VOA慢速英语2019 越南偷渡者寄钱回家盖豪宅

Vietnam's "Billionaire Village" does not sound like a place people would want to leave. However, at least three of the 39 victims found in the back of a truck in Britain last week were from there. They left to seek work and good pay.

越南的“亿万富翁村”听起来不像是一个人们愿意离开的地方。然而，上周英国一辆卡车车厢内发现的39名受害者中，至少有3人来自那里。他们离开家乡去寻找高薪工作。

A billion Vietnamese dong is worth about $43,000 U.S. dollars. That amount of money can buy a lot in rural Vietnam.

10亿越南盾约合43000美元。这笔钱在越南农村可以买到很多东西。

Many migrants from Vietnam send their earnings² home to family. In the northern-central Vietnamese town of Do Thanh, migrant money has built some huge and beautiful homes for relatives living there.

许多来自越南的移民将收入寄回老家。在越南中北部的Do Thanh镇，移民的钱用来为当地的亲人建造了豪宅。

"Seventy to 80 percent of the villas³ here have been built with remittances⁵," said Nguyen Van Ha. He is chairman of the rural rice-farming community in Nghe An province.

Nguyen Van Ha表示：“这里70%到80%的豪宅都是用（国外）汇款建起来的。”他是义安省农村水稻种植社区的主任。

"If you work in Vietnam earning dong, it would take a long time to build a big house like this," Ha said, pointing to the large houses near the town government building.

“如果你在越南工作，收入是越南盾，那建这种豪宅要花很长时间，”Nguyen Van Ha指着镇政府大楼附近的豪宅说道。

In Do Thanh, remittance⁴ money sent to Roman Catholic⁷ families even paid for a large, costly⁸ church.

在Do Thanh镇，罗马天主教家庭用收到的汇款甚还建起了一座造价不菲的大教堂。

Many of the other victims found in the truck are believed to have come from outside the town, in the surrounding area of Yen⁶ Thanh. Nineteen-year-old Bui Thi Nhung is believed to be among the dead. She left messages on social media documenting her trip through Europe in the days before she got in the truck.

在卡车中发现的许多其他遇难者来自镇外的Yen Thanh周边地区。据信，19岁的Bui Thi Nhung是其中一员。她在上车前的几天里，曾在社交媒体上记录了她的欧洲之旅。

The vehicle was found near London, a top city for Vietnamese migrants. The incident has brought greater attention to the dangers of trafficking people from Asia, Africa and the Middle East to the West.

这辆车在伦敦附近被发现，伦敦是越南移民的首选城市。这一悲剧让人们更加关注从亚洲、非洲和中东贩运人口到西方的危险。

Vietnamese Deputy⁹ Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Cuong told Reuters on Tuesday that the nationality of the victims had not been officially been confirmed. He said Vietnam and Britain were "trying to speed up identification¹⁰ of the bodies."

越南外交部副部长Nguyen Quoc Cuong周二对路透社表示，遇难者的国籍尚未得到官方确认。他说，越南和英国正在“努力加快遗体的鉴定”。

Remittances rise

In Vietnam, a lack of jobs, environmental disasters and government pressure on Catholics are pushing people to leave.

就业机会少、环境灾难以及政府对天主教徒的压力迫使人们离开越南。

Vietnamese migrants pay thousands of dollars to dangerous trafficking operations in order to travel to Europe. The migrants believe the money they can earn once they are there makes the trip worth the risk.

越南移民为了前往欧洲，不惜花费数千美元进行危险的偷渡活动。他们认为，一旦抵达欧洲，他们获得的高收入值得冒此风险。

Ha, the chairman of Do Thanh, said many people from the area are living in Britain. But he added, "We have no idea what they do there to earn all this money to send back home."

Do Thanh镇的主任Nguyen Van Ha表示，该地区的很多居民都定居在英国。但他补充说，“我们不清楚他们在那里的职业，能赚这么多钱寄回家。”

The World Bank says overseas workers sent nearly $16 billion in remittances to Vietnam in 2018. That is more than two times the Southeast Asian country's trade surplus¹¹ for the same period. The World Bank examination showed Vietnamese remittances had risen 130 percent over the last 10 years.

世界银行表示，2018年，海外工人向越南汇款金额近160亿美元。这是这个东南亚国家同期贸易顺差的两倍多。世界银行的调查显示，越南人的汇款在过去10年里增长了130%。

Drugs and nails

大麻种植和美甲行业

About 70 percent of Vietnamese trafficking cases in Britain between 2009 and 2016 were related to work in the illegal cannabis trade or in beauty services, Britain said last year.

