VOA标准英语2010年-Communities Consider Following Arizona

Seattle Police arrest a protester for obstructing¹ traffic during a rally to demand comprehensive immigration reform, 23 June 2010

 

A tough immigration enforcement law scheduled to take effect in Arizona at the end of July is touching² off debate and controversy³ far beyond the southwestern state. As a consequence, immigration reform is moving higher on the list of issues Americans say they want their politicians to address.

The Arizona law requires immigrants to carry their registration⁴ documents at all times. It also directs local police to question people they suspect are in the country illegally… a job usually done by federal law enforcement.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll found a majority of Americans – 58 percent – support the controversial course of action Arizona is taking. And roughly half the respondents in another national poll said they want their state to copy its get tough approach.

A proposal for a tougher stand

 

VOA - T. Banse
Standing⁵ room only in a Woodland City Council meeting

Woodland, Washington is a surprisingly diverse American small town. Third generation berry farmers live near people who commute⁶ to work in distant Portland, Oregon, who in turn live near under-employed construction and mill workers. Woodland also has a growing Hispanic population.

The mix verged⁷ on combustible⁸ at an overflowing⁹ City Council meeting recently, as townspeople commented on a resolution to endorse¹⁰ Arizona's immigration crackdown and to urge the Washington State Legislature to follow suit.

One woman told council members, "The law opens the door to the indiscriminate use of racial profiling against individuals that look or sound foreign."

"If you came to this country illegally, you started off on the wrong foot," another resident said. "You need to go back home, do the paperwork and come back the right way."

A woman took the microphone to complain, "A lot of these people who are coming in illegally, they're getting medical coupons¹¹. They're getting food stamps... They're getting all kinds of things that are provided through our tax system. It has to stop! It has to stop somewhere!"

A Woodland retiree agreed illegal immigration is out of hand, but said local Hispanic families are good people. "We're not a border town," she said. "That's the way I feel. Number one, we're not a border town. That's not our business."

Putting a stop to illegal immigration from the bottom up

But City council member Benjamin Fredericks says it is Woodland's business. He introduced the controversial resolution, pointing out, "It obviously isn't working from the top down. The federal government is ignoring current law. That's why I believe Arizona has the right to pass their own laws." He sees Arizona's action and his proposal as part of an effort to start reform from the bottom up, and said he'd like to see the Washington state legislature take up the issue.

Juan Barela is a counselor¹² and human rights activist¹³ in Woodland. He says Arizona's immigration controversy has awakened¹⁴ the nation's Latino communities. "Now we are galvanized, united. We are strong and we're getting the vote."

In the end, the Woodland city council voted down the resolution that would have urged the legislature to copy Arizona's tough enforcement approach.

City councils in Seattle, Washington, and Los Angeles, California, have passed boycotts¹⁵ of Arizona travel and business contracts to show their disapproval¹⁶ of the new law. Most recently, the debate surfaced in Fremont, Nebraska where voters approved a city law against hiring or renting to illegal immigrants.

Public unease about immigration

Portland, Oregon-based opinion pollster Adam Davis says all of the controversy is moving immigration higher on the list of issues people want addressed. "When you ask about the biggest problem facing the nation," he notes, "just recently there has been a real surge in the number of people that mention immigration. In the West particularly, it jumped from 2 to 16 percent in the Western states, saying that it the biggest problem facing the nation."

Davis theorizes the support for stronger immigration enforcement reflects tough times. "They feel these people are taking jobs away from legal residents. In tough economic times, this is something that really concerns a lot of people. And it is not just jobs. There is also a feeling that resources are limited, that there isn't the money out there to provide government services to these people."

Craig Keller hopes to tap that public unease. Keller directs a citizen initiative campaign in Washington State. His proposal would require all employers to check the immigration status of new hires through the government's e-verify service. Recipients¹⁷ of public benefits would also have to be validated¹⁸.

"It's very ironic¹⁹ that there is huge public demand for a law like this. But the 'representatives'," he says with a bit of a sneer²⁰, "that have been selected to go to Olympia are not representing the people. That's why this is a perfect example of why the citizens' initiative process is required." His campaign needs to gather a quarter-million voter signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot²¹.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration and some Arizona city governments hope to convince a judge to stop Arizona's new immigration law from taking effect later this month.
 

1 obstructing   

阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车，你挡住了我家的车道。
• He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。

2 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

7 verged   

接近，逼近（verge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The situation verged on disaster. 形势接近于灾难的边缘。
• Her silly talk verged on nonsense. 她的蠢话近乎胡说八道。

8 combustible   

a. 易燃的,可燃的; n. 易燃物,可燃物

参考例句：

• Don't smoke near combustible materials. 别在易燃的材料附近吸烟。
• We mustn't take combustible goods aboard. 我们不可带易燃品上车。

9 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

10 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

11 coupons   

n.礼券( coupon的名词复数 )；优惠券；订货单；参赛表

参考例句：

• The company gives away free coupons for drinks or other items. 公司为饮料或其它项目发放免费赠券。 来自辞典例句
• Do you have any coupons? 你们有优惠卡吗？ 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语

12 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

13 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

14 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 boycotts   

（对某事物的）抵制( boycott的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉，还附带进行静坐抗议。
• Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢？

16 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

17 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 validated   

v.证实( validate的过去式和过去分词 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• Time validated our suspicion. 时间证实了我们的怀疑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The decade of history since 1927 had richly validated their thesis. 1927年以来的十年的历史，充分证明了他们的论点。 来自辞典例句

19 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

20 sneer   

v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语

参考例句：

• He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
• You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。

21 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。