VOA常速英语2105--移民危机为欧洲带来前所未有挑战

Migrant Crisis Poses Unprecedented¹ Challenge for Europe 移民危机为欧洲带来前所未有挑战

As of November, some 800,000 refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa had crossed the Mediterranean² to reach a safe haven³ in Europe. The European Union estimates as many as three million might arrive by the end of 2016.  For the European nations, the migrant crisis is posing an unprecedented challenge – from both humanitarian⁴ and security standpoints.

The flood of migrants into Europe is making it obvious that dialogue and agreement are necessary, to better protect the EU's external borders and substantially alleviate⁵ the pressure on affected⁶ countries.

如潮涌入欧洲的难民表明必须通过对话与协议才能更好地保护欧盟外部边境，同时切实缓解受影响国家的压力。

But as Edward Joseph of the Institute for Current World Affairs points out, those are difficult issues to manage, and are also politically sensitive.

但当代世界事务研究所的爱德华?约瑟芬指出那些问题不仅难以解决，而且政治上也颇具敏感性。

“We have to have a balanced, wide perspective on this very pressing urgent problem,” he said.    

“我们必须从一个平衡与广泛的角度看待这个非常紧迫的问题。”

Luca Dall’Oglio, of the International Organization for Migration⁷, says it is important to help the migrants move on from the gateway⁸ countries of the Balkans to elsewhere in Western Europe.

国际难民组织的卢卡?达尔格里奥表示协助难民从欧洲的巴尔干半岛国家转到其他西欧国家非常重要。

“What can be done to help all those refugees that are in the countries of first asylum⁹, where they have no opportunities for education, no opportunities for livelihood¹⁰, and no opportunities for decent living,“ he said.

“需要做些什么来帮助那些目前处在第一收容国的难民，在那里他们没有接受教育的机会、无法谋生、不能过上像样的生活。”

The refugee crisis is stoking tensions among the countries on the migrant corridor. Slovenia has started to build a razor wire fence along its border with Croatia.

这场难民危机正加剧移民走廊国家之间的紧张关系。斯洛文尼亚已经开始在同克罗地亚的边境处建造带刺的铁丝网围墙。

Croatia’s ambassador to Washington says the EU needs to help alleviate those tensions.

而克罗地亚驻华盛顿大使表示欧盟必须帮助缓解这样的紧张局势。

“There is high awareness¹¹ in Brussels and among the European countries of the fragility of the economies of the Western Balkans," he said. "I am absolutely sure that Brussels will not allow the refugee crisis to turn into a serious economic crisis in the Balkans.”  

“布鲁塞尔和欧洲国家对巴尔干半岛西部国家的经济脆弱程度有很高的认识。我非常确定布鲁塞尔不会允许难民危机转变成巴尔干半岛的严重经济危机。”

与此同时日内瓦方面也传来了好消息。政府捐助方已承诺为联合国2016年难民援助项目提供6亿9千万美元的捐款，这是目前为止数额最高的一笔捐款。

Meanwhile, there is good news from Geneva. Government donors¹² have promised an initial $690 million for UN refugee relief operations in 2016 – the highest amount ever.

But for Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, managing the massive tide of humanity still presents a major political and security challenge.

不过对希腊、马其顿、塞尔维亚、克罗地亚和斯洛文尼亚而言，应对大规模移民潮问题仍然是这些国家主要面临的政治和安全难题。

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

3 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

6 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。

7 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。

8 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

9 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。

10 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

11 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

12 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》