Working Hard to Maintain Racial Harmony|全力维持种族和谐

Working Hard to Maintain Racial Harmony

by Brian Foden

Singapore works hard to keep its citizens in harmony.

　　For such an ethnically diverse country, Singapore has a remarkably harmonious society. While racial and religious tensions regularly flare up in many parts of the world, in the city-state of Singapore, people of various races have lived together peacefully for many decades. _(1)_

　　Visitors who enjoy Singapore's shopping, food, and other attractions may not realize that the racial harmony they observe is not there by accident. _(2)_ On every July 21, the nation celebrates Racial Harmony Day, which is held to remember the race riots that occurred on that day in 1964.  _(3)_ During Racial Harmony Day, school children are urged to think about the success Singapore has had in becoming a society built on racial diversity and harmony. _(4)_

　　A good example of how seriously racial intolerance is viewed can be found in a recent incident in which a woman named Amy Cheong posted complaints and insensitive remarks about the Malaysian community on her Facebook page. _(5)_ After Cheong's Facebook post, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on his own Facebook page that people should respect other cultures and be careful about what they say. Taking into consideration Singapore's racially troubled past, perhaps it's not surprising how strongly Cheong's words were condemned.

(A) In two separate incidents during that year, both of which saw violence between Chinese and Malaysian groups, 36 people were killed and 556 were injured.

(B) Although Cheong later apologized publicly about her comments, she was fired from her job at a trade union center and a complaint about her was made to the police.

(C) The country has put a lot of effort into building and maintaining good relations among its residents.

(D) Racism is learned from family members or friends at an early age.

(E) What's more, students are encouraged to dress in their traditional costumes.

(F) While 75 percent of the population is Chinese, the other quarter is made up of Malaysians, Indians, and others of mixed ethnicities.

全力维持种族和谐

新加坡努力让其公民维持和谐相处。

　　对于这样一个种族多元化的国家而言，新加坡显然是一个非常和谐的社会。尽管种族上及宗教上的紧张情势经常在世上许多地区爆发，但在新加坡这个城邦都市中，各式人种和平共处了几十年。而其中百分之七十五的人口是  华人，剩下的四分之一则是由马来西亚人、印度人及其他少数种族混合而成。

　　游客享受着新加坡的购物、美食及其他吸引人的事物，他们或许还没意识到，他们所观察到的种族和谐绝非偶然。该国已经为了建立并保持其居民间的良好关系投入了大量的精力。在每年的 7 月 21 日，该国会庆祝『种族和谐日』，这个日子是用来纪念发生在 1964 年这一天的种族暴动。那一年两起不同的事件都发生了华人及马来西亚人两个群体间的暴力冲突，造成 36 人死亡以及 556 人受伤。在种族和谐日那天，学童被鼓励要想想新加坡如何成功成为一个建立在种族多样性及和谐共处的社会。更重要的是，学生们被鼓励穿着他们的传统服饰。

　　最近的一起事件中，可以发现『种族不容忍』如何被严肃看待的好例子，一位名叫张艾美的女士在脸书上张贴了对马来西亚小区的抱怨以及风凉话。尽管张艾美对于她的评论稍后进行公开道歉，但她还是被工会中心开除，且被投诉给警方。张艾美脸书事件之后，新加坡总理李显龙在脸书上表示：『大家应尊重其他的文化，且对于所说的话得要更谨慎。』考虑到新加坡过去困扰人的种族问题，也许张艾美所言受到严厉谴责也就不足为奇了。

答案： 1.   F    2.   C   3.   A   4.   E   5.   B