【英语语言学习】美国与墨西哥的边境

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The NPR News team traveled more than 2400 miles along the Mexican border from the Gulf¹ of Mexico to the Pacific. Their route led through a zone that's under intense surveillance. NPR's Steve Inskeep got a chance to watch those who watch the border.

STEVE INSKEEP: You see Border Patrol vehicles all over the U.S. side of the borderland. Their green and white SUVs are being filled up at gas stations or parked by border fence. But the agents inside can't be everywhere, so they use technology like cameras and sensors² that monitor a stretch of the Rio Grande near Laredo, Texas.

BARINE SALLAS U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: Well, welcome to our communications room.

INSKEEP: Berine Sallas(ph) of the Border Patrol showed us in. About half a dozen people monitored calls from the field.

(SOUNDBITE OF RADIO COMMUNICATIONS)

INSKEEP: The room had no windows, just a giant wall of screens. The Border Patrol, officially, it's part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, has mounted cameras high in steel poles overlooking the border.

PROTECTION: We have 24 sites. On each site we have two cameras. The cameras have nighttime and daytime capabilities³. If you can see on that screen, that's approximately a mile and a half.

INSKEEP: And we're looking right down the Rio Grande?

PROTECTION: Yes, we're looking at down river of the Rio Grande.

INSKEEP: One agent was using a joystick to move a camera, studying semi trailers in a riverside parking lot. A whiteboard on the wall was covered with emergency numbers to call, including a phone number marked unmanned drone. The man in charge of this south Texas sector⁴ tries to marry new technology with old. Commander Robert Harris keeps a saddle in his office.

COMMANDER THOMAS HARRIS: We still do have horses and I would argue that we have some of the best trackers in the country.

INSKEEP: They're trained to follow footprints in the wilderness⁵ along the border. That's labor-intensive work, but the Border Patrol nearly doubled its manpower in recent years to more than 21,000.

HARRIS: No, we don't have 100 percent visibility on the border, but I have a much higher degree of confidence in terms of our strategy that if somebody chooses to enter through our area of responsibility, we have a higher than average chance of arresting that individual.

INSKEEP: But the Border Patrol is under intense pressure in a series of incidents in recent years, including one here in Laredo. Border Patrol agents shot and killed unarmed Mexicans. In some cases, the Mexicans were said to be throwing rocks. This month, the Border Patrol reminded agents to avoid, quote, "unnecessary risk to themselves or others." But it resisted calls for bigger change, saying agents had been pelted⁶ with rocks hundreds of times per year.

HARRIS: We're not in a situation to lose fights. You know, if our agents are assaulted, I want them to prevail.

INSKEEP: The Border Patrol is also criticized for not doing enough, as we heard when we continued our road trip. Outside Eagle Pass, Texas, we arrived at the home of a rancher whose property lines the border.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOGS BARKING)

DOB CUNNINGHAM: We have coffee if y'all want a cup of coffee?

INSKEEP: I would be delighted to have coffee, thank you.

And after the coffee, Dob Cunningham took us for a jeep ride on his property.

CUNNINGHAM: Do hang on.

INSKEEP: Cunningham drove, his wife Kay was beside him rancher.

KAY CUNNINGHAM: This gray bush that you see, when it blooms it's a mauv-y pink color and it's just beautiful. The whole ranch⁷ is covered with it.

INSKEEP: The people in back included Larry Johnson, Dob's friend, and a former sheriff. Dob Cunningham sees threats concealed⁸ in this land.

CUNNINGHAM: About a year ago they came over here to my shop and took all the tools, stole all the tools and a (unintelligible) just like that.

INSKEEP: By they he means thieves crossing the border. Cunningham is 79. Decades ago he was a Border Patrol agent and later ran the U.S. Port of Entry at Eagle Pass. These days he's developed a love/hate relationship with the Border Patrol. And to show us why, he was driving us toward a bluff⁹ overlooking the Rio Grande.

And I guess that must be the river below us in this valley?

CUNNINGHAM: And Mexico on the other side.

CUNNINGHAM: And that's Mexico.

INSKEEP: Cunningham prepared to stop just sort of where the bluff plunged¹⁰ down toward the river.

CUNNINGHAM: If I holler bail¹¹ out, jump out 'cause sometimes these brakes don't work.

INSKEEP: OK. We're about to go downhill.

CUNNINGHAM: Real fast.

