Rising to the Top

By Amirah Ahmad

在美國這樣一個有著多樣化生源的環(huán)境中，亞裔學生的學習成績常常會遙遙領先，給同齡的美國學生帶來巨大壓力?！度A爾街日報》曾報道過發(fā)生在加州一所高中的“白人逃離”現(xiàn)象——亞裔軟件工程師的子女讓這所學校變成了競爭殘酷的地獄，拿B成績的學生在班上也算是差生，于是白人孩子們紛紛轉校。那么，亞洲學生的學習方法以及他們對于成功的定義是否可取呢？讓我們來聽一聽美國女孩Amirah的意見吧。

Looking up at the ceiling, Na He Jeon pours porridge into her mouth.She gingerly dips the bowl forward, dropping clumps of porridge directly down her throat, careful not to touch the 15 ulcers in her mouth.1. gingerly: 謹慎地，輕手輕腳地；dip: 傾斜；clump: 團，塊；ulcer:潰瘍。But it was the week before midterms, so she still had to study. Jeon was 1st out of 330 students on her exams that year. “Thank god I did,” she says, “If I hadn’t done well I would have been regarded as a failure.” By the end of the week, 14-year-old Jeon weighed a meager2. meager: 瘦的。83.6 pounds.

In high schools that display rankings, you’re likely to see students with last names like Li, Lee, Cho, Wang, or Kim at the top. With the highest test scores and grades in the class, Asians are demonstrating their academic talents to the utmost degree.3. demonstrate: 證明，展示； utmost:極度的，最大的。But they’re also exhibiting one important characteristic that causes people to either detest or admire the race: their inexorable work ethic.4. 但是他們同樣展示了這樣一個重要的特點，使得人們厭惡或是欽佩這個民族，那就是他們不屈不撓的職業(yè)道德。exhibit: 顯示，展示；detest: 厭惡，憎恨；inexorable: 不屈不撓的，不可阻擋的；ethic: 倫理，道德。

Like Jeon, there are countless numbers of first generation Asian-Americans who strive to excel at everything.5. strive to: 努力去做某事；excel at:擅長。Yet the children themselves cannot all be put to blame for their efforts. Typically, it is the parents who are vicariously living a seemingly perfect life through their children.6. vicariously: 間接體驗他人感受地，有同感地；seemingly: 看起來似乎，表面上看來。One such occurrence7. occurrence: 事件。is when I was at my hotel in Beijing. It was roughly around 8:00 p.m. when I decided to take a dip in the pool after dinner.8. roughly: 大致上，粗略地；take a dip: 去游泳。I jumped into the pool that was already spotted with a few Chinese children and I hadn’t realized what was going on until I took notice of the parents calling out orders and instructing their children. I saw various children all under the age of 10 taking laps9. lap: 圈。across the pool trying various styles. If a child’s foot was too bent, her parent would demand that she straighten it. If a child was kicking too slowly, his parent would order that he go faster. I couldn’t help but pity the children who were being mindlessly instructed. What I assumed was that while on vacation, these parents were taking the opportunity to give a swimming lesson, rather than just let them enjoy their time. Even when I left the pool around 9:00 p.m., the same children kept on swimming while their parents watched on the sidelines, ready to pounce on the opportunity to make a critique.10. sideline:（球場等的）界外地區(qū)；pounce on: 抓住并大肆利用……；critique: 評論，批評。

Either because of their parents or their own desire, first-generation Asian-Americans put forth11. put forth: 使出，發(fā)揮。their 110% in order to be accepted into one of the best American colleges. Driven by the merit of their actions, Asian-American students want to see A’s, 100%’s, and perfect scores. According to Jeon,Asians complain that students with a 4.0 GPA and 2,400 SAT simply cannot be rejected from top schools.12. GPA: Grade Point Average，平均成績點數(shù)；SAT: Scholastic Assessment Test，（美國）學術能力評估測試，相當于美國高考。To their dismay13. dismay: 失望，沮喪。, however, they often are.

Their preparation prior to college is vexing14. vexing:令人煩惱的。. With such rigorous15. rigorous: 嚴格的，嚴厲的。studying for examinations and time put into their school work, I cannot even keep up. Some parents have already decided what college they want their child to attend. One of my father’s friends is already sure that she wants her child to attend college in Australia.

With such determination to succeed, however, these Asian contaminate a school’s atmosphere with cut-throat competition in education.16. 然而，這些志在必得的亞洲人用激烈殘酷的學習競爭“污染”了學校的氛圍。cut-throat: 兇狠的，殘酷的。And although competition helps to motivate other students to do well, not everyone can put forth hours of reading textbooks, searching for online lectures, and meticulously creating detailed study plans for upcoming tests.17. motivate: 激勵，使有動機；meticulously: 細致地，一絲不茍地?！癘ne of my Chinese friends was the number one rank in GPA in our entire tenth grade class. The majority of Asians in my school are in the top fifty ranks for GPA,”said Maliha Ahmad, an up-coming junior in her Californian high school.Ahmad also admits to the stress she feels to do well among such hardworking students.

This relentless work ethic also manifests itself via sports and other extracurricular activities.18. 他們這種殘酷的職業(yè)道德同樣體現(xiàn)在體育運動和課外活動方面。relentless:無情的，殘酷的；manifest: 表明，顯示；via: 通過；extracurricular: 業(yè)余的，課外的。The other day I visited a gym. I walked in and adults were playing badminton and ping pong but what caught my eye were a little girl and a little boy near the ping pong tables. They were taking a brief rest when they resumed their lesson with each of their mentors.19. resume: 重新開始，繼續(xù)；mentor: 指導者。Both the children looked so flushed and their eyes were clouded with such intensity that it was unsettling.20. 兩個孩子都面紅耳赤，神情緊張不安。 flushed:臉紅的；intensity: 強度，緊張；unsettling:不安的。Like robots, they moved back and forth behind the table and smacked21. smack:（用某物）啪啪地打。the ping pong as soon as it approached them.

In the same way, Asian-American students tend to try and find an extracurricular activity. Typically, they choose an instrument. What sets Asian-Americans apart, however, is that they strive to be excellent in whatever it is that they do. Be it playing the piano or performing in math competitions, Asian-Americans look to be in first place.

Although it may cause unnecessary stress, such a driven work ethic is a commendable22. commendable: 值得贊美的。quality. Often blamed for lacking in creativity, Asian-Americans can actually counter the absence of imagination with their determination.23. 亞裔美國學生通常被指缺乏創(chuàng)造力，但是他們卻可以用決心和毅力來彌補想象力的缺失。counter: 反擊，還擊。The average American can dream creative dreams, but that only matters if he or she can make it happen in reality. Asian-Americans, instead, can gather creative ideas to produce something tangible24. tangible: 切實的，有形的。.

Yet with such a drive to succeed, Asian-Americans have skewed25. skew: 歪曲，曲解。their definition of success. Rather than looking at personal achievement, they refer to numbers, statistics and scores to rate their success. It seems as if desire and the sense of free will are nonexistent in certain Asian-American students as they mercilessly drive themselves to an inevitable burnout.26. 在一些亞裔美國學生看來，似乎欲望和自由意識都是不存在的，他們只是無情地驅動自己直到精疲力竭。mercilessly: 殘忍地，無情地；burnout:（因拼命工作導致的）精疲力竭。Their desire to be the most-talented is an impossible dream. In a futile27. futile: 無用的，徒勞的。attempt, they try to be the best in a world already full of winners.