【英语语言学习】世界性的移民

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

 

The number of people around the world who leave their countries to work in another country is soaring. The total is now well over 200 million, up from 150 million a decade ago, according to United Nations. This week, the U.N. holds a migration¹ summit in New York, calling for policies to protect migrant workers.

 

Ashley Westerman of member station WRKF traveled to the Philippines, a country largely known for its emigration.

 

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

 

ASHLEY WESTERMAN, BYLINE²: At the offices of Industries and Personnel Management in Manila, some 30 nervous applicants⁴ sit in hard plastic chairs watching a video called "A Day in a Life of a Dubai Duty-Free Employee."

 

As soothing⁵ music plays in the background, the video shows workers - in robin's egg-blue jackets - looking almost robotic as they cheerfully assist customers in checkout⁶ lanes and count money.

 

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

 

WESTERMAN: The recruitment agency says about 200 people applied⁷ for only 30 open spots at the duty-free shop at the International Airport in Dubai, on the Persian Gulf⁸.

 

Among them is 28-year-old Markco Tuazon, who has a degree in computer science but can't find work in his field.

 

MARKCO TUAZON: I want to have a better future for my wife; I want to buy my own house. So I want more increased salary so that I want to go in abroad for my better future.

 

WESTERMAN: Tuazon plans to send money back to the Philippines until he makes enough to return home and open a business.

 

Tuazon's story is common in the Philippines, where a declining manufacturing sector⁹ forces 1.2 million Filipinos to find work abroad every year. And it's not just Filipinos who do that. They're just a fraction of the estimated 200 million migrants worldwide. Because migrants send money to their families back home, the U.N. says nearly one billion people benefit from migrant wages.

 

Peter Sutherland heads Migration and Development for the U.N. He says migration is win-win for every country. That's because the host country gets the workers it needs to keep its economy going, and the home country gets an economic boost.

 

PETER SUTHERLAND: Migrants send back to developing countries far more than the total amount of aid that is received by those countries from the richer countries of the world. So remittances¹⁰ is of enormous importance to development at home.

 

WESTERMAN: Last, year the Philippines collected a whopping 24 billion U.S. dollars in remittances. Only China, India and Mexico collected more.

 

In the Philippines, some industries train migrant workers before sending them abroad. Some programs even provide veteran migrants with advanced training.

 

(SOUNDBITE OF CONSTRUCTION)

 

WESTERMAN: At an abandoned expo center in Pampanga, a few hours north of Manila, an Australian company, Site Group International, is training veteran oil and gas workers to navigate¹¹ great heights at construction zones.

 

The company sends its workers to jobs in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Middle East. Being a migrant worker is risky¹² because in many countries they have few rights and protections. The Middle East takes in more migrant workers than any other region. The latest U.N. statistics show almost 17 million work in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

 

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, say abuse of migrant workers is rampant¹³ in the region. The groups also cite reports of human trafficking among migrant workers in several developed countries. And in the U.S., there's a class action lawsuit¹⁴ filed in U.S. district court in Louisiana alleging¹⁵ wide-scale industry abuse of oil and gas workers.

 

The U.N. is urging countries to pass laws to protect migrant workers. Peter Sutherland argues migrant workers should have the same rights as native workers.

 

SUTHERLAND: And if you don't do that, you are discriminating¹⁶ in a manner which should be illegal.

 

WESTERMAN: Markco Tuazon, the job applicant³ we met at the beginning of this story, says he's aware of the possibility of abuse. In the Philippines, newspapers and TV reporters tend to cover these stories a lot. But Tuazon says he tries not to think about it.

 

For now, he won't have to worry about these problems. He didn't get the job in Dubai. But he remains¹⁷ hopeful and is still looking.

 

For NPR News, I'm Ashley Westerman.

1 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。

2 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。

3 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

4 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

5 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

6 checkout   

n.（超市等）收银台，付款处

参考例句：

• Could you pay at the checkout.你能在结帐处付款吗。
• A man was wheeling his shopping trolley to the checkout.一个男人正推着购物车向付款台走去。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

11 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

12 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

13 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

14 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

15 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

16 discriminating   

a.有辨别能力的

参考例句：

• Due caution should be exercised in discriminating between the two. 在区别这两者时应该相当谨慎。
• Many businesses are accused of discriminating against women. 许多企业被控有歧视妇女的做法。

17 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。