2020年经济学人 英国新移民政策排除英国依赖的主要工作者(1)

Britain

英国板块

Immigration

移民

Who cares?

谁会在乎呢？

New immigration rules would exclude the key workers Britain relies on. “Care work isn’t just bum¹ wiping,” insists Karolina Gerlich. In the 12 years since she swapped² her native Poland for Britain, aged³ 18, she has learnt that it involves being a “PA, a nurse, a therapist, an occupational therapist, a dietician and a friend”. She now runs a charity supporting other carers, while working as one herself. Yet under post-Brexit immigration rules due to take effect in January, a similar applicant⁴ would be turned down for a visa, since the job is classed as low-skilled. “I feel disrespected, offended and like my contribution to the economy and to the country has not been recognised at all.”

新的移民规则将会排除英国依赖的主要工作者。“护理工作不仅仅是擦屁股，”卡罗琳娜·格里奇坚持说。在她十二岁的时候将自己从波兰人变成英国，这十二年里，她学会了做一名“助理、护士、治疗师、职业治疗师、营养师以及朋友。”她现在经营着一家慈善机构，支持其他护理人员，她自己也是做这样的工作。然而，脱欧后的移民规则在一月生效，类似签证的申请者会被拒绝，因为这类工作被归类为低技能类。“我感到不受尊重、被冒犯，我对经济和国家的贡献根本没有得到承认。”

The timing⁵ of the covid-19 pandemic puts Priti Patel, the hardline home secretary, in an awkward spot. Recognising that Britain’s vote to leave the EU in 2016 was in part down to a desire to curb⁶ immigration, she plans to end freedom of movement from the bloc⁷ and apply the same salary threshold (￡25,600, or $31,200, for most) and skills requirement to prospective⁸ migrants wherever they come from. Yet many of the incomers such a policy would rule out—including care-home workers—are those classified by the government as the pandemic's “key workers”.

covid-19大流行爆发的时机让强硬的内政大臣Priti Patel陷入了一个尴尬的境地。认识到英国在2016年投票退出欧盟的部分原因是希望遏制移民，她计划解除欧盟公民流动自由，以及对来自任何地方的潜在移民适用同样的工资门槛（最多为25600英镑或31200美元）和技能要求。然而，这样一项政策将排除许多移民——包括家庭护理人员——那些被政府列为流行病“关键工作者”的人。

1 bum   

n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨

参考例句：

• A man pinched her bum on the train so she hit him.在火车上有人捏她屁股，她打了那人。
• The penniless man had to bum a ride home.那个身无分文的人只好乞求搭车回家。

2 swapped   

交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来）

参考例句：

• I liked her coat and she liked mine, so we swapped. 我喜欢她的外套，她喜欢我的外套，于是我们就交换了。
• At half-time the manager swapped some of the players around. 经理在半场时把几名队员换下了场。

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

5 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

6 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。

7 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

8 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。