英国去年表示，2009年至2016年间，英国境内约70%的越南人口贩运案件与非法大麻交易或美容服务业有关。

Many migrants do find find legal work in Europe and the United States. They also find work closer to home in places like Japan, Taiwan and Laos.

许多移民确实在欧洲和美国找到合法的工作。他们也在日本、台湾地区和老挝等地找到离家更近的工作。

Bui Van Diep is a metal worker. He told Reuters, "I didn't have enough money to go abroad so I went to Saigon (Ho Chi Min City) instead."

Bui Van Diep是一名金属工人。他告诉路透社，“我筹不到那么多钱出国，所以我去西贡（(胡志明市）打工。”

He lives in a small, home in Do Thanh. His cousin, Bui Chung, lives in a large, costly villa¹ next door.

他住在Do Thanh镇的一栋小房子里。而他的堂兄Bui Chung住在隔壁一幢豪华大别墅内。

Bui Chung left Do Thanh for Britain in 2007. When he returned home, he built his house and started a steel trading business.

2007年，Bui Chung离开Do Thanh镇前往英国。回乡后，他自己盖了座豪宅，并开始从事钢铁贸易业务。

"I went from Vietnam to France legally, but from France to the UK illegally inside a container truck," said Chung. "I chose to go to the UK because the salary is very good and so many people from Do Thanh already lived there."

“我通过合法程序从越南前往法国，但是从法国通过集装箱卡车的非法途径进入英国，”Bui Chung说道。“我之所以选择去英国，是因为当地薪水高，而且那里已经有很多从Do Thanh镇离开的人。”

Chung worked in a cannabis farm in Britain. He also worked at a Vietnamese-run nail salon¹², where he said he earned around $640 a week.

Bui Chung在英国的一家大麻农场工作。他还在一家越南经营的美甲沙龙工作，他说自己每周能赚约640美元。

"The Vietnamese community living there help newcomers to find jobs," Chung said. "That's why many people around here are willing to even sell their land to raise enough money to go."

“当地的越南社区会帮助新来的人找工作，”Bui Chung说道。“这就是为什么很多人愿意卖掉土地来筹钱去国外。”

Now, he believes he made a huge mistake returning home.

现在，他认为回乡是一个巨大的错误。

"I've lost a lot of money doing business here. People don't trust each other," Chung said. "I might go back to the UK."

Bui Chung表示，“我在家乡做生意赔了很多钱。大家彼此不信任。我可能还会回到英国。”

Words in This Story

villa –n. a large house or estate that is usually located in the country

remittance –n. an amount of money that is sent as a payment for something

church –n. a building that is used for Christian¹³ religious services

average –n. a level that is typical of a group, class, or series : a middle point between extremes

abroad –n. in or to a foreign country

cannabis–n. a drug (such as marijuana or hashish) that comes from the hemp¹⁴ plant and is smoked illegally

nail salon –n. a business where beauty services are offered

1 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 villas   

别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅

参考例句：

• Magnificent villas are found throughout Italy. 在意大利到处可看到豪华的别墅。
• Rich men came down from wealthy Rome to build sea-side villas. 有钱人从富有的罗马来到这儿建造海滨别墅。

4 remittance   

n.汇款，寄款，汇兑

参考例句：

• Your last month's salary will be paid by remittance.最后一个月的薪水将通过汇寄的方式付给你。
• A prompt remittance would be appreciated.速寄汇款不胜感激。

5 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

6 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

7 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 deputy   

n.代理人，代表，副职；adj.代理的，副的

参考例句：

• John will act as a deputy for me during my absence.我离开期间，约翰将代理我的职务。
• She is the deputy headmistress of the school.她是那所学校的代理校长。

10 identification   

n.视为同一，证明同一，确认

参考例句：

• He's made a formal identification of the body.他正式确认了死者身份。
• We should have identification card on the person when we go out.我们外出时应随身携带身份证。

11 surplus   

adj.过剩的，多余的；n.过剩，剩余额

参考例句：

• The manufacturers in some countries dumped their surplus commodities abroad.一些国家的制造商向国外倾销过剩产品。
• The surplus steam was blown off through the pipes.多余的蒸气通过管道放掉了。

12 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

13 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

14 hemp   

n.大麻；纤维

参考例句：

• The early Chinese built suspension bridges of hemp rope.古代的中国人建造过麻绳悬索桥。
• The blanket was woven from hemp and embroidered with wool.毯子是由亚麻编织，羊毛镶边的。