VOA标准英语2012--South Asians Fuel Asian Population Boom in US_在线英语听力室

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South Asians Fuel Asian Population Boom in US

Despite the sluggish¹ economy, hiring manager Pete Tapaskar is having difficulty filling empty chairs at his suburban² Chicago technology firm ProSoft.

“We don’t get enough resources locally. We have to depend on the resources from Asia - India, Pakistan and other countries -- anywhere resources are available,” said Tapaskar.

Tapaskar said that about 80 percent of ProSoft’s workforce³ comes from outside the United States, mostly from India.

The increased demand for skilled workers in information technology, or IT, is forcing companies like ProSoft to recruit more employees from countries - like India - where engineering degrees and experience are plentiful⁴.

This trend is changing the U.S. landscape. Chicago has the third largest Indian American community in the United States, and it's growing.

Shoji Matthew came to Chicago from India more than 10 years ago.

“Ninety percent of the (work) visas are used by Indians,” said Matthew.

“A lot of the immigration is driven by employment-based visas, more so than other communities,” said Tuyet Le, executive director of the Asian American Institute.

Le said the Pew study should change long-held stereotypes⁵ about Asian immigration to the United States.

“In Illinois, Indian Americans are actually the largest Asian ethnic⁶ group for the second census⁷ in a row, surpassing the Chinese and Filipino communities. I think that sort of surprises a lot of people,” she said.

It doesn't surprise Matthew, who came to Chicago shortly before the 2000 census, working to prevent the expected computer glitch⁸ known as Y2K.

"I came on an H1-B Visa. That is what is used for IT professionals. At that time, the Y2K problem was going on in the peak time, so there was a heavy need of people here. There was an immense shortage of manpower here at that time,” said Matthew.

Matthew said the shortage has not changed and that many on work visas decided⁹ to stay. Today, there is even more demand for IT workers from South Asia, and not enough visas to bring them to the United States, said ProSoft’s Tapaskar.

“After 9/11, the immigrations systems have become tougher. Quotas¹⁰ have been reduced," he said.

Tapaskar said it also takes longer to process the visas, delaying hiring for jobs that are waiting to be filled.

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1 sluggish
adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的
参考例句：
This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。 Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

2 suburban
adj.城郊的，在郊区的
参考例句：
Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。 There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

3 workforce
n.劳动大军，劳动力
参考例句：
A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。 A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

4 plentiful
adj.富裕的，丰富的
参考例句：
Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。 Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

5 stereotypes
n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。 It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 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。

7 census
n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查
参考例句：
A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。 The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

8 glitch
n.干扰；误操作，小故障
参考例句：
There is a glitch in the computer program somewhere.这个计算机程序中的某个部分有点小问题。 It could just be a random glitch that can be solved by restarting the machine.可能只是一个小故障，重新启动主机就能解决了。

9 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 quotas
（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )；定额；指标；摊派
参考例句：
In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。 Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

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VOA标准英语2012--South Asians Fuel Asian Population Boom in US