Jane和Will初次约会，聊到彼此的家庭背景。我知道Jane的父母来自中国，所以我很想听听，作为一个亚裔美国人，Jane的成长经历是什么样的。
Professor: That’s right, Winnie, let’s listen to what they have to say.
Will: So Jane, you said that both your parents are from China. How do they like living in America?
Jane: They really like it, but of course they miss their friends and family back home sometimes.
Will: Yeah, I can imagine. So do you consider yourself Chinese or American?
Jane: Well, that’s a complicated question. Of course I’m American, but I’m ethnically Chinese as well.
Will: I see. So you consider yourself both?
Jane: That’s right.
Will总是问一些严肃的问题! 他问Jane，觉得自己是中国人还是美国人。Jane回答说，自己既是中国人，也是美国人。
Professor: Right. Jane is an American citizen, but she is also ethnically Chinese.
Ethnically？ 我明白了，ethnic是民族的意思.
Professor: Exactly. For example, I could say that Hispanics are one of the largest ethnic groups in America.
所以，从民族上讲，Jane认为自己是华人。
Professor, 拉美裔人，是美国人口最多的少数族裔之一？那么，亚裔人口又怎么样呢？
Professor: Asians make up about 4.5 percent of the American population.
Will: Did you face a lot of stereotypes growing up?
Jane: Of course, all minorities face some stereotypes. For me, lots of people assume that because I’m Asian, I’m smart and good at math.
Will: That doesn’t sound like a bad stereotype to have!
Jane: No, it’s not a very offensive stereotype. But it’s still wrong for people to assume things about me because of how I look. I hate math!
Will: Me too! I guess that’s one thing we have in common.
Stereotype, s-t-e-r-e-o-t-y-p-e, stereotype，是“刻板印象”、“先入为主的看法”。Jane说，因为她是亚裔，所以很多美国人对她持有stereotype，一看她的亚洲脸，就认定她的数学一定很好!
Professor: But Jane thinks that stereotypes are wrong, doesn’t she?
当然啦！Jane说，以貌取人是不对的。她其实很讨厌学数学。
Professor: That’s right. She and Will both hate math, so that’s one thing they have in common.
Will: Did people tease you when you were growing up because you’re Asian?
Jane: My school was very politically correct, so people tried really hard not to say things that would offend me.
Will: Right. Race can be a sensitive subject in America. People like to talk about it, but only in a polite way.
Jane: That’s true. People these days try hard to be tolerant, and are careful not to say things that other people may think are racist.
看来Jane是在比较tolerant -“宽容”的环境下 长大的。人们没有因为她是亚裔而嘲弄她。不过，Professor, 什么叫”politically correct”?
Professor: Being politically correct is making sure that the things that you say won’t offend people in minority groups and disadvantaged groups.
哦，politically correct，在政治上保持正确，也就是言行上避免有歧视少数族裔或弱势群体之嫌。
Professor: Right. People don’t want to say anything racist, so they make sure all their words are very polite.
没错，racist -“种族歧视性”言行，肯定不能让你做到politically correct.
Jane: It’s pretty easy for me living in the US because it is such a diverse country. There are many other minorities, so I don’t feel different.
Will: That’s true. The US is a country of immigrants, so it is very diverse.
Jane: Yup. My university is especially diverse. It tries to find students from all over the world.
Will: Oh yeah, my university has lots of minority students too. I’ve really enjoyed learning about lots of different cultures from them.
Professor: Winnie, do you know what “diverse” means?
Diverse就是“多样化”。Jane和Will的大学都很diverse, 不仅有来自各族裔的学生，还有来自世界各地的留学生! Professor, Jane和Will初次约会就谈了宗教、种族这些严肃话题，而且聊得挺高兴。我看他们真是天生一对儿!
这次的美语三级跳就播送到这里。