【美音】在老照片中窥视最早移民美国的华人。（有文稿）

更多内容，请关注我们今日的微信，搜索：英语环球 NEWSPlus Historical photos depicting the life of the earliest Chinese immigrants in the United States are on display at an art center in Houston’s Chinatown. The exhibition is organized by a local Chinese community group. It features the life of the immigrants who worked as coolies, or laborers, and their descendants. The first wave of Chinese Americans came to the United States during the latter half of the 19th century. They were mostly from south China's Guangdong Province. The immigrants helped build the first transcontinental railroad, worked in the southern plantations after the American Civil War, and participated in setting up California's agriculture and fisheries. In May last year, the Chinese immigrants who worked on the transcontinental railroad were honored, by being included in the U.S. Department of Labor's Hall of Honor in Washington, D.C. depict vt. 描绘，描述 coolie n. 苦力，干重活的体力劳动者 “苦力”其实是coolie的音译。19世纪40年代后期，世界范围的废除奴隶制运动造成劳力的缺乏，西方劳力贩子从印度、中国等东方国家向一些需要廉价劳动力的地区运送受契约束缚的劳工。这种出卖力气干重活的劳工被西方商人蔑称为coolie。 latter adj. 后者的，较后的 也可直接当名词，表示“（两者之间的）后者”，跟在定冠词the后面。 例句： When he was young, he wasn’t religious at all. But for some reason, he became a devout Christian in his latter years. （他年轻的时候没有宗教信仰，但出于某些原因，他晚年成了一名虔诚的基督徒。） If I have to either work for an unpleasant boss and have a great salary or work for a nice boss and have a meager salary, I would actually prefer the latter. （如果我必须给一个讨厌的老板打工，但工资很高；或者给一个很好的老板打工，但工资一般，我宁可选择后者。） transcontinental adj. 横贯大陆的，（在美式英语中还常指）横穿美国的 plantation n. 种植园，大农场 American Civil War n. 美国南北战争，又称美国内战。这是美国历史上唯一一次内战，参战双方为北方的美利坚合众国和南方的美利坚联盟国，时间为1861年4月12日至1865年4月9日，最后以联邦胜利告终。这原本是一场维护国家统一的战争，后来演变为一场为黑奴自由新生而战的革命战争。 U.S. Department of Labor n. 美国劳工部 美国联邦政府行政部门之一，主管全国劳工事务，成立于1913年3月4日。主要职责是负责全国就业、工资、福利、劳工条件和就业培训等工作。