美国承诺接收更多中东难民

 　　The United States pledged Wednesday to accept more refugees fleeing from wars in Syria and elsewhere, even as Europe unveiled a mandatory¹ country-by-country quota² plan to resettle 160,000 migrants.

　　After meeting with lawmakers in Congress, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, "We are looking hard at the number that we can specifically manage with respect to the crisis in Syria and Europe. That's being vetted³ fully⁴ right now."

　　Shortly after Kerry's meeting, U.S. Senator John McCain went to the Senate floor to urge stronger leadership from President Barack Obama on stemming violence in the Middle East and North Africa.

　　The Arizona Republican stood next to an enlarged, close-up photo of the body of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi, the Syrian boy who drowned along with his 5-year-old brother and mother when their small rubber boat capsized as it headed for Greece.

　　US Pledges to Accept More Migrants; Europe Unveils Quota Plan

　　"This image has haunted the world," McCain said. "But what should haunt us even more than the horror unfolding before our eyes is the thought that the United States will continue to do nothing meaningful about it.''

　　White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that the administration has been looking at a "range of approaches" for assisting U.S. allies with the thousands of people arriving from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

　　European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker called Wednesday for EU member states to resettle 160,000 refugees escaping from war in Syria and elsewhere — but was running into opposition⁵ from countries objecting to mandatory quotas⁶.

　　"The Europe I want to live in is illustrated⁷ by those who are helping," Juncker told the European Parliament. "The Europe I don't want to live in is a Europe refusing those who are in need.

　　"We can build walls, we can build fences. But imagine for a second it were you, your child in your arms, the world you knew torn apart around you," he added. "There is no price you would not pay, there is no wall you would not climb, no sea you would not sail, no border you would not cross if it is war or the barbarism of the so-called Islamic State that you are fleeing."

　　But the Czech and Slovak governments held firm in their opposition to the country-by-country quotas Juncker said were needed to cope with Europe's worst migration⁸ crisis since World War II.

　　"I refused the quotas," Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said this week as details of the quota plan emerged, "because I don't consider quotas to be the real solution to the migration crisis."

　　Security concerns

　　Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico expressed concern that terrorists might slip into Europe with the refugees massing on the continent's doorstep. Most of the migrants are looking to settle in more prosperous Western European countries, especially Germany and Sweden.

　　"When terrorists are grouping in Syria," Fico said, "how can we distinguish these people from the other migrants who are crossing the borders of the European Union without any controls?"

　　U.S. intelligence chief James Clapper echoed the same worries, saying, "I don't obviously put it past the likes of ISIL [the Islamic State insurgents] to infiltrate⁹ operatives among these refugees. So that is a huge concern of ours."

　　"We do have a pretty aggressive program for those coming to this country for screening their backgrounds," Clapper said.  "I am not as uniformly confident about each European country that is going to be faced with welcoming or allowing refugees into their country."

　　Juncker said Europe could not leave Greece, Italy and Hungary alone to handle the vast influx¹⁰ of migrants.

　　"We Europeans should never forget why giving refuge and complying with fundamental right of asylum¹¹ is so important," he said.

　　He urged EU interior ministers to endorse¹² the resettlement plan next week.

　　Juncker also said he thought asylum seekers should be allowed to work while waiting for their applications to be processed. He said he expected all member states to pitch in to an emergency trust fund to address future such refugee crises.

　　The commission's plan calls for an expanded country-by-country migrant quota system throughout much of Europe, to accept thousands of asylum seekers from the Middle East over the next two years.

　　Under the plan, Germany, France and Spain would take in the most, followed by Poland, the Netherlands, Romania, Belgium and Sweden.

　　But the quota idea is controversial and adamantly¹³ opposed by Hungary and other Central European states.

　　The new distribution of asylum seekers would be based on a country's economic output, population, unemployment rate and the number of refugees each nation already had agreed to accept.

　　Chancellor¹⁴ Angela Merkel in Germany, where refugees have been welcomed with food, water and toys for children, has called Juncker's plan "a first important step."

　　In remarks Wednesday, she said if Europe failed on the refugee issue, then it would lose one of the founding impulses for a united Europe: universal human rights.

　　But she cautioned that migrants coming to Germany out of economic need, rather than fleeing war or political persecution¹⁵, must be turned away.

　　Germany said it expected 800,000 refugees this year. Vice¹⁶ Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said his country could accommodate a half-million refugees annually¹⁷ for several years.

　　Polls show many Europeans are opposed to the quota plan. Speaking before the parliament after Juncker, French far-right leader Marine¹⁸ Le Pen said giving migrants the right to work in France was like spitting in the face of the country’s 7 million jobless citizens.

　　Seeking peace

　　The U.N. said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the heads of seven European governments in the last two days and stressed that the large majority of migrants were fleeing war and violence in their homelands and had a right to seek asylum.

　　One Syrian refugee, Mohammed Dahha, said he wanted to reach Sweden and was looking for a peaceful land.

　　"The people, they are moving from country to another country, from Asia to Europe, to get rest there, OK? To be under peace," he said. "They're looking for peace, because you cannot live without peace."

1 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

2 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

3 vetted   

v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的过去式和过去分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• The recruits were thoroughly vetted before they were allowed into the secret service. 情报机关招募的新成员要经过严格的审查。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All staff are vetted for links with extremist groups before being employed. 所有职员录用前均须审查是否与极端分子团体有关。 来自辞典例句

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

7 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

8 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

9 infiltrate   

vt./vi.渗入，透过；浸润

参考例句：

• The teacher tried to infiltrate her ideas into the children's minds.老师设法把她的思想渗透到孩子们的心中。
• It can infiltrate as much as 100 kilometers into enemy territory at night.可以在夜间深入敌领土100千米。

10 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

11 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

12 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

13 adamantly   

adv.坚决地，坚定不移地，坚强不屈地

参考例句：

• "Come over here,"he told her adamantly. “到这边来，”他对她坚定地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His family were adamantly opposed to the marriage. 他的家人坚决反对这门亲事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

15 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

16 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

17 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

18 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。