2007年VOA标准英语-Immigration Tops One Million Each Year in US

By Zulima Palacio
Washington
31 August 2007
 
A new study shows that the population of the United States will increase by more than 50 percent in the next half century, and that immigrants will account for more than 60 percent of that increase. The independent research group Center for Immigration Studies released the results of the study Thursday in Washington, D.C., and sponsored a panel discussion on the study's implications.  Producer Zulima Palacio has more on the story.  Jeffrey Young narrates¹ it.

The study shows that more than 1.2 million new residents settle in the United States each year as the result of both legal and illegal immigration, much of it from Hispanic countries. The study concludes that the U.S. population will increase from its current 301 million people to 468 million by 2060 and that this will have a dramatic impact on the nation's workforce², retirement³ community, urban growth and environment.

Steven Camarota

The study's author, Steven Camarota, put into perspective what 167 million new immigrants and their descendants will mean. "The 167 million increase that the U.S. is on course for the next 53 years is equal to the combined populations of Great Britain, France and Spain, all together.  The 105 million from immigration by itself is equal to 13 New York cities."

Camarota pointed⁴ out that his projections⁵ do not take into account any increases in immigration. "Net immigration has been increasing for five decades. If that trend continues, then immigration will add more than the 105 million projected from the current level. It is also worth noting that most of the 105 million comes from legal immigration."

Ben Wattenberg

Not all the panelists agreed with the idea that millions of new immigrants could have a negative impact.  Ben Wattenberg is with the American Enterprise Institute. "There is always in America some kind of nativist, anti-immigrant feeling.  A century ago, it was said that Jews were unclean, ignorant and spoke⁶ with a terrible accent.  Their children and grandchildren won Nobel prices and shaped the global culture.  And you can track every immigrant group, they started out being hated."

Study author Steven Camarota said population growth can lead to a deteriorating⁷ quality of life in the United States, but  it does not have to. He said it could also lead better business opportunities. He said what the nation needs is a clear policy on immigration and population growth.

 

1 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

2 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

3 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。