VOA常速英语2014--休斯顿:接受难民最多的美国城市

 

Houston Now the Top Refugee¹ Resettlement City in US 休斯顿:接受难民最多的美国城市

HOUSTON —

The United States is the world's top refugee resettlement country.  More refugees² resettle in the state of Texas, and in particular the city of Houston, than anywhere else in the country. Refugees there find a thriving³ economy, warm weather and a diverse⁴ urban scene where they can locate help in starting a new life.

休斯顿 —

美国是世界上接受难民最多的国家。大多数难民首选德克萨斯州，更确切的说是休斯顿市，作为他们定居的地方。难民们发现，这里经济繁荣，气候温暖，城市里族裔多元化，有助于他们开始新的生活。

Hundreds of refugees and their supporters came together recently to celebrate World Refugee Day in Houston.

近日，成百上千的难民和他们的支持者聚集在休斯顿，纪念世界难民日。

Houston is now home to 70,000 refugees from 78 countries, and around 2,000 more come each year.

休斯顿接纳了来自78个国家的七万名难民，而且每年都有2000多名新难民投奔这里。

This city offers a booming⁵ economy, lots of jobs and a very diverse population.

这座城市经济繁荣，就业机会很多，人口成分多元化。

The largest refugee ethnic⁶ group, the Vietnamese, started coming here in the 1970s.

数量最多的是越南难民，他们从上世纪70年代开始来到这里。

Lena Tran settled more recently, and her children know little of Vietnam.

莉娜·陈（Lena Tran）来得晚一点，而她的孩子对越南基本一无所知。

"I was born by a Vietnamese mother and she escaped from Vietnam and I know a little bit about Vietnam because she tells me stories of them," said My Tran Vo, 8.

Only two weeks ago, Reza and his Bahai family came here from Iran.

就在两个星期前，瑞扎（Reza）和他的家人从伊朗来到这里。

"The most important reason is I did not have freedom of speech and religion," said Reza, discussing why he came to the U.S.

他说：“最主要的原因是我没有言论和宗教信仰自由。”

There are many agencies⁷ and support groups for refugees in Houston, but one of the most important is the YMCA International Services.

在休斯顿，有很多机构和团体在帮助难民。

The YMCA's Amy Blose said the organization helps get refugees started in their new life here.

其中最重要的组织之一是基督教青年会国际服务团。

"The case manager will visit them at their home, check in on them frequently, make sure they are doing okay, and our goal, really, is self sufficiency for refugees," said Blose.

基督教青年会的艾米·布洛兹说，他们帮助难民开始新的生活。她说： “专案经理会去难民家里看望他们，经常看看他们的状况，确保他们一切都好。我们的目标是帮助难民自力更生。”

On this day, she is visiting Radjabu Selemani, a refugee from war-torn Congo.

这一天，艾米登门看望逃离刚果战乱的拉吉甲布.萨拉玛尼（Radjabu Selemani）。

"The family gets separated during the war; everyone takes his way, just to save his life," said Selemani.

这位难民说：“我的家人在战争中走散。每个人为了逃命而各奔东西。”

The YMCA set him up in this apartment with another African refugee and helped them both find jobs. Selemani says he has also found encouragement from average people he has met in Houston.

基督教青年会把他和另一名非洲难民安置在了这处公寓，并帮他们找了工作。萨拉玛尼说在休斯顿，他遇到的每一个人都给了他鼓励。

"Americans are very friendly people," said Selemani.

用他的话说，“美国人是很友好的。”

Blose said it is sometimes easier for refugees with fewer skills and education to adjust here than it is for some highly⁸ educated refugees whose degrees are not recognized here.

艾米·布洛兹表示，有时候，没有什么技术和文化水平较低的难民反而比受过高等教育但学历不被当地认可的难民更容易适应。

"They actually have to start over. You know, we have a lot of people who were engineers who are now working at Walmart as a cashier," said Blose.

她说：“他们必须一切从头开始。你知道么，在沃尔玛的收银员很多曾经是工程师。”

She says there are local college programs to help such people gain accreditation⁹, but it can take a long time,especially when there are language barriers to overcome.

布洛兹说，当地有一些大学项目能帮助这类人获得学历资格认证。但是，在有语言障碍的情况下，认证过程的时间会比较长。

However, no barrier is too big to discourage Selemani.

然而，在拉吉甲布. 萨拉玛尼的心中，没有不能克服的障碍。

"In Africa, some people say America is heaven, but, according to me, America is a land of opportunity," said Selemani.

他说：“许多非洲人认为美国是天堂，而在我心目中，美国是一个充满机会的地方。”

That opportunity is largely¹⁰ what has made Houston the number one U.S. city for refugee resettlement.

而正是机会使休斯顿成为美国新难民的首选之地。

1 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

2 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

3 thriving   

a.成功的，旺盛的

参考例句：

• He had managed to create the entirely spurious impression that the company was thriving. 他设法制造出一种彻头彻尾的假象，让人误以为公司一派兴旺。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard. 每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

4 diverse   

adj.不同的；相异的；多种多样的；形形色色的

参考例句：

• Spain is a composite of diverse traditions and people.西班牙是一个汇集了多种传统和民族的国家。
• Society is now much more diverse than ever before.当今社会较之以往任何时候都要丰富多彩得多。

5 booming   

adj.急速发展的v.激增( boom的现在分词 )；猛涨；发出隆隆声；以低沉有力的声音说话

参考例句：

• The opera singer has a deep, booming, masculine voice. 这位歌剧演唱家有一副深沉而又浑厚有力的嗓音。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He is booming as a teacher. 作为一位教师，他日趋成功。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 agencies   

n.代理( agency的名词复数 )；服务机构；（政府的）专门机构；代理（或经销）业务（或关系）

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations. 联合国有许多专门机构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The project is funded by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. 这项计划由世界银行和其他多国机构资助。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。

9 accreditation   

n.委派，信赖，鉴定合格

参考例句：

• a letter of accreditation 一份合格证明书
• This paper gives an overview of the Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) in High Level Architecture(HLA). 对基于高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,简称HLA)的仿真系统的校核、验证与确认(Verification, Validation and Accreditation,简称VV&A)问题进行了详细的介绍及分析。 来自互联网

10 largely   

adv.大部分，主要地

参考例句：

• It is largely dependent on the weather.这多半取决于天气情况。
• Their conclusions were largely founded on guesswork.他们的结论大部份基于猜测。