almighty⁶ Allah, that they don't come across situation like that," he said.

At odds⁷ with a culture of gun ownership in many parts of America - most Pakistani-Americans don’t keep weapons. As Gul's uncle and mother point out, few have ever even used one.

"In my country and neither here, never used," said Farzana Haque, Gul's mother.

Where do Pakistani-Americans fit in the spectrum⁸ of U.S. opinion? Philip Kasinitz is a professor of sociology at the City University of New York.

"If immigrants and Pakistani Americans in particular were to, say, come out against hunting, that would put them at odds with the dominant⁹ culture in large parts of the United States. However, if what they have objection to is the ownership of assault rifles, military style weapons, I think American opinion is really changing on that," said Kasinitz.

Pakistani-Americans hope the violence will subside¹⁰ if stronger national gun laws are enacted¹¹, and believe President Barack Obama’s proposed legislation is a step in that direction. 

1 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

2 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

3 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

4 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

5 pall   

v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕

参考例句：

• Already the allure of meals in restaurants had begun to pall.饭店里的饭菜已经不像以前那样诱人。
• I find his books begin to pall on me after a while.我发觉他的书读过一阵子就开始对我失去吸引力。

6 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

7 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

8 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

9 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

10 subside   

vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降

参考例句：

• The emotional reaction which results from a serious accident takes time to subside.严重事故所引起的情绪化的反应需要时间来平息。
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon.围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。

11 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