大学英语自学教程下UNIT4（在线收听） |
| [00:00.00]Unit 4 text A Slavery on Our Doorstep [00:03.75]我们身边的奴役 [00:07.50]There are estimated to be more than 20,000 overseas domestic servants [00:11.38]据估计,在英国工作的外籍家庭佣人有两万多人 [00:15.26]working in Britain (the exact figure is not known because the Home Office, [00:19.28](因为处理这项事务的政府部门---内政部 [00:23.30]the Government department that deals with this,does not keep statistics) [00:26.68]没有做统计,所以不知道确切的数目). [00:30.07]Usually,they have been brought over by foreign businessmen, [00:32.85]通常,他们被外国商人,外交官 [00:35.63]diplomats or Britons returning from abroad. [00:38.06]和从海外归来的英国人带来. [00:40.49]Of these 20,000,just under 2,000 are being exploited [00:44.42]两万名佣人中有近2000人被他们的雇主剥削,虐待, [00:48.35]and abused by their employers according to a London-based campaigning group [00:56.01]which helps overseas servants working in Britain. [00:58.68]根据某个设在伦敦的帮助在英国工作的国外佣人的政治组织讲, [01:01.36]The abuse can take several forms. [01:04.29]虐待有多种形式. [01:07.21]Often the domestics are not allowed to go out, [01:12.96]and they do not receive any payment. [01:15.18]佣人经常不允许出去,也得不到任何报酬. [01:17.40]They can be physically,sexually and psychologically abused. [01:20.94]他们受到身体上的,性方面的和心理上的虐待. [01:24.48]And they can have their passports removed [01:26.91]他们的护照可能已被拿走, [01:29.34]making leaving or"escaping" virtually impossible. [01:32.46]使其实际上不可能离开或"逃走". [01:35.58]The sad condition of women working as domestics around the world [01:38.91]今年早些时候引起大众高度注意的事件中, [01:42.24]received much media attention earlier this yearin several highly publicised cases. [01:46.48]全世界女佣的悲惨善得到了媒体的注意. [01:50.71]In one of them, [01:52.39]其中一个事件是, [01:54.08]a Filipino maid was executed in Singapore after being convicted of murder, [01:57.55]其中一个事件是,一个菲律宾女佣在被判谋杀罪后,在新加坡被处决. [02:01.03]despite protests from various quarters that her guilt [02:07.58]had not been adequately established. [02:09.96]尽管各方面都抗议她的罪行尚未充分证实. [02:12.34]Groups like Anti-Slavery International say other,less dramatic,cases [02:16.41]类似于国际反奴隶制的团体声称,其他一些不太富戏剧性的情况 [02:20.49]are equally deserving of attention, [02:22.76]也同样值得注意, [02:25.03]such as that of Lydia Garcia a filipino maid working in London: [02:28.66]如一个在伦敦工作的菲律宾女佣,莉迪亚.加西亚事件. [02:32.29]"I was hired by a Saudi diplomat directly from the Philippines to work in London in 1989. [02:36.62]"我受雇于一位沙特外交官,1989年直接从菲律宾来伦敦工作. [02:40.94]I was supposed to be paid 120 but I never received that amount. [02:44.82]我本应该得到120英镑报酬,但我从示得到那个数目. [02:48.70]They always threatened that they would send me back to my country. [02:51.94]他们一直威胁说要把我遣送回国. [02:55.18]Then there is the case of Kumari from Sri Lanka. [02:57.75]此外,还有来自斯里兰卡的库马里事件. [03:00.32]The main breadwinner in her family, [03:02.56]她家主要靠她赚钱维持生计, [03:04.79]she used to work for a very low wage at a tea factory in Sri Lanka. [03:08.37]她曾在斯里兰卡一家茶厂挣一份微薄的工资. [03:11.95]Because she found it difficult to feed her four children, [03:14.57]因为发现很难养活她的四个孩子, [03:17.20]she accepted a job working as a domestic in London. [03:20.18]她接受了在伦敦做佣人的一份工作. [03:23.15]She says she felt like a prisoner at the London house where she worked [03:26.48]她说在那所她工作的伦敦房子里感觉像个囚犯: [03:29.82]"No days off--ever,no breaks at all,no proper food, [03:33.75]"没有假期--从来没有.根本没有间歇,没有适宜的食物. [03:37.68]I didn't have my own room; [03:39.81]我没有自己的房间, [03:41.94]I slept on a shelf with a space of only three feet above me. [03:45.62]睡在一个架子上,上面只有三英尺的空间. [03:49.30]I wasn't allowed to talk to anybody. [03:53.98]I wasn't even allowed to open the window. [03:56.25]不允许与任何人讲话,甚至不允许打开窗子. 