VOA标准英语2008年-Australia to Review Controversial Citizenship T

By Phil Mercer
Sydney
02 January 2008

Australia's new left-of-center Labor¹ government says it will review a controversial citizenship² test. Some people are critical of the test's high rate of failure by applicants³, who are quizzed about Australian history, culture and political system. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

Australia's citizenship test was introduced by the former conservative government last October to ensure that new citizens are committed to the country's broad values and aware of its indigenous⁴ and colonial history.

Ten thousand six hundred people have taken the exam, but one in five test takers has failed to reach the 60 percent passing mark. That has prompted the new Labor Party administration to review the process.

Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans says the exam should concentrate more on increasing awareness⁵ of citizens' responsibilities rather than on history. A review will begin soon.

The tests have been controversial and have been criticized as racist⁶ and discriminatory.

Some opponents want them abolished.

Mark Gudkamp from the Refugee Action Coalition⁷ says migrants must be allowed to learn about their adopted home in a more relaxed way.

"That sort of background information about Australian history and our indigenous history and multicultural⁸ history - all that sort of stuff of course people, you know, should be exposed to that and should have the opportunity to learn that. But that should happen in a relaxed environment where people don't feel like they're being assessed. You know, in that way, I think, encourage people to become active residents and active citizens in their new country," said Gudkamp.

To gain Australian citizenship, candidates must answer from a random⁹, computer-generated list of 20 questions.

There are sections on Australian values, religion, freedom of speech and gender¹⁰ equality.

Migrants must also pass an English language test. Critics believe this discriminates¹¹ against people from non-English speaking backgrounds.

They have insisted the money would be better spent on language tuition for migrants.

The tests were part of a push by the former government of John Howard to promote Australian values after riots between Muslim and non-Muslim gangs at a Sydney beach in 2005.

Howard said the aim was to foster greater integration¹² while still appreciating Australia's rich ethnic¹³ diversity, where a quarter of the population was born overseas.

Failure to achieve the necessary standards in the citizenship test is not a major set-back for applicants.

They are allowed to re-take the examination as many times as they like.

1 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。

2 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。

3 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

4 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

5 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

6 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

8 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

9 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

10 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

11 discriminates   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的第三人称单数 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• The new law discriminates against lower-paid workers. 这条新法律歧视低工资的工人。
• One test governs state legislation that discriminates against interstate commerce. 一个检验约束歧视州际商业的州立法。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

12 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

13 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。