VOA常速英语:活久见？32个孩子在动物园领取美国公民证

Not every trip to the zoo comes with a certificate of US citizenship.But that’s exactly what happens for 32 impeccably dressed, 5 to 13-year-olds from 25 different countries in New York City’s Bronx Zoo. And depending on who you ask, that special feat takes on a different significance.
不是每次去动物园旅行都能获得美国公民证。但如今这种事恰恰就发生了，32个5到13岁的孩子们穿着得体的衣服，尽管他们来自25个不同国家，但现在都齐聚纽约布朗克斯动物园。而且根据受访人的不同，这次特别活动的意义也不尽相同。

I feel excited and good, because I never even noticed that here we have a lot of things that we can do.
“我感觉自己现在特别开心，特别兴奋，因为我以前从来没发现我们居然还可以做这么多事。”

“A little bit easier to travel places? That’s what my dad said, too.”
“去旅游的时候更方便点了？反正我爸爸也是这么说的。”

The children ceremony completes with the oath with the “Oath of Allegiance” is purely symbolic.But for the parents, it represents something great.
本次典礼以孩子们一同向美国宣誓效忠结束，尽管整个过程完全都是象征性的。但对于父母们来说，这代表了非常了不起的事情。

“This is really the last step for the family.The parents have already become citizens, and getting the children a citizenship certificate is really the last step.So we hope that this sort of ends the process for them and begins their experience as a new American family.”
“对一个家庭来说，这就是最后一步。因为父母已经成为了美国公民，所以让孩子获得公民证就是他们最后一步要做的事情。我们希望能够以这种方式结束他们的跋涉，并且开启他们作为全新美国家庭的旅程。”

Including the Volkov family from Russia, whose 7-year-old son has known the US since he was a toddler.
这其中就包括来自俄罗斯的Volkov一家，他们7岁的儿子从蹒跚学步的时候就已经开始了解美国了。

“He’s happy because he can feel he has 100 percent opportunity for all — for school, college, work. He is 100 percent citizen.”
“他特别开心，因为他能感觉到，以后不管干什么都能有百分之百的机会了——包括上小学、初高中、大学还有工作都是。他是一个百分之百的美国公民了。”

For parents, access to jobs and good education including scholarships are among the most important benefits of citizenship for their children.But for the newest Americans, it’s about self-indulgence.
对于家长来说，获得就业机会和接受良好的教育，包括取得奖学金，这两个才是孩子的公民身份所带来的最大好处。而对于这些新晋美国公民来说，取得公民身份则意味着有了自我放纵的机会。

I’m going to celebrate by turning on my TV and putting on a movie.”
“我要打开电视看个电影，好好庆祝一下。”

Ramon Taylor, VOA news, New York.
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