【一起听英语】全球范围内的迁徙（在线收听）

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 migration – 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 emigrate – 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 immigrants 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 Organisation 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 skilled people are

leaving to work in richer countries – this is what is called a brain drain. 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 affected by the financial crisis, such

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

and France are on the lookout for electronic engineers.

Jennifer: But these are all highly-skilled jobs that require qualified 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 remittances. They are seen as an

important source of funds 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 uproot – 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 paved 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 reveal 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.