2007年VOA标准英语-Virginia Tech Shootings Cause Worry Among Forei

By Michael Bowman
Washington
17 April 2007

The deadly shooting spree at a Virginia university has sent a chill through America's large foreign student population and, according to experts, could affect foreign enrollment¹ in U.S. colleges and universities for years to come. VOA's Michael Bowman reports from Washington.

Virginia Tech students, parents hug one another at site of shooting on campus in Blacksburg, Va, 17 Apr 2007

Like the suspected shooter in Monday's bloody² rampage, Sang Yun Nam is a student of Korean descent at Virginia Tech. Sang, who goes by the name Justin, says he had seen the suspected shooter on campus, but did not know him personally. Not only is Justin trying to cope with the tragedy that befell his university, he told VOA he is worried that the shooting incident could sour America's view of foreign students and those of foreign-born families, making life more difficult for him and hundreds of thousands of others.

"Remember in [the aftermath of] 9/11, all the Middle Easterners had a hard time checking in at airports and stuff like that. So, many people are worried that it is going to be hard for them to get visas to come to the United States, to get their permanent residency, their citizenship³ and everything," he said.

The United States has historically been a magnet for many of the world's brightest pupils. 2001 saw the highest number of student visas ever issued by the United States, more than 293,000. That number plummeted⁴ by nearly 80,000 in the two years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but have gradually climbed since. In 2006, the State Department issued more than 273,000 student visas.

What effect will this week's shooting incident have on future foreign enrollment in American colleges and universities?

"Well, it certainly does not help," said Vic Johnson, a public policy director at the Washington-based Association of International Educators. "The United States has a reputation abroad for being a dangerous country because of our gun culture. Parents are often reluctant to send their kids to study in the United States for that reason. So this sort of thing [Monday's shooting spree] obviously plays into that perception."

Johnson notes that there are a variety of factors that tend to discourage foreign students from coming to the United States: stringent⁵ visa requirements imposed after 9/11, heightened security measures at America's ports of entry, and an overall perception that Americans have become more suspicious and less accepting of foreigners in general.

Johnson says he hopes any drop-off in foreign student enrollment in the United States will be temporary. He says the nation benefits enormously from having future world leaders, businessmen, leading scientists and others come to study in the United States -- and would lose one of its best assets on the world stage if the flow of foreign students were to diminish.

1 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

2 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

3 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。

4 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。