走遍全世界51: 绿卡，完美的解决方案？

Seven years ago, when I was visting Germany, I met with a n official who explained to me that the country had a perfect solution to its economic problems. Watching the U.S. economy soar during the '90s, the Germans had decided¹ that they, too, needed to go the high-technology route. But how? In the late '90s, the answer seemed obvious: Indians.

七年前我到德国访问。在那里我遇到了一个官员，他说这个国家已经找到了能够完美解决经济问题的方法。回首美国在20世纪90年代的经济腾飞，德国也走上了构建高新科技为核心的经济发展道路。但事实如何呢？在90年代后期，效果显而易见。

After all, Indian entrepreneurs accounted for one of every  three Silicon² Valley start-ups. So the German government decided that it would lure³ Indians to Germany just as America does: by offering green cards. Officials created something called the German Green Card and announced that they would issue 20,000 in the first year.

印度人创建了硅谷三分之一的企业。所以德国政府决定走美国的老路，直接给印度人发绿卡让他们成为经济发展计划的主体。政府官员创造了一个叫做“德国绿卡”的东西，并宣布第一年会发放20000张。

Naturally, the Germans expected that tens of thousands more Indians would soon be begging to come, and perhaps the quotas⁵ would have to be increased. But the program was a failure. A year later barely half of the 20,000 cards had been issued. After a few extensions, the program was abolished.

自然而然，德国人盼望着数以万计的印度人涌入德国，或许绿卡的配额也要提高。可是计划失败了。一年后不到一半的份额发放了出去。再过了一段时间，这个计划被彻底废除。

I told the German official at the time that I was sure the initiative woudl fail. It's not that I had any particular expertise⁶ in immigration policy, so I understood something about green cards, because I had one (the American version).

我告诉那个德国官员当时我就觉得这个计划会失败。这并不是我在移民政策方面是个地道的专家，但我了解绿卡，因为我就有一张美国绿卡。

The German Green Card was misnamed, I argued, because it never, under any circumstances, translated into German citizenship⁷. The U.S. green card, by contrast, is an almost automatic path to becoming American (after five years and a clean record). The official dismissed my objection, saying that there was no way Germany was going to offer these people citizenship. "We need young tech workers," he said. "That's what this program is all about."

我说，德国绿卡是不合理的，因为就形式来说，它根本无法转换德国公民身份。而美国绿卡在其内涵上来说就像是一个让你成为美国人的道标（5年守法的留美经历）。这个德国官员反对了我所提出的异议，表示为大多数移民提供德国公民身份是个门都没有的事情。“我们需要的是年轻的技术人员”他说“这才是这个项目的目的所在”。

So Germany was asking bright young professionals to leavve their country, culture and families, move thousands of miles away, learn a new languaged and work in a strange land - but without any prospect⁸ of ever being part of their new home. Germany was sending a signal, one that was clearly received in India and other countries, and also by Germany's own immigrant community.

因此，德国让那些既年轻又精明的专家离开他们的国家、文化和家庭，跋涉数万英里，学一门全新的语言然后在陌生的国度上工作，但却永远无法在这块土地上获得能够让他建一个新家的空间。德国的这个信号正在清晰并不断地向印度和其他国家，以及那些属于德国的殖民地区传递。

英语词汇整理：

1. solution n. 解决方案

eg: The solution of the problem has just come to me.
我刚想起如何解答这个问题。

相关短语：
solution to 解决……的办法
solution for/of the problem 解决问题的办法
in solution (物质)在溶解中,(思想)在变化中
hit on a solution 突然想到一个解决方法
apply a solution of 用……解决方法

2. soar v. 腾飞

eg: A bird is soaring into the sky.
一只鸟正飞向云端。

相关短语：
soar up  高飞,翱翔,升高
soar above  在……上飞翔
soar into  飞入……
soar on  凭……高飞
soar over  在……上飞过
soar through  穿过……
soar to  升至……

3. route n. 路线

eg：The climbers tried to find a new route to the top of the mountain.
登山者试图寻出一条通到山顶的新路。

相关短语：
the route round 绕……的路线
air route 航线
along a route 沿途
by a different route 从不同的路线
the route for...  ……的路线

