VOA慢速英语20060612a

DEVELOPMENT REPORT - U.S. Accuses 12 Countries of Not Doing Enough to Stop Human TraffickingBy Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: 2006骞?鏈?2鏃?

I'm Faith Lapidus with the VOA Special English Development Report.


State Department Human Trafficking report for 2006

The State Department says twelve nations are failing to do enough to fight the modern-day slave trade. The department last week released its Trafficking in Persons Report for two thousand six.

Countries are rated on the efforts by their governments to control the international trade in forced labor². Four of the twelve countries given the lowest rating³ this year are in east and central Asia. The four are Burma, Laos, North Korea and Uzbekistan.

Three of the countries are in the Middle East: Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Another three are in Latin America: Belize, Cuba and Venezuela. And two of the lowest rated nations are in Africa: Sudan and Zimbabwe.

More than one hundred fifty nations are listed in the report. They are grouped based on information from American diplomats⁴ as well as non-governmental organizations and other groups.

Congress requires the report every year under a law called the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of Two Thousand.

Governments that meet the requirements of the law are listed in Tier One. Those that do not fully⁵ meet the requirements but are trying to improve are listed in Tier Two. Countries that may fall back in their progress are placed on a Tier Two Watch List.

Tier Three is for governments that fail to make serious efforts to enforce laws against trafficking and to protect victims. These countries face possible measures such as restrictions⁶ in non-humanitarian aid.

Countries that moved up from Tier Three last year to the Tier Two Watch List include Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Venezuela rejected its repeated placement in Tier Three. The Venezuelan Embassy⁷ in Washington says the country has been working to fight human trafficking. It says the report was a political move against the government of President Hugo Chavez.

The report also notes concerns about possible increases in human trafficking for the sex trade in Germany during the World Cup. Prostitution is legal in Germany, but the German government says it has taken steps to prevent trafficking.

World Cup games are being played in twelve cities. More than three million people are expected to attend the month-long championship which ends July ninth.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss. Read and listen to our reports at www.unsv.com. I'm Faith Lapidus.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 rating   

n.级别，等级，额定值，责骂，收视率

参考例句：

• It is a ship with a rating of 500,000 tons.这是一艘五十万吨级的船。
• The opinion polls gave the president a high rating.民意测验显示人民对总统的支持率很高。

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

7 embassy   

n.大使馆，大使及其随员

参考例句：

• Large crowd demonstrated outside the British Embassy.很多群众在英国大使馆外面示威。
• He's a U.S. diplomat assigned to the embassy in London.他是美国驻伦敦大使馆的一名外交官。