Europe is often one of the first places people think of when racism is discussed. From the institutionalized racism， especially in colonial times， when racial beliefs—even eugenics—were not considered something wrong， to recent times where the effects of neo-Nazism is still felt. Europe is a complex area with many cultures in a relatively small area of land that has seen many conflicts throughout history. (Note that most of these conflicts have had trade and resource access at their core， but national identities have often added fuel to some of these conflicts.)

　　Racism has also been used to justify exploitation， even using “pseudo-science”。

　　Debates over the origins of racism often suffer from a lack of clarity over the term. Many conflate recent forms of racism with earlier forms of ethnic and national conflict. In most cases ethnic-national conflict seems to owe to conflict over land and strategic resources. In some cases ethnicity and nationalism were harnessed to wars between great religious empires (for example， the Muslim Turks and the Catholic Austro-Hungarians)。 As Benedict Anderson has suggested in Imagined Communities， ethnic identity and ethno-nationalism became a source of conflict within such empires with the rise of print-capitalism.

　　In its modern form， racism evolved in tandem with European exploration and conquest of much of the rest of the world， and especially after Christopher Columbus reached the Americas. As new peoples were encountered， fought， and ultimately subdued， theories about “race” began to develop， and these helped many to justify the differences in position and treatment of people whom they categorized as belonging to different races.

　　Another possible source of racism is the misunderstanding of Charles Darwin‘s theories of evolution. Some took Darwin’s theories to imply that since some “races” were more civilized， there must be a biological basis for the difference. At the same time they appealed to biological theories of moral and intellectual traits to justify racial oppression. There is a great deal of controversy about race and intelligence， in part because the concepts of both race and IQ are themselves controversies.

　　A short review from the Inter Press Service highlights the rise of neo-Nazism in 2000 in Europe and suggests that “far from being a fringe activity， racism， violence and neo-nationalism have become normal in some communities. The problems need to be tackled much earlier， in schools and with social programs.”

　　Ethnic minorities and different cultures in one country can often be used as a scapegoat for the majority during times of economic crisis. That is one reason why Nazism became so popular.

　　In France， May 2002， the success of far right politician Le Pen in the run for leadership (though he lost out in the end) sent a huge shockwave throughout Europe， about how easy it was for far right parties to come close to getting power if there is complacency in the democratic processes and if participation is reduced.

　　In various places throughout Western Europe， in 2002， as Amnesty International highlights， there has been a rise in racist attacks and sentiments against both Arabs and Jews， in light of the increasing hostilities in the Middle East.

　　In 1997， Human Rights Watch noted that，“The U.K. has one of the highest levels of racially-motivated violence and harassment in Western Europe， and the problem is getting worse.” In April 1999， London saw two bombs explode in predominantly ethnic minority areas where a Nazi group has claimed responsibility. The summer of 2001 saw many race-related riots in various parts of northern England.

　　Greece has one of the worst records in the European Union for racism against ethnic minorities， according to the BBC. Anti-immigrant sentiment has long been high， especially against ethnic Albanians， who form the largest minority. Until the 1990s， the BBC notes， Greece had been an extremely homogenous society. With the fall of communism many immigrants from Eastern Europe came to Greece. Albanians especially have been targeted by a lot of racist sentiment. Some hostage taking by a few Albanians in recent years has not helped the situation.

　　1. What does the author mainly talk about?

　　[A] Racism in the world.

　　[B] Racism in the western world.

　　[C] Racism in Europe.

　　[D] Racism in the countries other than the western world.

　　2. When did the theories about race begin to develop?

　　[A] After “the New World” was discovered.

　　[B] After the USA was established.

　　[C] Before the First World War.

　　[D] During the colonial times.

　　3. According to the author what is the second possible source of racism?

　　[A] The colonial people began to be ultimately subdued.

　　[B] The misunderstanding of Darwinism.

　　[C] The development of human beings.

　　[D] None of the above.

　　4. One of the reasons that Nazism became very popular is that .

　　[A] ethnic minorities have small impact in the whole world

　　[B] various cultures cannot so-exist harmoniously

　　[C] ethnic minorities and different cultures are used as a scapegoat for the majority during times of economic crisis

　　[D] none of the above

　　5. Which country in the EU has the worst record for racism against ethnic minorities?

　　[A] The United Kingdom

　　[B] Greece

　　[C] Albania

　　[D] Australia

　　[疑難長句翻譯與注解]

　　1. Europe is often one of the first places people think of when racism is discussed.

　　[譯文]當討論到種族主義問題時，歐洲通常是第一個被想到的地方。

　　[注解]本文講述關于種族與沖突，開篇第一句目的是確定文章的基調。本句雖短，但翻譯時兩處調整了語序值得學習，第一翻強調句式時有時需調整語序，原句為了強調歐洲沖突之多，將“Europe”提到了句首，

　　但翻譯時為符合漢語習慣需要作出調整。第二翻被動語態時往往需要調整語序，racism is discussed“是被動語態，盡管有時被動語態需要譯出被動的意思來但在這里就不能翻作種族主義被討論，要符合漢語習慣在這里就需要作語序上的調整。

　　2.Europe is a complex area with many …many conflicts throughout history.

　　[譯文]歐洲是一個復雜的地區，它有著許多不同的文化，但其土地面積卻相對較小，并且自古以來在這片土地上有過無數的矛盾與沖突。

　　[注解]“many conflicts throughout history”指的是在歷史上充滿著沖突。

　　3. Debates over the origins …earlier forms of ethnic and national conflict.

　　[譯文]關于種族主義起源問題的爭論經常會面臨缺乏相關透明度的問題。新近的很多沖突已經成為一種包含了早期種族歧視和民族主義的混合形態產物。

　　[注解] suffer 是遭受的意思，而且通常遭受的都是壞的事情。這里在翻譯的時候，沒有直譯。

　　4.Note that most of these conflicts have…… identities have often added fuel to some of these conflicts.

　　[譯文]注意到大部分此類沖突可以追述到它們的核心原因。但種族認同問題經常會給這些矛盾火上澆油。

　　[注解] “add fuel”是火上澆油的意思。

　　5.Another possible source of racism is the misunderstanding of Charles Darwin‘s theories of evolution.

　　[譯文]種族歧視的另一個可能的原因是對達爾文的進化論的誤解。

　　[注解]該句中的 Charles Darwin 是英國博物學家，進化論的創立者。racism 是名詞，意思是種族主義者。

　　參考答案：

　　1.[C] 通讀全文，可以總結出作者主要是在討論歐洲的種族歧視問題。第一段的第一句就給全文大意做了個總結。

　　2.[A] “新世界”就是指哥倫布發現美洲大陸的時候所用的名字，文章中明確指出了實在這一事件之后，“種

　　族“這一觀念開始產生了。因此正確選項為 A.

　　3. [B] 作者在談到種族主義的起源時說到，另一種可能的來源是對達爾文的進化論的誤解。解答此題注意文中細節。

　　4. [C] 這是一道細節題，根據原文不難看出，一個國家的少數民族和非主流文化往往被大多數人用來作為經濟危

　　機時期的犧牲品。因此 C 為正確選項。

　　5. [B] 文章最后一段指出，希臘是歐盟國家中對少數民族持有種族偏見最嚴重的國家之一。由此不難看出，正確

　　選項應該為 B.

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