2006年VOA标准英语-Demonstrators March in Many US Cities in S

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
01 May 2006

Demonstrators marched through the streets of U.S. cities Monday to demand rights for illegal immigrants. Thousands attended rallies and demonstrations¹ from New York to Los Angeles.

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Pro-immigration marchers in San Ysidro, California
  

It was billed as a day without immigrants, and was intended to show that immigrants, both legal and illegal, play an important role in the US economy.

By mid-day, tens of thousands of mostly Hispanic protesters filled the streets of Los Angeles in the first of two scheduled marches.

The mid-day march and rally was coupled with a planned boycott² of schools and businesses. A second march, supported by the city's Latino mayor and other local leaders, was held late in the day to allow marchers to join it after work or school. Some stores, restaurants and factories around the United States closed their doors Monday, as workers joined the protests, but most businesses stayed open.

Los Angeles labor³ leader Maria Elena Durazo says the marchers are asking politicians to legalize the status of the many illegal immigrants in the United States.

"They work hard, and how dare there be politicians to say, 'No, you're lawbreakers. You're felons,' " said Maria Elena Durazo.

Monday's rallies in cities from Chicago to Seattle were the most recent of many coordinated⁴ events that followed passage of a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would make it a felony for people to be in the United States illegally. The bill passed the House of Representatives in December, but received little support in the Senate and did not become law. It enraged⁵ many Latin American immigrants in cities like New York, where Hector Figueros is a union member.

"What we want the focus and attention to be is on the message, that we need immigration reform that is not punitive⁶, that is not about sending people back to their homelands," said Hector Figueros. "But actually let them stay here with their families, with their children and continue to make a strong contribution to our economy."

This woman, who is not Latino, joined a Los Angeles rally:

"We are a country of immigrants, and we should not forget that," she said. "We need to support our brothers and sisters."

Small numbers of counter-protesters also took to the streets. This man in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, was angry about the demonstrations:

"I'm here because I'm upset about illegal immigration, and the fact that our government has done so little about it over the years," he said. "What I want to see is no amnesty, and a crackdown on employers who are hiring illegal aliens."

Some workers who took the day off to join the protests faced the prospect⁷ of losing their jobs. Some employers, however, were sympathetic. Sanjay Patel manages a coffee shop in the Jackson Heights section of New York, which is heavily concentrated with Indian immigrants. He supports the marchers.

"I have a lot of workers and I don't know how I am going to manage," noted⁸ Sanjay Patel. "I have to run with what I have. If I have one person in the store, they will run with one person."

The immigration issue is divisive for lawmakers, who 20 years ago provided limited amnesty for illegal immigrants. Millions more people have entered the country illegally since then, however. President Bush wants a guest worker program that would legalize the status of many illegal workers, and Senate leaders have been working on a compromise bill that could offer a path to citizenship⁹ for some illegal residents, while also boosting security on the border.

1 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

2 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 enraged   

使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤

参考例句：

• I was enraged to find they had disobeyed my orders. 发现他们违抗了我的命令，我极为恼火。
• The judge was enraged and stroke the table for several times. 大法官被气得连连拍案。

6 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

7 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。