VOA慢速英语 2008 0310b

THIS IS AMERICA - With All the Talk About Illegal Immigration, a Look at the Legal Kind
Second of two programs on immigration issues in the US examines the rules for seeking permanent residency. Transcript¹ of radio broadcast:
09 March 2008

 

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. Today we have the second of two programs on the issue of immigration in America.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

An estimated eleven million or more people are living in the United States illegally. What to do about them is at the heart of the debate over immigration reform. Yet questions about legal immigrants also remain unanswered.

For example, should the United States open its doors to more skilled workers? Many employers would like that. Or should Congress lower the current limits, to get employers to hire more American citizens? Or would that only lead them to move more jobs to other countries.

What about a temporary worker program, as President Bush proposed?

Or what about welcoming more skilled workers but fewer less educated immigrants? Or would that be seen as unfair in the land of the American dream?

VOICE TWO:

Congress tried to pass an immigration reform bill last year. But the Senate was unable to reach agreement. So, in place of legislative² action, the administration announced new measures to increase border security and immigration enforcement. The steps include more workplace raids to catch illegal immigrants and higher civil fines for their employers.

Immigrant rights activists⁴ say stronger enforcement makes even legal immigrants fearful of being treated with suspicion. But activists against illegal immigration say providing for millions of people has a huge cost for public services. An activist³ in California says that state could be using the money to work on bridges and other public structures at risk from earthquakes.

VOICE ONE:
　

Two men watch from the Mexican side of the border wall in Tijuana

In two thousand six, Congress passed the Secure Fence Act to build hundreds of kilometers of additional fencing along the southern border. The reasoning goes that secure borders with Mexico and Canada will help keep out illegal immigrants as well as drugs and terrorists.

But securing thousands of kilometers of borderline is easier said than done. A high-tech⁵ "virtual fence" using sensors⁶, cameras and radar⁷ systems has met with technical problems in a test project in Arizona.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

We talked a lot last week about illegal immigration. But how can someone legally move to the United States? Listeners often ask this question. There are five ways to become a permanent resident. But the process can be difficult and involve much waiting.

VOICE ONE:
　

A protester in Los Angeles shows a sign that looks like a United States green card

A permanent resident is a foreign-born person who has most of the same rights as an American citizen. Permanent residents can work but they cannot vote or hold political office. They can also face expulsion in addition to any other punishment if they are found guilty of a serious crime.

Proof of permanent residency is a small identification card commonly known as a green card. The current color is light red. But the card was green once and the name stuck.

Green cards come from United States Citizenship⁸ and Immigration Services, an agency in the Department of Homeland Security.

VOICE TWO:

Christopher Bentley is an agency spokesman. He says most people immigrate⁹ to the United States these days through family sponsorship. This means that a family member already in the United States takes responsibility for the immigrant.

Sponsors must be United States citizens or permanent residents. In addition, they must be at least eighteen years old and a blood relation of the person seeking residency.

VOICE ONE:

Chris Bentley says immediate¹⁰ relatives can immigrate without waiting. Immediate relatives include parents and unmarried children under the age of twenty-one. Other relatives can also come to the United States but they must wait for their visas. This can take, in some cases, as long as twelve to fifteen years.

People who marry American citizens are also immediate relatives. But they receive a conditional¹¹ green card at first. It can be made permanent after two years if investigators¹² are satisfied that the marriage was not just for immigration purposes.

VOICE TWO:

Sponsors must meet financial requirements and accept responsibility for the immigrants they are sponsoring. This financial responsibility continues until the immigrant becomes a citizen, or works in the United States for about ten years or moves away.

The Department of Homeland Security says one million two hundred thousand people received permanent residency in two thousand six. More than sixty percent of them became permanent residents as a result of a family relationship.

VOICE ONE:

Another way to gain permanent residency is to have a job offer, also called an employment-based preference. About one hundred sixty thousand people became permanent residents this way in two thousand six.

Often the employers are technology companies. But Chris Bentley gives an example of a sheep ranch¹³ in Texas. The employer found a really good shepherd. It was easier to sponsor him for residency than to continually bring him to the United States to help on the ranch.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

A third way to immigrate to the United States is to be declared a refugee. This immigration status is for people who fear physical harm if they remain in their home country. They have to go to an American Embassy and provide proof of their situation, or be referred by the United Nations refugee agency.

Foreign citizens who are in the United States as students or visitors can ask to stay if returning home would endanger their lives. People who are given asylum¹⁴ are called asylees. Two hundred sixteen thousand refugees and asylees became permanent residents in two thousand six.

VOICE ONE:

A fourth way to immigrate is to invest money in the United States. A person must invest at least five hundred thousand dollars in a poor area of the country and create at least ten jobs. Seven hundred fifty investors¹⁵ became permanent residents in two thousand six.

VOICE TWO:

The fifth and final way to immigrate to the United States is through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, also known as the visa lottery¹⁶. People enter the lottery and hope their name will be chosen by a computer.

The winners, their spouses¹⁷ and unmarried children under the age of twenty-one get a chance for permanent residency. The United States offers about fifty-five thousand diversity visas every year. In two thousand six, more than forty-four thousand winners became permanent residents.

VOICE ONE:

Congress established the program under a nineteen ninety immigration law. But the process is not as simple as it might sound. The program is open only to people born in countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

These countries must have sent fewer than fifty thousand immigrants in the past five years. So the countries in the program change each year.

VOICE TWO:

The State Department received more than six million applications in two thousand six, about one million higher than the year before. The people who applied¹⁸ in two thousand six were entering the two thousand eight visa program.

Most of the applicants¹⁹ were from Africa and Asia. Nineteen percent were from Europe and two percent from South America and the Caribbean. The largest numbers of applications came from Bangladesh, Nigeria and Ukraine.

VOICE ONE:

All of the information needed to take part in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is online at travel.state.gov.

There are warnings about attempts to cheat people in connection with the visa lottery. In some cases there have been Web sites falsely claiming to be official United States government sites.

Some companies claiming to be from the government have asked for money to complete lottery entries. There is no charge to download and complete the electronic entry form.

VOICE TWO:

No paper entries are accepted. All applications must be made at travel.state.gov. The application period is from early October through early December of each year. That is the only time people can enter.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Nancy Steinbach and produced by Caty Weaver²⁰. I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. To learn more about the immigration issue, and for transcripts²¹, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

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 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

6 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

7 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

8 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

9 immigrate   

v.（从外国）移来，移居入境

参考例句：

• 10,000 people are expected to immigrate in the next two years.接下来的两年里预计有10，000人会移民至此。
• Only few plants can immigrate to the island.只有很少的植物能够移植到这座岛上。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

11 conditional   

adj.条件的，带有条件的

参考例句：

• My agreement is conditional on your help.你肯帮助我才同意。
• There are two forms of most-favored-nation treatment:conditional and unconditional.最惠国待遇有两种形式:有条件的和无条件的。

12 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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。

14 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

15 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

16 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

17 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

18 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。

19 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。

20 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

21 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句