【一起听英语】全球范围内的迁徙

交通日益便利，国家与国家的联系也日益紧密，人们因为工作或者生活的原因来往于世界各地......

Rob: Hello, I'm Rob and this is 6 Minute English and I'm joined this week by Jennifer. Hello

Jennifer.

Jennifer: Hello Rob.

Rob: This week we're discussing global migration¹ – that's the movement of people

around the world and particularly those who are moving abroad to look for new work.

Is this something you have done Jen?

Jennifer: Yes, when I was a student I moved to France to teach English for a while.

Rob: A very good job but luckily for us, you came back to live in the UK. Many people are

forced to emigrate² – or leave their home country – to go and work abroad and they

never return home. We'll talk more about that shortly and also look at some of the

language associated with migration. But let's start with today's question.

Jennifer: And this is a question for me to answer?

Rob: Of course it is! So, according to figures from the United Nations, which one of these

countries has the largest number of immigrants³ as a percentage of its national

population? Is it:

a) United States of America

b) Qatar

c) Turkey

Jennifer: I think this is an easy one. I think it will be a) The United States of America.

Rob: Well, I'll let you know the answer at the end of the programme. Now let's talk more

about global migration. It's something the BBC has been looking at following

research by the Organisation⁴ for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

We know people move from country to country for all kinds of reasons – to join other

members of their family, because of war in their own country, or just to find a better

lifestyle. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2013

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Jennifer: But the biggest reason is to find work – people who do this are called economic

migrants. Their profession – or area of work they specialise in – may not be needed

where they live. Or the pay may not be very good but their skills might be in demand

in another part of the world, so they are forced to move there to get a job and earn

more money.

Rob: This is a problem for developing countries because it means skilled⁵ people are

leaving to work in richer countries – this is what is called a brain drain⁶. Around 214

million people are international migrants – people living and working in a different

country from the one in which they were born. So what kind of work are we talking

about?

Jennifer: All kinds of things. We know that people in healthcare often move abroad to places

like the UK and Australia to work as dentists, doctors or nurses. In other countries,

such as Belgium, there is a need for chefs. And in countries like Norway, there is a

demand for psychologists.

Rob: I've also heard that in countries that have been affected⁷ by the financial crisis⁸, such

as Ireland and Greece, there is a need for accountants. And countries such as Brazil

and France are on the lookout⁹ for electronic engineers.

Jennifer: But these are all highly-skilled jobs that require qualified¹⁰ people – people with

specialist training and qualifications. Sometimes people with such skills take on a job

where they are overqualified, such as doing a cleaning job or serving in a cafe.

Rob: So many of the immigrants' skills are just going to waste and, as we have

mentioned, their home country is losing skills that could have helped improve the

local economy there.

Jennifer: However, there is evidence that many migrants are working abroad to send money

to family back at home – these are called remittances¹¹. They are seen as an

important source of funds¹² for economic development. In fact, official figures show

that last year $US400bn of this money was being sent back to developing countries.

Rob: It must be hard for people to uproot¹³ – or move from their home – leave the family

behind and go overseas. And it can also be a challenge to get permission to work

abroad.

Jennifer: Yes, you mean getting a working visa – that's a stamp in your passport that allows

you to work in a certain country. In Australia for example, points are awarded to 

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people with skills that are needed in the country; those who get the right amount of

points are allowed in.

Rob: This system allows a country to adapt to the changes in skills needed to keep the

economy growing. Other countries only issue a working visa if someone has been

offered a specific job.

Jennifer: Of course, migrants may hope that the new country's streets are paved¹⁴ with gold

– or that they think it's an easy place to get rich – but if it's not, they can at least get

some work experience that will benefit them when they get home: a sort of brain

gain!

Rob: Hmm, how's your brain Jen? It's time now to reveal¹⁵ the answer to today's question.

Earlier I asked you, according to figures from the United Nations, which one of these

countries has the largest number of immigrants as a percentage of its national

population?

Jennifer: And I said a) The United States of America.

Rob: And you are wrong. The answer is Qatar. Around 75% of its population are

immigrants – so that's people who have moved there but were not born there. The

USA has many more immigrants but they only make up around 12% of the

population. OK, well, it's almost time to go but before we do, Jennifer could you

remind us of some of the words we have heard today.

Jennifer: Yes. We heard:

global migration

emigrate

economic migrants

a brain drain

qualified

overqualified

remittances

to uproot

a working visa

streets are paved with gold

Rob: Thanks Jennifer. Well, that's all we have time for today. Please join us again soon for

6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.

Both: Bye.

1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 emigrate   

vi.移居国外（或外地）

参考例句：

• They planned to emigrate.他们打算移民。
• The family decided to shake the dust off their feet and emigrate to Australia.这一家人愤然离开，移居澳洲。

3 immigrants   

n.移民( immigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Illegal immigrants were given the opportunity to regularize their position. 非法移民得到了使其身份合法化的机会。
• Immigrants from all over the world populate this city. 这个城市里生活着来自世界各地的移民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

5 skilled   

adj.(in)熟练的，有技能的；需要技能的

参考例句：

• Unskilled workers usually earn less money than skilled workers.无技能的工人通常比有技能的工人挣钱少。
• She was skilled enough in French to translate a novel.她法语娴熟，足以翻译小说。

6 drain   

n.排水沟，阴沟；消耗，负担；v.排去，放干

参考例句：

• Drain off the rest of the wine from this barrel.把桶里剩余的酒排出去。
• First,you have to drain the container of all the old oil.首先，你得从油箱中把所有的陈油都抽去。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

9 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

10 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

11 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

12 funds   

n.pl.资金

参考例句：

• He absconded with the company funds. 他卷走公司的资金潜逃了。
• They held a harambee meeting to raise funds for a new classroom. 他们为筹款建新教室而办了个募捐会。

13 uproot   

v.连根拔起，拔除；根除，灭绝；赶出家园，被迫移开

参考例句：

• The family decided to uproot themselves and emigrate to Australia.他们全家决定离开故土，移居澳大利亚。
• The trunk of an elephant is powerful enough to uproot trees.大象的长鼻强壮得足以将树木连根拔起。

14 paved   

v.铺( pave的过去式和过去分词 )；为…铺平道路

参考例句：

• a paved area near the back door 后门旁一块石板地
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 reveal   

vt.揭露，泄露；展现，显示

参考例句：

• The journalist did not want to reveal the identity of his informant.那个新闻工作者不想透露消息提供人的身份。
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes.它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。