Wikipedie:Pískoviště: Porovnání verzí
Smazaný obsah Přidaný obsah
pokus |
|||
Řádek 1:
<h1>A long road</h1>
<p><b>Europe's Romanies have a mostly horrible time. But they are thriving in America.</b></p>
<p>Tommy's International Sports Café, Inc, a makeshift social club on 657 East 189th Street in New York's Bronx, would repay a visit from those Europeans who see their continent's Romanies (also known as Gypsies) only as a lawless and hopeless underclass, in which success means at most building a gaudy, windowless mansion.</p>
<p>Only the Balkan dishes on the menu, and the hum of Romani spoken from the mainly male clientele as they play cards and pool, distinguish the café from anywhere else in the neighbourhood. Just like the Albanians, Italians and Hispanics who live nearby, its patrons are Americans. They take vacations, work hard as cops, teachers and in business, and send their children to college. Asked what he thinks of his neighbours, a man across the street scratches his head and asks "We have Gypsies here?"</p>
<p>The contrast between the anonymous ordinariness of life in the Bronx and the ghettos and squatter camps that form European impressions of their Romani fellow-citizens could hardly be sharper. Headlines in Europe this month have highlighted the continent's worst, and most ill-managed social problem: the treatment of millions of Romanies who face at best discrimination and at worst persecution.</p>
<p>Romanies in Europe, like any other ethnic group, are no monolith. They include rich and poor, success stories and failures, the talented, scroungers, and those unsuited for life in a modern society. They fare better in some countries than others. Spain and Macedonia count as (relative) success stories; the worst black spots of disadvantage are in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.</p>
<p>But a common factor is prejudice. Those who want to integrate or succeed are held back by stereotypes about dirt, crime, fecklessness and illiteracy. Individuals who do get on often dump their Romani heritage, and the baggage that goes with it.</p>
<p>Many Romanies do not even get that far. In Slovakia they make up under 10% of the population, but fill fully 60% of places in schools for special-needs children (that may not be purely the result of discrimination: some parents shun mainstream schools because of endemic bullying).</p>
<p>It is hardly surprising that, given the chance, many Romanies try their luck in the richer countries of western Europe. Many west Europeans are furious at the growth of street-begging and pickpocketing (often involving children), plus fights and rapes, and the rise of squalid shanty towns on derelict land. Politicians' response has been robust. France has deported 8,000 people to Romania and Bulgaria this year alone and cleared hundreds of illegal camps.</p>
<p>Yet a crackdown on crime is not an excuse for racism. That has brought a stinging rebuke and the threat of a lawsuit from the European Commission.</p>
<p>The Romanian government has pledged to come up with a new plan for Roma inclusion by the end of the year. It is hard to see any of that working soon: the Romanies were slaves in Romania until the mid-19th century. Under Nazi rule they were uprooted and dispossessed. Up to 500,000 perished in the camps. Both communism and the economic upheavals that followed it have made their traditional livelihoods more difficult. Most of those deported say they will eventually go back to France.</p>
<p>The long-term answer is schooling, where the cards are subtly stacked against Romanies who want to educate their children (and the system does nothing to win over those who do not see its value). Leslie Hawke, an American campaigner who runs a charity in Romania, notes that "the law that makes schooling mandatory ... is not implemented, but the law that prevents registration of a child over the age of nine is strictly enforced". Her charity runs an impressive scheme that pays €12 ($16) in food coupons to parents whose children attend school. Clothes and the like are provided free. The project is based on poverty, rather than ethnicity.</p>
<p>In the bracing climate of the Bronx, such problems seem distant. "Once you give us a chance to succeed, we'll grab that opportunity. And we'll run with it," says Saniye Jasaroska, a 34-year-old medical biller. America gives its Romanies that chance. Europe has yet to do so.</p>
<table>
<tr><td width=200><b>Vocabulary</b></td>
<tr><td width=200><b>crackdown</b></td><td>tvrdý zákrok</td></tr>
<tr><td width=200><b>fare</b></td><td>dařit se, mít se</td></tr>
<tr><td width=200><b>fecklessness</b></td><td>neschopnost,zbytečnost,neobratnost</td></tr>
<tr><td width=200><b>gaudy</b></td><td>křiklavý</td></tr>
<tr><td width=200><b>hum</b></td><td>šum, hukot, bzukot</td></tr>
<tr><td width=200><b>makeshift</b></td><td>provizorní,nouzový</td></tr>
<tr><td width=200><b>pledge</b></td><td>slíbit, dát slovo</td></tr>
<tr><td width=200><b>scrounger</b></td><td>příživník, parazit</td></tr>
<tr><td width=200><b>shun</b></td><td>vyhýbat, se, stranit se</td></tr>
<tr><td width=200><b>squalid</b></td><td>špinavý,odporný</td></tr>
<tr><td width=200><b>thrive</b></td><td>mít se dobře, prospívat</td></tr>
</table>
<p><b>Match the expressions to make the same verb-noun partnerships that were used in the text (italicised) and then choose for each the correct Czech translation:</b></p>
<p>1. stack <br> 2. grab <br> 3. try <br> 4. dump <br> 5. highlight <br> 6. repay</p>
<p>a) one's heritage <br> b) a visit <br> c) the cards <br> d) one's luck <br> e) the problem <br> f) an opportunity</p>
<p>A. poukázat na problém <br> B. chopit se příležitosti <br> C. zbavit se odkazu (dědictví) <br> D. namíchat karty <br> E. stát za návštěvu <br> F. zkusit štěstí</p>
<p><small><i>Key: 1.c)D, 2.f)B, 3.d)F, 4.a)C, 5.e)A, 6.b)E </i></small></p>
<p><b>Complete the following sentences with the partnerships above:</b></p>
<p>1. Many native Americans were required to ... following their surrender to the Union. <br> 2. I ... to escape for a few minutes. <br> 3. The incident has served to ... of urban deprivation. <br> 4. The ... against the new highway project. <br> 5. Chris decided to ... at tennis. <br> 6. It is a fascinating museum, and certainly ... .</p>
<p><small><i>Key: 1. dump their heritage, 2. grabbed the opportunity, 3. highlight the problem, 4. cards are stacked, 5. try his luck, 6. repays a visit</i></small></p>
<p><b>Translate the following expressions into English. If you are not sure, find the English equivalents in the text:</b></p>
<p>1. nejproblematičtější oblasti <br> 2. opuštěná území <br> 3. palčivá výtka <br> 4. osvěžující atmosféra <br> 5. špatně zvládaný problém</p>
<p><small><i>Key: 1. black spots, 2. derelict land, 3 stinging rebuke, 4. bracing climate, 5. ill-managed problem</i></small></p>
| |||