03:58.52]My employers always threatened to report me to the Home Office or the police [04:02.35]我的雇主常威胁我要向内政部或警方报告. [04:06.18]At the end of 1994 [04:08.40]1994年年底, [04:10.62]the British Government introduced new measures to help protect domestic workers [04:14.00]英国政府引进新的措施来帮助保护家务工作者, [04:17.38]from abuse by their employers. [04:19.45]使其免受雇主的虐待. [04:21.51]This included increasing the minimum age of employees to 18, [04:24.99]其中包括把雇员的最低年龄提高到18岁, [04:28.46]getting employees to read and understand an advice leaflet, [04:31.49]让雇员阅读并理解一份忠告传单, [04:34.52]getting employers to agree to provide adequate maintenance and conditions[04:38.54]使雇主同意提供适当的生活费用和条件, [04:42.57]and to put in writing the main terms and conditions of the job [04:45.75]把工作的主要条款和条件形成文字 [04:48.94](of which the employees should see a copy). [04:51.37](雇员应看到副本). [04:53.80]However,many people doubt whether this will successfully reduce the incidence of abuse. [04:57.93] 然而,许多工作人怀疑这样是否能成功地减少虐待发生. [05:02.05]For the main problem facing overseas maids and domestics [05:08.30]who try to complain about cruel living and working conditions [05:11.42]但抱怨残酷生活和工作条件的车外女佣和家仆们面临的主要问题是 [05:14.54]is thatthey do not have independent immigrant status [05:17.48]他们没有独立的移民身份, [05:20.42]and so cannot change employer. [05:22.64]因此就不能更换雇主 [05:24.86](They are allowed in the United Kingdom under a special concession in the immigration rules [05:28.74](他们之所以能住宅区在英国 [05:32.62]which allows foreigners to bring domestic staff with them.) [05:35.74]是因为移民法特许权允许外国专家人带的佣人住在英国). [05:38.86]So if they do complain,they risk being deported. [05:41.89]所以,他们真的抱怨的话,就有被驱逐出境的危险. [05:44.92]Allowing domestic workers the freedom to seek the same type of work [05:48.36]允许他们向不同的雇主寻求同样形式的工作. [05:51.79]but with a different employer, [05:55.45]if they so choose,is what groups like Anti-Slavery International [05:58.97]选择这样做的话,这就是像国际反奴隶制这样的组织正极力向政府争取的. [06:02.50]are campaigning the Government for. [06:07.23]It is,they say,the right to change employers [06:13.71]which distinguishes employment from slavery. [06:16.44]他们说,正是改换雇主的权利把雇佣和奴役区别开来. [06:19.17]Text B Return of The Chain Gang [06:21.84]带铁链的囚犯队又回来了 [06:24.52]Eyewitnesses say it was a scene straight out of a black and white movie from the 1950s. [06:27.80]目击者称这是直接取自20世纪50年代一部黑白影片的一个镜头. [06:31.08]As the sun rose over the fields of Huntsville,Alabama,in the American South [06:34.11]当太阳升起在美国南部阿拉巴马州亨茨维尔的旷野上的时候, [06:37.14]the convicts got down from the trucks that had brought them there. [06:39.50]罪犯们从把他们带到那里的卡车上下来. [06:41.87]Watched over by guards with guns, [06:43.79]在携枪的警卫的监视下, [06:45.71]they raised their legs in unison [06:49.26]and made their wayto the edge of he highway,Interstate 65. [06:52.19]他们步伐一致地走向65号州际公路边. [06:55.11]The BBC's Washington correspondent Clare Boderson was there [06:57.95]BBC驻华盛顿记者克莱尔.博尔德森正在现场, [07:00.78]and she sent this report: [07:02.36]他发出如下报道: [07:03.94]"They wore white uniforms with the words "Chain Gang" on their backs [07:07.12] "他们穿着背印有'铁链囚犯队'的白色囚服, [07:10.29]and,in groups of five, [07:12.17]五人一组, [07:14.05]were shackled together in leg irons joined by an eight-foot chain. [07:16.98]用一条长八英尺的铁链将脚镣连在一起. [07:19.90]The prisoners will work for up to 90 days on the gang: [07:22.28]囚犯们要被拴盛开队,劳动长达90天. [07:24.66]they'll clear ditches of weeds and mend fences along Alabama's main roads [07:28.04]他们要清除阿拉巴马的主要公路沿线沟中的杂草,修理护栏. [07:31.42]While they are working on the gang, [07:33.25]他们被拴成一队工作时, [07:35.08]they'll also live in some of the harshest prison conditions in the United States[07:38.06]还要住在美国最严酷的监狱环境中. [07:41.04]There'll be no televisions or phone calls; [07:43.16]没有电视或电话, [07:45.29]many other day-to-day privileges will be denied." [07:47.81]许多日常的基本权利也拒绝给予." [07:50.33]The authorities in Alabama [07:52.07]阿拉巴马州官方讲, [07:53.81]say there is a lot of support for there,introduction of chain gangs in the State [07:59.76]after a gap of 30 years [08:01.59]在30年后许多工作人支持在州里恢复用铁链把囚犯拴在起的做法 [08:03.42](the last gangs were abolished in Georgia in the early 1960s). [08:06.24](在20世纪60年代早期佐治来州废除了最后一批铁链囚犯队). [08:09.06]Many people believe it is an effective way [08:13.64]to get criminals to pay back their debt to