VOA慢速英语--一越南难民在美国取得成功

AS IT IS 2016-05-23 Former Vietnamese Refugees² Find Success in US 一越南难民在美国取得成功

David Duong and his family were rescued at sea after fleeing Vietnam in a small boat at the end of the Vietnam war.

“We almost, you know, died in the ocean because the boat engine broke, and then we have to be out there, the boat just floating.”

They lived in a refugee¹ camp before settling in the western state of California. They worked hard, and created a recycling company that is now worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The company was created because David Duong’s family of 23 needed money. They began gathering³ cardboard⁴ on the street. And they sorted recyclable materials. Duong’s father saved $700 for a partial payment on a used truck. But he needed more money.

“He went to Chinatown to a Chinese church and asked for help. The church people know us and they help(ed) us so we can go around and pick up recyclable material and sell -- and that’s how we started.”

Workers and machines now do the work that Duong’s family once did by hand.

Many trucks leave California Waste Solutions early in the morning to gather materials that can be recycled. They travel to such cities as San Jose and Oakland. The large trucks were manufactured for recycling activities. They cost $300,000 each.

Workers gather thousands of tons of cardboard, aluminum⁵, glass and other materials.

Large machines are used to place the mixed materials into huge piles so the materials can be sorted.

Manufacturers want plastic, aluminum or paper that is not mixed with other materials. They like the process California Waste Solutions uses.

Joel Corona⁶ is the company’s chief operating officer. He says the process helps the environment.

“The point for the state of California and for the city of San Jose and the city of Oakland is zero waste -- trying to remove as many recycled materials as possible from the stream that goes to the landfill.”

As President Barack Obama looks to expand trade between the United States and Vietnam with his three-day visit, Doung has this to say:

“An immigrant here, now I be able to bring the technology that we learned, we do it here in the U.S., bring it, you know, back to our hometown and be able to help the people of Vietnam and help the environment, and those are things I’m just so proud (of).”

Duong uses the same process in Vietnam, where his company operates large recycling centers. They are growing. He says the Vietnamese government is making it easier to invest. That could encourage some Vietnamese to end their anger toward the government and start new companies in their former home.

By expanding to Vietnam, Duong is sharing the idea that hard work, risk-taking, good luck and a strong goal can help people become very successful.

Words in This Story

broke – v. to stop working because of being damaged

recycle – v. to send (used newspapers, bottles, cans, etc.) to a place where they are made into something new

by hand – expression with the hands

point – n. an idea that you try to make other people accept or understand

stream – n. a continuous flow of people or things (usually + of)

landfill – n. an area where waste is buried under the ground

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 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 cardboard   

n.硬纸板，卡纸板

参考例句：

• She brought the shopping home in a cardboard box.她将买的东西放在纸箱里带回家。
• There is a sheet of stiff cardboard in the drawer.在那个抽屉里有块硬纸板。

5 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

6 corona   

n.日冕

参考例句：

• The corona gains and loses energy continuously.日冕总是不断地获得能量和损失能量。
• The corona is a brilliant,pearly white,filmy light,about as bright as the full moon.光环带是一种灿烂的珠白色朦胧光，几乎像满月一样明亮。