In only two decades Asian Americans have become the fastest-growing U.S. minority. As their children began moving up through the nation’s schools, it became clear that a new class of academic achievers was emerging. Their achievements are reflected in the nation’s best universities, where mathematics, science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character. This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the fact that Asian-American students who began their educations abroad arrived in the U.S. with a solid grounding in mathematics but little or no knowledge of English. They are also influenced by the promise of a good job after college. Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more objectively. And the return on the investment in education is more immediate in something like engineering than with an arts degree.
在仅仅20年的时间里，亚裔美国人已经成为美国增长最快的少数族裔。随着他们的孩子开始在全国各地的学校学习，很明显，一个新的学术成就阶层正在崛起。他们的成就反映在美国最好的大学里，那里的数学、科学和工程系都具有明显的亚洲特色。这种对数学和科学的特殊喜爱在一定程度上是因为在国外开始接受教育的亚裔美国学生来到美国时有着坚实的数学基础，但英语了解很少或根本不懂。他们也受到大学毕业后有一份好工作的承诺的影响。亚洲人认为，在数学和科学等领域，不公平待遇会减少，因为人们会更客观地评判他们。在工程等领域，教育投资的回报比艺术学位更直接。
Most Asian-American students owe their success to the influence of parents who are determined that their children take full advantage of what the American educational system has to offer. An effective measure of parental attention is homework. Asian parents spend more time with their children than American parents do, and it helps. Many researchers also believe there is something in Asian Culture that breeds success, such ideals that stress family values and emphasize education.
大多数亚裔美国学生的成功归功于父母的影响，他们决心让孩子充分利用美国教育体系的优势。衡量父母注意力的一个有效方法是家庭作业。亚裔父母比美国父母花更多的时间陪伴孩子，这很有帮助。许多研究人员还认为，亚洲文化中有某种东西孕育着成功，比如强调家庭价值观和强调教育的理想。
Both explanations for academic success worry Asian Americans because of fears that they feed a typical racial image. Many can remember when Chinese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants were the victims of social isolation. Indeed, it was not until 1952 that laws were laid down giving all Asian immigrants the right to citizenship.
这两种对学术成功的解释都让亚裔美国人感到担忧，因为他们担心这会助长典型的种族形象。许多人还记得中国、日本和菲律宾移民是社会孤立的受害者。事实上，直到1952年才制定法律，赋予所有亚洲移民公民权。
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