voa标准英语2008-More Suspected Asylum Seekers Found Off Australi

Another boat carrying suspected illegal immigrants has been found in Australian waters, the fifth in the past two months. Opposition¹ politicians argue that softer immigration policies have encouraged people smugglers to target Australia. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

The latest arrivals were spotted² by a surveillance plane in the Indian Ocean near Ashmore Island, which is the closest Australian territory to Indonesia.

Thirty-five passengers and five crew members will be taken into custody³ on Christmas Island, where those claiming to be refugees will have their asylum⁴ applications processed. Details of their nationalities were not immediately released.

Immigration analysts⁵ say that a surge in violence in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka has dislocated many people. They often pay criminals large amounts to take them illegally to places like Australia.

Andreas Schloenhardt, a law lecturer at the University of Queensland, says that gangs of traffickers are intensifying⁶ their activities in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Most major refugee flows are these days accompanied by a surge in people smuggling⁷ activities. People that try to take advantage of people in very desperate situations, trying to make a quick buck⁸ by offering them to bring them to safe havens," said Schloenhardt. "Many people won't ever get there, but this is certainly a pattern that we know ever since the Vietnamese refugee crisis in the mid⁹ 1970s."

In recent weeks four boats carrying suspected asylum seekers from Indonesia have been intercepted¹⁰ by Australian authorities, while a fifth is thought to have sailed from Sri Lanka.

The conservative opposition has blamed lax immigration policies for encouraging boat people to try to reach Australian waters.

Earlier this year, the government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd abandoned the controversial practice of detaining all migrants who entered the country illegally. The government has closed down refugee centers that the previous conservative government established on South Pacific islands to process asylum applications from those caught trying to reach Australia illegally.

Government ministers say the changes have not made Australia a soft target for people smugglers and say that border protection remains¹¹ a priority.

Australia resettles about 13,000 refugees a year under official humanitarian¹² programs.

　

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

3 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

4 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

7 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

8 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

9 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

10 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• 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。

12 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。