Lesson 1 Paper Tigers What happens to all the Asian-American overachievers when the test-taking ends? 当考试结束时，所有的亚裔美国人都会有怎样的表现呢？ By Wesley Yang Published May 8,2011 para 1 Sometimes I’ll glimpse my reflection in a window and feel astonished by what I see. Jet-black hair. Slanted eyes. A pancake-flat surface of yellow-and-green-toned skin. An expression that is nearly reptilian in its impassivity. I’ve contrived to think of this face as the equal in beauty to any other. But what I feel in these moments is its strangeness to me. It’s my face. I can’t disclaim it. But what does it have to do with me? 有时我会从窗户里瞥见我的倒影，我会对我所看到的感到惊讶。乌黑的头发。斜眼。黄绿色肤色的薄煎饼状的表面。一种近乎爬行动物般冷漠的表情。我想方设法地认为这张脸在美貌上与其他任何人都不相上下。但在这些时刻我感觉到的是它对我来说很奇怪。这是我的脸。我不能否认。但这和我有什么关系呢？ Para 2 Millions of Americans must feel estranged from their own faces. But every self-estranged individual is estranged in his own way. I, for instance, am the child of Korean immigrants, but I do not speak my parents’ native tongue. I have never dated a Korean woman. I don’t have a Korean friend. Though I am an immigrant, I have never wanted to strive like one. 一定有无数的美国人对他们自己的长相会有一种疏离感,但是其中每个人的原因却又不尽相同。以我自己为例,我是韩国移民的后裔,但我却不会讲我父母的母语。我从未跟韩国女性约过会,甚至都没有韩国朋友。虽然我是移民,但是我从未想过像移民那样努力奋斗。 para 3 You could say that I am a banana. But while I don’t believe our roots necessarily define us, I do believe there are racially inflected assumptions wired into our neural circuitry. And although I am in most respects devoid of Asian characteristics, I do have an Asia...
