Jimmy Kimmel's1 Kids Table

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去年10月16日，美国著名脱口秀主持人吉米·坎摩尔的节目中出现了反华言论。这一言论引起了全世界范围内华人的愤怒。然而太平洋对岸的美国人对此作何反应呢？跟着小编看看下面这篇文章，一起寻找答案。

On October 2013, Jimmy Kimmel, host of the ABC talk showJimmy Kimmel Live, found himself in hot water after broadcasting a questionable segment.2. in hot water: 遇到麻烦，陷入困境；questionable:成问题的，有疑问的；segment: 片段，部分。As part of the October 16 broadcast, Kimmel asked young children to address the complex issues of the day and asked how the United States could solve the 1.3 trillion debt to China. One laughing six year old answered “Kill everyone in China.” Kimmel responded by saying “Kill everyone in China? OK, that’s an interesting idea.” He continues to facilitate3. facilitate: 促进，推动。the discussion and ends with the question “Should we allow the Chinese to live?” to which one boy said no, and the rest of the children all shouted yes.

Many viewers were outraged4. outrage: 愤怒，愤慨。by this segment. One citizen, “H.Z.” of Cedar Park, Texas, took the issue to the White House’s online initiative, where citizens could petition for a federal response on various issues.5. 一位来自得克萨斯州雪松公园的自称“H.Z”的市民通过白宫在线服务反映了该问题，这一服务为市民针对联邦政府对各种问题的解决措施提供了请愿渠道。initiative: 项目，举措；petition: 向……请愿，正式要求。He wrote that the kids were blameless; that they did not know any better, but the adults at ABC were strongly at fault6. at fault: 有错，有责任。. The adults had the choice to air the racist segment. H.Z. continued to talk of this “racial hatred,” even drawing a comparison to the rhetoric used against Jewish people in Nazi Germany.7. H.Z.继续“种族仇恨”这一话题，甚至拿当年纳粹德国针对犹太人的仇恨做比。racial hatred: 种族仇恨；rhetoric: 修辞。ABC issued a formal apology later in October, but the damage was already done. As of early November, they petition has already hit 100,000 signatures, which warrants a federal response.8. 自11月初开始，他们的请愿已经征集到十万个签名，这使得联邦政府必须做出反应。warrant: 使……显得必要。

Despite the uproar9. uproar: 哗然，沸沸扬扬。this has caused, Americans have had somewhat of a mixed response to the incident. Some agreed with H.Z. in that the segment was unnecessarily provocative10. provocative: 引起争论的。and took to the streets to protest. Along with the petition, a group of protestors in San Francisco marched through the streets carrying pictures of Kimmel with a Hitler mustache11. Hitler: 阿道夫·希特勒，德国纳粹党的元首，第二次世界大战兼种族主义政策的核心人物；mustache: 胡子，髭须。and an image of the flag of Nazi Germany in the background. The protestors demanded a more elaborate12. elaborate: 详尽的，复杂的。apology from ABC and for Kimmel to be fired.

However, another group of less vocal Americans disagreed and believed that the backlash was far too severe.13. 然而，另外并未激烈表达反对意见的美国人认为这种反对太过强烈。vocal: 清晰激烈表达意见的；backlash: 强烈反对，抵制。Kimmel defended himself by saying “I thought it was obvious that I didn’t agree with that statement, but apparently it wasn’t.” Some Americans agreed with Kimmel’s statement. They have expressed their belief that people are too easy to offend in today’s society, as well as about how the segment was meant in jest14. jest: 俏皮话，玩笑。. You won’t see much of this opinion on news sites, but around the web this can be seen in blogs and forums. One blogger writes “Have we really gone that far to the left, that we can’t handle the comments of a bunch of children, that we’ve all become whinny, hypersensitive children ourselves?"15. 一位博主写道“我们被一群孩子的话搞得大惊小怪，是不是我们太过激进，连自己都变成一群喜欢抱怨、过度敏感的的孩子？”left: 左倾的，激进的；whinny: 爱抱怨的；hypersensitive: 过度敏感的。

Both sides present valid points. The content featured on the segment could be classi fied as offensive and ABC has made a misjudgment16. misjudgement: 判断失误。allowing the segment to air. However, both Kimmel and ABC have both apologized, is the current uproar over the situation really necessary? Perhaps the root of the issue lies much deeper. The real question is: where did the children come up with the idea in the first place? While it is clear that the children do not understand the depth or gravity17. gravity: 严重性。of the concept, it is slightly worrying that the idea came so easily to mind. Children often quote what they hear around them, perhaps it is their environment that should truly shoulder the blame.18. shoulder: 担负，承担；blame: 责备，指责。