4. obvious adj. 明显的

eg: It is obvious that she is very clever.
很明显，她挺聪明。

相关短语：
obvious to 对……是明显的

5. entrepreneur n. 企业

eg: He is a shipping⁹ entrepreneur.
他是个航运企业家。

相关短语：
entrepreneur spirit 企业家精神；事业心
joint¹⁰ entrepreneur 联合企业家

6. account v. 算做，占

eg: A man is accounted innocent until he is proven guilty.
一个人未被证明有罪前，被视为是清白的。

相关短语：
account of  记帐
account for 对…负有责任；对…做出解释；说明……的原因
be taken into account  [俚]被考虑
take into account 考虑；重视；体谅
on account 记帐，赊帐
on account of 由于；因为
of account 重要的；有价值的
no account 没用的；无交易
open an account 开立帐户
take account of 考虑到；顾及；体谅

词义辨析：
take account of, take an account of 这两个短语意思不同。take account of的意思是“考虑到,顾及”；take an account of 的意思是“清算；算账”。

7. Silicon Valley 硅谷

eg: Not every place can be Silicon Valley.
没有任何地方可以成为硅谷。

8. start-up n. 启动，创建

eg: Let's warm up the car engine a bit before we start.
让我们在出发前先把汽车引擎启动一下。

相关短语：
start-up time 启动时间
start-up cost 筹备费用；开办成本

9. lure v. 诱惑，引诱

eg: The travel brochure lured¹¹ me into taking a Caribbean vacation.
这本旅游小册子诱使我去加勒比地区度假。

相关短语：
lure by  在……的引诱下
lure away  劝说……离开,引诱……离开
lure into  诱惑……做……
lure on  引诱
lure to  引诱至……
 
10. announce v. 宣布

eg: The government announced a cut in taxes.
政府宣布减税。

相关短语：
announce to 向……宣布,告诉……
announce by 被……宣布
announce for 宣布支持……
announce as 作为……发布

11. issue v. 发行；发布

eg: The government issues money and stamps.
政府发行货币及邮票。

相关短语：
at issue  在审议（争论）中
make issue of  （像对待大事一样)处理(小事)
take issue with  提出异议
issue from 从……大量涌出；由于……产生
issue with  提供

12. quota⁴ n. 份额，配额

eg: The government set a quota on the annual number of immigrants from Italy.
政府规定了每年接受意大利移民的限额。

13. barely adv. 仅仅

eg: Barely 50% of the population voted.
仅有50%的人口投票。

相关短语：
barely enough to 勉强够

词义辨析：
barely, hardly, scarcely 这组词意思相近，其区别是：hardly常用来修饰表示能力的词；scarcely强调不足,常与enough, sufficient等词连用；barely强调“勉强”。

14. extension n. 宽限期，时期；延伸

eg: He asked for an extension of his visa.
他申请延长签证有效期。

相关短语：
by extension 相关地；引申开来
hair extension 接发

15. abolish v. 废除，废止

eg: The Americans abolished slavery in 1863.
美国于1863年废除奴隶制度。

词义辨析：
abolish cancel repeal¹² 这些动词均含“取消、废除”之意

1) abolish: 正式用词，指彻底废除某种制度、规章或习俗。
2) cancel: 用法广泛，多指取消债务、合同、证书、比赛、旅行、计划或约会等。
3) repeal: 书面用词，指撤销立法机关通过的协议、法案或法律等。

16. initiative n. 开端

eg: The captain took the initiative and led the soldiers out of the danger area.
上尉主动带领战士撤出了危险区。

相关短语：
on one's own initiative 主动地；自发地
take the initiative 带头；倡导；发起

17. expertise n. 专业知识

eg: His business expertise will be of great help to us.
他的商业知识对我们会极其有用。

相关短语：
business expertise 商业知识
considerable expertise 高超的技能
special expertise 专门知识

18. immigration n. 外来的移民

eg: The government has decided to tighten¹³ its immigration policy.
政府已决定收紧其移民政策。

相关短语：
immigration status 移民身份；入境身份；在留资格
immigration act 移民法；移民法案
illegal immigration 非法移民；非法入境
immigration office 移民局
immigration policy 移民政策

19. version n. 版本

eg: The new version of this dictionary is not in use yet.
这本字典的新版本还未通行。

相关短语：
according to sb's version 按某人的说法
have/ hear sb's version 听取某人的看法
the dramatic version 剧本

20. argue v. 争论

eg: We argued the point for half an hour.
这一点我们争论了半小时。

1 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。

2 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

3 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

4 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

5 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。

6 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

7 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。

8 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

9 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

12 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

13 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。