VOA标准英语2014--美国试图打击南部边境人口贩运

 

US Attempts Crackdown on Trafficking Along Southern Border 美国试图打击南部边境人口贩运

NOGALES—

Nogales, Arizona, is notoriously known as a “tunnel city," utilized¹ by traffickers to smuggle² humans and narcotics³ into the United States. The U.S. Border Patrol and local authorities have responded with new technologies and a heavier presence in the area to help uncover and destroy the tunnels before they are completed.

Many of the migrants who embark⁴ north toward Arizona are fleeing the Border Patrol, not running toward them for help -- a stark⁵ contrast from the Texas border, where the vast majority of undocumented immigrants from Central America seek to be apprehended⁶ in a bid for asylum⁷.

This is in part due to rampant⁸ human trafficking in the area, where smugglers called "coyotes" use immigrants to transport arms and narcotics across the border, and through tunnels underground.

Tunnel system

The U.S. Border Patrol granted Voice of America access to the 1.6-kilometer Morley drainage tunnel that runs north from Mexico into Nogales, Arizona. The tunnel originally was built to avoid flooding on U.S. territory, due to the higher elevation⁹ of its neighbor city, also called Nogales, across the Mexican border..

Kevin Hecht, a tunnel expert with the U.S. Border Patrol, explained, “So the gate's set up, when enough water pressure hits it, it hinges from the ceiling and it lifts up to let the water through, but it goes back down to keep the people out. And then that gate's in place too, there's one to the north, and the reason for that, is the smugglers would come in from the north, and mess with all this infrastructure¹⁰, the lighting¹¹, the cameras and everything in here that monitors this, so we had to put gates on both sides.”

The preexisting drain and sewage infrastructure has created opportunities for drug traffickers to excavate¹² and construct illicit¹³ border tunnels.

Nogales Mayor Arturo Garino praised efforts by the Border Patrol and police to halt construction of most tunnels and prevent them from ever being used. But he said he believes the tunnels will continue to be developed as long as the incentive¹⁴ remains¹⁵.

“I wish there were tunnels for a subway system [laughs], but I think we're going to have tunnels forever, as long as there's a need, and as long as there's somebody in the United States that wants drugs, because that's why they come acrossm" he said. "They don't bring undocumented people through tunnels, they bring drugs.”

Tucson sector¹⁶ Border Patrol spokesman Pete Bidegain said agents maintain a heavy presence along the area's 48-kilometer border wall because of the smuggling¹⁷ activity, and they rely on cooperation with Mexican officials to keep the border secure.

1 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

3 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

5 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

6 apprehended   

逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解

参考例句：

• She apprehended the complicated law very quickly. 她很快理解了复杂的法律。
• The police apprehended the criminal. 警察逮捕了罪犯。

7 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

8 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

9 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

11 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

12 excavate   

vt.挖掘，挖出

参考例句：

• They plan to excavate a large hole.他们计划挖个大洞。
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs.一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。

13 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

14 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

16 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

17 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。