2007年VOA标准英语-As Europe Unites, Migrant Workers Spread
时间:2019-01-30 作者:英语课 分类:2007年VOA标准英语(八月)
London
15 August 2007
A British parliamentary committee has said that tightening 1 restrictions 2 for highly skilled immigrant workers is illegal and unfair and could mean thousands might be deported 3. Some 50,000 immigrants could be affected 4, but they are just a small portion of the massive influx 5 of migrant workers who have come to Britain in recent years, especially since the expansion of the European Union in 2004. VOA's Sonja Pace has more from London.
Britian's building boom attracts immigrants looking for work
The building boom in Britain may be driven by a strong economy, but it is being carried out largely by foreign workers.
British government statistics indicate that more than two and a half million foreign workers have been registered in Britain since 2002.
The largest single group of immigrants has come from Poland. Zbigniew Cwik is one of them. "When I come here, the first couple of days was very difficult for me because I miss my wife, my family and when I start work, the work was from morning to nearly evening so I am just thinking about the work."
He goes by Zibbi, for short. He originally came on a training course, stayed, found work doing construction and home refurbishments, brought his family over and eventually started his own business.
More than 220,000 Polish workers registered in Britain in the past year. And in all, over 700,000 East European workers have come here since the 2004 EU expansion. The statistics, compiled from the government's National Insurance registry, do not include the number of migrants who have since left Britain.
Andrew Green
Hugo Brady of the Center for European Reform says migrant workers are behind Britain's economic boom. "Really, immigration in this sense as per the 2004 enlargement has been a win-win situation. I can't think of any situation in Europe in which it has not been beneficial."
Most migrants work in unskilled jobs - they sweep streets, tend gardens, build roads.
Andrew Green, chairman of the lobby group, Migration 6 Watch, says, "Polish immigration is great news for the chattering 7 classes - because you get cheap nannies, you get cheap restaurants, you get wonderful gardeners and the plumbers 9 are wonderful. If you happen to be a British plumber 8 it's not so good. We've got a million young (British) people who are not in education, not in training, not in work. Now it's even more difficult to get those people into the work force if you've got literally 10 hundreds of thousands of bright, young Poles ready to do the job."
And so the debate goes on - from pubs and private living rooms to the houses of parliament -- how many migrants should be allowed in, how long should they stay, do they benefit the economy or do they take jobs away from locals?
Hugo Brady says there is another factor. "People will always fear the 'other' and they don't like the idea of strangers descending 11 on them even if it is a good thing, even if they themselves have benefited from it. Somehow this prejudice remains 12."
For the migrants who come here, the priority is to make a better life for themselves and their families. Some plan to return home, others are not so sure.
For Britons, the issue remains an ongoing 13 debate.
- Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前,检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
- It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。
- I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
- a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
- They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格,将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
- His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
- The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
- Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施,因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。
- Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
- He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。
- Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗?
- The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。
- Plumbers charge by the hour for their work. 水管工人的工作是以小时收费的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Plumbers, carpenters, and other workmen finished the new house quickly. 管道工、木工及其他工匠很快完成了这幢新房子。 来自辞典例句
- He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
- Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
- He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
- The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。