INSKEEP: We stopped in time at the foot of a giant steel pole.

CUNNINGHAM: All right.

INSKEEP: It held two of those border patrol cameras aimed up and down the river. Cunningham said the wire to one camera was cut. He says his property is periodically flooded with thieves, marijuana smugglers or migrants. When he can, Cunningham rounds them up and turns them in.

CUNNINGHAM: It's not in us to steal a penny or to turn a blind eye. It's just not in us. It's not our way.

INSKEEP: Or just ignore it, let it happen.

CUNNINGHAM: It's not in our way. It's not in us. The Border Patrol gets after me for calling in and catching¹² stuff. Not all of them but some of them.

INSKEEP: Oh, the border patrol maybe would rather you do a little less?

CUNNINGHAM: Oh, yeah. They'd rather me, you know, turn a blind eye.

LARRY JOHNSON: Well, it was a week ago today, remember?

INSKEEP: His friend Larry Johnson recalled the day they found three people on the road they suspected of crossing the border illegally and picked them up. Kay Cunningham recalls another incident right here on the ranch.

CUNNINGHAM: I call it the night of the big shootout.

INSKEEP: Dob spotted¹³ something just at dusk and took his gun to have a look.

CUNNINGHAM: I heard bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. Then I thought, oh, my God.

INSKEEP: It turned out to be a confused incident involving hunters and suspected border crossers. Nobody was hurt. Dob Cunningham says he cooperates with the Border Patrol and even admires many agents, but has come to doubt the agency as it grew in size.

CUNNINGHAM: They just hired too many riff-raff, crooks¹⁴, thugs.

INSKEEP: His opinion of the Border Patrol reflects a larger doubt. An American flag flies outside his home. He's not sure it will fly here in the future.

So you think some day Mexico's going to move north?

CUNNINGHAM: I don't know that it will be - we may be like what's happening where you got the Russian's, you know.

INSKEEP: He's referring to Russia grabbing a chunk¹⁵ of neighboring Ukraine where many ethnic¹⁶ Russians live.

CUNNINGHAM: The culture and the patriotism¹⁷ will be strong as being a Mexican as being an American. You have Border Patrol in right now that don't know their allegiance to the United States. It's hard to believe but it's true.

INSKEEP: His evidence is that he thinks some current agents lack much ability with English.

CUNNINGHAM: There's people call me and say would you report this or that 'cause when I call they can't understand my English.

INSKEEP: Border Patrol agents are trained in Spanish, as is former agent Dob Cunningham. The Border Patrol has said its agents are, in fact, highly trained as well as, quote, "reliable, trustworthy and loyal to the United States." For all of his provocative¹⁸ claims, it is hard to form a simple view of the Texas rancher. Dob Cunningham keeps complicating¹⁹ the picture. He admits 98 percent of the border crossers who come through his property are just poor people who want a job.

Dob and Kay have sometimes fed them in their house. Not only that, Cunningham can point across the Rio Grande to the homes of Mexican friends.

CUNNINGHAM: Very close friends. They come and visit. I've waded²¹ the river right up from that house - his name is Tocho Garcia(ph) (unintelligible). I have waded the river and ate with him and visited him.

INSKEEP: Is that strictly²² legal if you just wade²⁰ across?

CUNNINGHAM: Oh, no. No, if the Mexican army caught me, I'd still be over there.

INSKEEP: You'd be an illegal immigrant?

CUNNINGHAM: I'd be an illegal - trying to find somebody to buy me out.

INSKEEP: Dob Cunningham calls himself a border rat. He has absorbed the complexity²³ of the borderland.

SIMON: That's our colleague, Steve Inskeep, whose road trip in the borderland continues tomorrow with the politician who wants less border security.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 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。

2 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

3 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

4 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。

5 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

6 pelted   

（连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮

参考例句：

• The children pelted him with snowballs. 孩子们向他投掷雪球。
• The rain pelted down. 天下着大雨。

7 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

8 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

9 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

10 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

11 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

12 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

13 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

14 crooks   

n.骗子( crook的名词复数 )；罪犯；弯曲部分；（牧羊人或主教用的）弯拐杖v.弯成钩形( crook的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The police are getting after the crooks in the city. 警察在城里追捕小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cops got the crooks. 警察捉到了那些罪犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

16 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

17 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

18 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

19 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

20 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

21 waded   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。

22 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

23 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。