society. [08:15.86]许多工作人相信这是一种让罪犯向社会还清债务的有效途径. [08:18.08]The prisoners stay shackled when they use toilets. [08:20.35]囚犯们上厕所时也戴着镣铐, [08:22.62]They reacted sharply to the treatment they are given: [08:24.89]他们强烈反抗他们所受到的待遇. [08:27.17]Prisoner one: "This is like a circus.A zoo. [08:30.04]第一个囚犯说:"这像是一个马戏团,一个动物园. [08:32.91]All chained here to a zoo.We're all animals now." [08:35.64]这里所有的人都拴在动物园里,现在我们就像动物一样." [08:38.37]Prisoner two: "It's degrading. It's embarrassing[08:41.25]第二个囚犯说:"这时污辱,令人困窘." [08:44.12]Prisoner three: "In chains. It's slavery!" [08:47.01]第三个囚犯说:"戴着锁链,这简直是奴隶制." [08:49.89]Six out of every ten prisoners in chains are black, [08:52.26]每十个戴锁链的囚犯里有六个黑人, [08:54.62]which is why the chain gangs call up images of slavery in centuries gone by [08:57.65]这就是为什么使戴锁链的囚犯们想起几个世纪以前的奴隶制的情景. [09:00.68]when black people were brought from Africa in leg irons [09:03.01]那时,黑人戴着脚镣从非洲被带来, [09:05.33]and made to work in plantations owned by white men. [09:07.67]被近在白人拥有的种植园里干活儿. [09:10.01]Not surprisingly, [09:11.54]毫不令人奇怪的是, [09:13.06]although threequartersof the white population of Alabama supports chain gangs, [09:15.99]虽然3/4的阿拉巴马州的白人支持把囚犯用铁链拴在一起, [09:18.92]only a small number of black people do. [09:20.89]但只有少数黑人支持. [09:22.86]Don Claxton,spokesman for the State Government of Alabama, [09:25.84]阿拉巴马州政府发言人唐.克莱克斯顿坚持说, [09:28.82]insists that the system is not racist: [09:30.84]这种制度并非种族歧视: [09:32.87]"This isn't something that's done for racial reasons,for political reasons. [09:35.74]"并不是由于种族或政治原因而这样做. [09:38.61]This is something that's going to help save the people of Alabama tax money [09:41.39]这样做能帮助节省阿拉马马州的税收, [09:44.18]because they don't have to pay as many officers to work on the highways. [09:46.81]因为不必再为在公路上工作人员付报酬了. [09:49.45]And it's going to help clean up our highways [09:51.48]并且这也会帮助清理公路, [09:53.50]and it's going to help clean up the State." [09:55.38]有助于清洁整个州. [09:57.26]However,the re-introduction of these measures [10:01.91]has caused a great deal of strong disagreement. [10:03.99]然而,重新彩这些措施招致了许多强烈的反对. [10:06.07]Human rights organizations say that putting prisoners in chains [10:08.80]人权组织声称,把囚犯用铁链锁起来 [10:11.53]is not only inhumane but also ineffective. [10:13.96]不公不人道,而且不起作用. [10:16.39]Alvin Bronstein,member of the Civil Liberties Union, [10:19.06]国民自由协会的成员阿尔文.布朗斯坦认为, [10:21.74]says that study after study has shown [10:23.92]多次研究表明 [10:26.10]you cannot prevent people from committing crimesby punishment [10:31.07]or the threat of punishment: [10:32.89]通过惩罚或威胁智囊团不能阻止人们犯罪, [10:34.72]"What they will do is make prisoners more angry,more hostile, [10:37.40]"他们这样做的结果将是使犯人更恼怒,更有敌意. [10:40.08]so that when they get ut of prison, [10:41.82]因此当他们从监狱里出来时, [10:43.55]they will increase the level of their criminal behaviour." [10:45.83]就会犯更大大的罪行." [10:48.10]Civil liberties groups say that chaining people together [10:50.53]国民自由团体说,用铁链把人们锁在一起 10:52.96]doesn't solve the causes of crime, [10:54.94]解决不了犯罪的诱因, [10:56.93]such as poverty or disaffection within society. [10:59.20]如社会的贫穷或不满. [11:01.47]What it does is punish prisoners for the ills of society. [11:04.01]这样做就是因为社会的病态而惩罚罪犯. [11:06.54]They say the practice takes the United States back to the Middle Ages, [11:09.17]他们说这种行为会把美国带回中世纪, [11:11.79]and that it is a shame to American society. [11:13.97]这是美国社会的耻辱. [11:16.15]But that's not an argument likely to win favour [11:20.52]among many people in the Deep South of the United States. [11:22.84]但这种争论不大可能记得美国南方腹地人们的支持. [11:25.17]Alabama's experiment is to be widened to include more prisoners, [11:27.96]阿拉马州的实验(这种惩罚方式)将要被推广到更大多囚犯向上. [11:30.76]and other States,such as Arkansas and Arizona, [11:33.28]其他州,诸如阿肯钯州和亚利桑那州, [11:35.80]will very probably introduce their own chain gang schemes. [11:38.37]很可能要推行他们自己的为囚犯锁上铁链的计划. |
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