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AS IT IS 2014-05-13 Somali Immigrants Struggle in the US

时间:2014-05-15 22:57:25

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AS IT IS 2014-05-13 Somali Immigrants Struggle in the US

Hello and welcome.  It is time to learn and improve your American English.  I’m Jim Tedder1 in Washington.  Today we hear the story of a young man who risked his life when he flew outside of a jet airplane.  Then the World Health Organization reports that the air we breathe is becoming more polluted every day. What can be done about this unhealthful situation?

You give us ten minutes, and we will give you the answer.  As It Is is coming to you from VOA. 

International media recently reported the shocking story of 16-year-old Yahye Abdi.  The Somali-American teenager survived in the wheel area of a jet while it flew from California to Hawaii.  But for Somalis, the story is an example of the issues facing families who fled conflict in Somalia.  It shows how many refugees2 are struggling to deal with change as they get settled in their new home.

Yahye Abdi spent five hours hidden inside the wheel well of an airplane.  The jet rose to more than 11,000 meters as it flew high above the Pacific Ocean.  Medical experts say the teenager was lucky to survive the severe cold and low levels of oxygen.

One of the questions that rose after the incident was why Yahye Abdi would risk his life.

Both his father and mother said extreme homesickness could have been the reason.  Law enforcement officials say the teenager had argued with his father’s family in California.  The officials say he was trying to reach Somalia to see his mother.

Abdinur Sheikh Mohamed is an educational specialist with Ohio State University.

Speaking in Somali, he says, “The family structure was broken in general by the process of looking for a second home.  Refugees, in general, go through these difficulties in bringing all these families together.  In the U.S., we have a family reunification process, where family members who live around the world can be brought together into the U.S., even if it takes a long time.”

Yahye Abdi is not alone in missing family members left behind in Somalia.  More than 20 years of lawlessness and civil war has forced hundreds of thousands of Somalis to leave the country.  Many say they would have been victims of the violence or starvation if they have stayed in Somalia.

The Somalis who travel to the U.S. have largely settled in the northern city of Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Americans have generally welcomed the immigrants.  But the Somalis have faced difficulties with language and culture.

Abdi Salan Sharif Adam teaches English as a second language in Minneapolis.  He says he has observed education-related problems in many Somali children.

“So some students will come to the school system, and they have missed many years of schooling3, and they start at an old age, in a grade that is higher than their academic level.  So there is discrepancy4 between their educational ability and the levels that they are placed.”

He also says the breakdown5 of the family is to blame for some other major problems existing within the Somali-American community.

Twenty-year-old Sa’id Gure is one of those young Somalis struggling to establish his life in the United States.  He made a long and dangerous trip to reach his new home.  Today he really misses his parents and family. 

“I believe that (the) greatest risk is never having to risk.  But when you are constantly feeling homesick, it’s very tough.  When you are missing your family and they are not around you, it’s a pain.”

Yahye Abdi also felt that pain.  His trip on the plane made him famous, but it did not reunite his family.  Like other Somali-Americans, he may struggle with longing6 for Somalia, and learning to live in the country he now calls home.

It Is Getting Harder to Breathe

The World Health Organization says air pollution is getting worse in many cities around the world.  WHO officials say the worsening conditions are putting the health of millions of people at risk.  Christopher Cruise7 tells us more.

The latest warning comes after the largest study ever done on air pollution levels in cities.  The survey involved 1,600 cities across 91 countries.  It showed that people in these urban areas are breathing in dirty air. 

Maria Neira is head of the Public Health and Environment Department at the WHO.

“The situation we have in front of us tell(s) us that globally, unfortunately, the situation on air pollution is deteriorating8, with an exception on high-income countries where the situation is, as expected, improving.  But this represents only 12 percent of the population living in cities.” 

The World Health Organization estimates that, in 2012, 3.7 million people under age 60 died earlier than expected because of outdoor air pollution.  The WHO says nearly 90 percent of these deaths happened in low- and middle-income countries.  The greatest number took place in South East Asian and Western Pacific nations

Health officials say bad air increases the risk of death from heart disease and stroke.  It also raises the risk of death from cancers and breathing disorders9.

The study identified a number of possible reasons for the increased air pollution.  They include dependence10 on coal-fired power stations and fossil11 fuels.  The study also blamed dependence on cars, wasteful12 use of energy in buildings and the use of wood and animal waste for cooking and heating.

WHO official Carlos Dora says, unlike with water or waste management, it is not possible to create technology to capture and treat bad air.  But he says cities can take other steps.

“Cities have many policies they do have control over, which is buildings, especially energy-efficient buildings, transportation, land use that do have a very major impact on air quality and public health.”

The study finds some cities are improving air quality through different policy measures.  For example, city officials could ban the use of coal for space heating in buildings.  Clean fuel could be used to produce electricity.  And motor vehicle engines could be improved.

The survey notes that Copenhagen, Denmark and Bogota, Colombia have reduced air pollution levels through what is called “active transport”.  That includes increasing urban public transportation and urging people to walk or ride bicycles instead of driving.  I’m Christopher Cruise.


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1 tedder 2833afc4f8252d8dc9f8cd73b24db55d     
n.(干草)翻晒者,翻晒机
参考例句:
  • Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆?特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
  • Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆?泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网
2 refugees ddb3b28098e40c0f584eafcd38f1fbd4     
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 schooling AjAzM6     
n.教育;正规学校教育
参考例句:
  • A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
  • Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。
4 discrepancy ul3zA     
n.不同;不符;差异;矛盾
参考例句:
  • The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。
  • There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。
5 breakdown cS0yx     
n.垮,衰竭;损坏,故障,倒塌
参考例句:
  • She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
  • The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障,但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。
6 longing 98bzd     
n.(for)渴望
参考例句:
  • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
  • His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
7 cruise 2nhzw     
v.巡航,航游,缓慢巡行;n.海上航游
参考例句:
  • They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
  • She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。
8 deteriorating 78fb3515d7abc3a0539b443be0081fb1     
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。
9 disorders 6e49dcafe3638183c823d3aa5b12b010     
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调
参考例句:
  • Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告,厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 dependence 3wsx9     
n.依靠,依赖;信任,信赖;隶属
参考例句:
  • Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
  • He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。
11 fossil ZipxA     
n.化石,食古不化的人,老顽固
参考例句:
  • At this distance of time it is difficult to date the fossil.时间隔得这么久了,很难确定这化石的年代。
  • The man is a fossil.那人是个老顽固。
12 wasteful ogdwu     
adj.(造成)浪费的,挥霍的
参考例句:
  • It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
  • Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源,任务已经重新分派。

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