VOA慢速英语2011--What to Do About 'Reverse Brain Drain' in US?

Education Report - What to Do About 'Reverse Brain Drain' in US?

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Congress is studying how to change immigration policies in an effort to get more foreign students to stay and work in the United States. Many foreign students come to the United States to earn advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and math. But many are unable to get a visa to live and work here after they graduate.

In two thousand nine, foreign students earned up to two-thirds of the physics and engineering doctorates¹ awarded by American colleges and universities.

Xiao Qin from Beijing is studying for a PhD in computer science at Georgetown University in Washington. He would like to work for Google, Yahoo or Microsoft.

XIAO QIN: "Obviously, we prefer to stay here for several years, but if we cannot get any valid² visa we have to leave."

So far no agreement has been reached on how to stop this so-called reverse brain drain. The loss of highly skilled workers usually involves developing countries losing them to wealthier ones.

Critics say immigration policies in the United States are too restrictive. One of those critics is Representative Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat³ who represents parts of Silicon⁴ Valley in California. She spoke⁵ at a recent congressional hearing on the issue.

ZOE LOFGREN: "While we once asked the brightest minds in the world to come and make their homes here, we now turn them away. Having educated and trained the world's best students in our universities, we no longer welcome them to enrich this nation."

High-tech⁶ companies look for workers at the nation's top universities. Some companies, including Texas Instruments, say it can take ten years for their foreign workers to become permanent residents. Darla Whitaker is a senior vice⁷ president at Texas Instruments.

DARLA WHITAKER: "This is not sustainable. It hurts our company and our industry and it places burdens and stresses on our employees."

The United States limits the number of immigrants from other countries on a country-by-country basis. Students from countries with large populations generally have to wait the longest for a "green card," or proof of permanent residency. A group called the National Foundation for American Policy says a highly skilled Indian worker could have to wait up to seventy years.

Vivek Wadhwa studies immigrants who start their own companies. He says the United States needs to change its immigration policies.

VIVEK WADHWA: "We're out of touch. We are in a knowledge economy. It is all about competition. If we don't keep these people, if we don't compete, we're going to lose. We're going to become a third world country and they're going to become like us."

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. You can watch a video on this subject at voanews.cn. And you can share your own experiences with studying or working in the United States. You can also find transcripts⁸ and MP3s of our programs and now PDFs for e-readers. I'm Christopher Cruise.
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Contributing: Meredith Buel

1 doctorates   

n.博士学位( doctorate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nearly 1,000 specialized personnel with doctorates have settled in Shenzhen. 现已引进博士学位的专门人才近千名。 来自互联网
• John played the field academically, obtaining doctorates from several universities. 约翰的学术广博，他从几所大学拿到了博士学位。 来自互联网

2 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

5 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。

6 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。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 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