美国国家公共电台 NPR--After 7 years, the Colombia-Venezuela border is reopening to trade

After 7 years, the Colombia-Venezuela border is reopening to trade

Transcript¹

But what does it mean for Venezuelans who might be trying to leave their country? NPR's Leila Fadel talks to reporter Manuel Rueda, who is in Cucuta on the Colombian side of the border.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The main border crossing between Venezuela and Colombia officially opens to trade today after years of being closed. The border opening fulfills² a campaign pledge by Colombia's new president, Gustavo Petro, to reestablish formal relations with Venezuela. But what does it mean for Venezuelans who are trying to leave their own country in record numbers on a daily basis? Reporter Manuel Rueda is in Cucuta on the Colombian side of the border. Hi.

MANUEL RUEDA, BYLINE³: Hi. Good morning.

FADEL: Good morning. So how significant is today's border opening?

RUEDA: Well, this is quite important because for years, the governments of Colombia and Venezuela were ideological⁴ rivals on the opposite ends of the political spectrum⁵. So what this border opening shows is that they're taking a different approach. Now they want to cooperate on security issues, on trade, on immigration issues.

FADEL: Now, Venezuela right now is considered the second-largest external displacement⁶ crisis in the world. So what does this border opening mean for Venezuelans who are trying to leave their country?

RUEDA: Well, the hope is that with more trade, the economy improves somewhat. When the border last functioned normally back in 2014, trade between both countries was worth about $2 billion each year. So perhaps, you know, this helps businesses on both sides of the border to exchange with each other the raw materials that they need to get manufacturing up and running again. So maybe that generates some jobs. And maybe that means that some people might want to stay in the country now. But the situation is still quite difficult. I mean, the minimum wage in Venezuela right now is about $16 a month. So when you actually go on a road that leads into the center of Colombia, you can still find many people from Venezuela just walking, walking towards the center of Colombia because they don't have money to pay for the bus. And one of the people I met was a 21-year-old man called Elio Sanabria (ph). And this is what he said.

ELIO SANABRIA: (Non-English language spoken).

RUEDA: So what he's saying there is that he was working at a chicken plant in Venezuela. And his wage was $20 a month. And he says, you know, this is just no way to live. You just have to live day to day. There's barely enough money for food. And so he was trying to head to Chile, where he has some friends who told him they might be able to help him find work there.

FADEL: So some possible hope for some alleviation⁷ of those economic struggles in Venezuela. But beyond Venezuela, what does the border opening mean for this region of South America?

RUEDA: So Gustavo Petro, the new president of Colombia, is trying to improve relations with Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. And the border opening is just part of a broader plan he has. His main interest - Petro's main interest is to generate peace talks with different rebel groups that still exist in Colombia. But he needs Maduro's help because many of those groups also operate in Venezuela. So will the relationship go to that level where Maduro will help him to make peace with the rebel groups? We'll have to see.

FADEL: Reporter Manuel Rueda is in Cucuta, Colombia. Thank you so much for your reporting.

RUEDA: Sure.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 fulfills   

v.履行（诺言等）( fulfill的第三人称单数 )；执行（命令等）；达到（目的）；使结束

参考例句：

• He always fulfills his promises. 他总是履行自己的诺言。 来自辞典例句
• His own work amply fulfills this robust claim. 他自己的作品在很大程度上实现了这一正确主张。 来自辞典例句

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

5 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

6 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

7 alleviation   

n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物

参考例句：

• These were the circumstances and the hopes which gradually brought alleviation to Sir Thomas's pain. 这些情况及其希望逐渐缓解了托马斯爵士的痛苦。
• The cost reduction achieved in this way will benefit patients and the society in burden alleviation. 集中招标采购降低的采购成本要让利于患者，减轻社会负担。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语