LISTENING SCRIPT: CHINESE PEOPLE IN NORTH AMERICA

Here is the script:

Chinese People in North America

In recent years, many people have moved to North America from China, but many people 

do not know that Chinese people have a long history in Canada and the United States.

During the nineteenth century, both Canada and the United States were rapidly 

expanding to the west, toward the Pacific Ocean. In those days, there were of course no 

cars or airplanes to allow people and goods to move across the land. Instead, the best 

method of long-distance transportation was the railroad. Railway trains could move 

quickly across the countryside. However, there was one problem: before the railway 

trains could run, railroads had to be built across very long distances.

To build the railroads was a very big job. Many men would be needed because the 

distance was so long and the land was so difficult, with many mountains and rivers to be 

crossed. For the men who owned the railroad companies, it would have been too 

expensive to hire Canadian or American men to build the railroads because those 

workers would only work for high wages.

The railroad owners decided to get workers from overseas. Many Chinese men were 

willing to work for low wages because they were very poor. These men would work very 

hard and send much of the money back to their relatives in China.

Thousands of Chinese men were brought to North America to work on the railroads. They 

did good work, but their employers treated them badly. The work day was very long, and 

working conditions were very unsafe. Many Chinese men died in accidents while 

constructing the railroads. Some Chinese women also came to North America, but there 

were many more men than women.

After the railroads were completed, by about the year 1900, very few Chinese people 

were allowed to come to North America. Most people in Canada and the United States 

were not familiar with Chinese people and did not want strangers to come to their 

countries. Any Chinese person who came to North America had to pay an expensive tax. 

This made it difficult for Chinese men to bring their wives and families to join them in 

North America. Later, the governments of Canada and the United States made Chinese 

immigration illegal.

Eventually, the people of Canada and the United States realized that their laws had been 

unfair. They changed the rules so that Chinese people could immigrate in the same way 

that people from other countries could do so. In recent decades, many Chinese people 

have moved to North America, and have formed a very lively and successful community. 

Many cities, such as Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco, and New York, have been 

enriched by Chinese culture. Chinese people are now very prominent in North America, 

just as they were many years ago.

You can download the audio in the link  below.

Chinese People In North America.mp3