美国国家公共电台 NPR Top Tech Company Leaders Say They Would Not Exist Without Immigrants

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

President Trump¹'s executive order is also making waves in the business world. Industries that include tech and travel are reacting strongly, and to learn more about this, we called NPR business reporter Jim Zarroli. Jim, thanks so much for joining us.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE²: You're welcome.

MARTIN: So we've had some sharp statements this weekend from the heads of Google, Facebook, Apple and Twitter. What are they saying and where does this opposition³ come from?

ZARROLI: Well, you know, the tech sector⁴ relies on a lot of immigrants. The chief executive officer of Microsoft was born in India, so it was Google's CEO. And there's just, I think, culturally a very strong belief that immigration is one of the things that makes the tech sector prosper⁵. The CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, said in a statement this weekend - he said Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate⁶ the way we do.

And remember, Michel, Steve Jobs' biological father was a Syrian immigrant. The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, said we believe in the importance of protecting legitimate⁷ and law-abiding refugees whose lives may be at stake in immigration proceedings⁸. And then just, you know, in practical terms, there are a lot of people who work in the tech sector, you know, who have dual⁹ nationals or, you know, they have some kind of work visa. And this really throws their status into some confusion, and it's a problem for their employers.

MARTIN: But what about companies in other industries? Have we heard leaders in other sectors¹⁰ - spoken out? Have they spoken about the ban either for or against?

ZARROLI: Well, they're starting to. I mean, one of the interesting things is the Koch brothers' network which is, of course, not a business, but a very powerful right-wing political fundraising network. It doesn't - it's not a business, but it consists of a lot of business people and represents business interests to some degree. They issued a statement saying the travel ban is the wrong approach and will likely be counterproductive. It said our country has benefited tremendously from a history of welcoming people of all cultures and backgrounds.

Then, you know, the travel industry isn't happy about the ban, largely because it's, you know - it's never good for them to have this televised chaos¹² that we've seen at the airports. The head of BMW's North American operations spoke¹¹ out this weekend. The chief executive of General Electric, Jeff Immelt - very important person in the business world - said GE has many employees from the named countries, and they are critical to our success. And they are our friends and partners. He said that in a - in his staff email. And that...

MARTIN: (Unintelligible).

ZARROLI: ...That's really the thing. I mean, this ban is going be a disruption to a lot of companies, and I think they're still trying to figure out where it's going.

MARTIN: Before we let you go, Jim, we have about a minute left. Why do you think more companies have not spoken out one way or the other about this?

ZARROLI: Well, I think one thing was the timing¹³. I mean, this happened late on a Friday, so they maybe haven't had time to respond. But also, you know, President Trump is still very new in office, and I think people are still trying to decide what to make of him. He's, you know, of course, very unpredictable which is scary to a lot of business people, but he's also saying things the business world wants to hear. He wants to do infrastructure¹⁴ spending, cut corporate¹⁵ taxes, get rid of regulations.

I mean, if you're in the oil business, he's promising¹⁶ to do all kinds of things that you want. And also, you know, honestly, Trump has shown he can strike back pretty hard against companies when they do or say something he doesn't like. I mean, look at what happened with Carrier. So I think a lot of companies are just not sure what to say, and they're reluctant to come out and oppose him too much.

MARTIN: That's NPR's Jim Zarroli. Jim, thank you.

ZARROLI: You're welcome.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 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。

5 prosper   

v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣

参考例句：

• With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管，公司开始兴旺起来。
• It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。

6 innovate   

v.革新，变革，创始

参考例句：

• We must innovate in order to make progress.我们必须改革以便取得进步。
• It is necessary to innovate and develop military theories.创新和发展军事理论是必要的。

7 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

8 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

9 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

10 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

13 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。

14 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。

15 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

16 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。