VOA标准英语2010年-Britain's Immigration Cap Could Affect

Britain's new coalition¹ government is pledging to put a cap on the number of non-EU immigrants allowed into Britain. Some people believe it's what the country needs to curb² over-population. But, others say it could hurt British business as well as the economy of some of the world's poorest countries.

The Queen of England announced the new immigration policy when she opened parliament.

"My government will limit the number of non-European Union economic migrants entering the United Kingdom," said Queen Elizabeth II.

The new government has not yet said what that cap will be.

But with around seven million people living in Britain who were not born here, it says immigration is too high and must be curbed³.

Priti Patel, a Conservative Member of Parliament, says Britain's last government did not do enough to limit the number of immigrants. Now, she says, a cap is what's needed.

"I think it's long overdue⁴ to be honest," said Priti Patel. "Immigration has been out of control over the past 13 years. We've had historic records of immigration. We've had ridiculous scenarios⁵ where we actually didn't know who was coming into the country numbers wise and who was leaving. I think it's about time we had a sensible and pragmatic policy on immigration."

But Laura Chappell from the Institute for Public Policy Research says a cap is not realistic. She says a limit on the number of immigrants coming into Britain could hurt British business.

"If it's say 90,000 people and by September that cap is filled, are the government really going to turn to the football clubs that want to sign the next Didier Drogba and say no, we've got our 90,000 immigrants? " asked Laura Chappell.

And immigrants are good for Britain. Chappell says they pay more taxes and take less benefits than the average British citizen.

Perhaps more importantly, she says, migrants help their home countries. They bring new skills and resources with them when they return home and while abroad send money back that develops local economies.

"If you're a family and someone from your family has migrated, you'll be wealthier, but you're also, for example, more likely to start a business, so employ other people in the local area and so the benefits spill over and benefit whole communities and societies," she said.

Her organization, the Institute for Public Policy Research, has carried out research over the past four years, surveying 10,000 households in seven countries to see how they spend their money. What they found is that on the whole in households where someone has immigrated⁶ there is a better standard of living.

In Jamaica, each returned migrant in a household increases spending on healthcare by more than 50 percent. And in Ghana, households with an absent migrant spend over $100 more on education each year than those without.

Joyce Newton moved from Ghana to London over eight years ago. She says the money she can earn in a few hours in Britain can go a long way towards helping⁷ her family back home.

"Even as little as 20 pounds [$30] is almost 500,000 cedi in Ghana, which is a lot of money to help to do something good," said Joyce Newton.

She says the money she sends home helps pay to educate her siblings⁸.

"You save a little, send a little to the home, so that they can help out with the other kids who are also coming up to get to a better standard because now at least schooling⁹ and stuff like that, it's not free as you get here, everything has to be paid for," she said.

The new coalition government says it will honor Britain's aid commitments to the poorest countries in the world.
 

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

3 curbed   

v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Advertising aimed at children should be curbed. 针对儿童的广告应受到限制。 来自辞典例句
• Inflation needs to be curbed in Russia. 俄罗斯需要抑制通货膨胀。 来自辞典例句

4 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

5 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

9 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。