VOA常速英语2007年-British Unease Grows with Foreign Workers

By Sonja Pace
London
21 December 2007

The British government is set to announce a series of measures early next year to tighten¹ restrictions² on immigrant workers.  A booming economy has attracted foreigners to Britain from many parts of the world in recent years, especially from the new members of the European Union, but also from the United States, Asia and Africa.  While many provide a crucial source of labor³, their arrival has also sparked an uneasy debate in Britain over a growing migrant work force. VOA's Sonja Pace has more from London. 

The building boom in Britain may be driven by a strong economy, but the work is carried out largely by foreigners.

British government statistics indicate that more than 2.5 million foreign workers have registered in Britain since 2002. 

The largest single group of legal migrants has come from Poland. Zbigniew Cwik is one of them.  He says when he first came here life was difficult, without his family and long hours. 

"The work was from morning to evening so I am just thinking about the work," he said.

He goes by Zibbi, for short.  He originally came on a training course, stayed, found work doing construction and home refurbishments, brought his family over and eventually started his own business.

Many of the newcomers from parts of Europe arrive here by bus, hoping to find a job and a better life.  More than 220,000 Polish workers have registered in Britain in the past year.  And, in all, some 700,000 East European workers have come here since the 2004 EU expansion, which opened avenues for them to work in Britain legally.

Hugo Brady of the Center for European Reform says migrant workers are behind Britain's economic boom. 

"Really, immigration in this sense as per the 2004 enlargement has been a win-win situation.  I can't think of any situation in Europe in which it has not been beneficial," he said.

While some work in highly skilled jobs, most migrants do not.  They work in construction, in agriculture - they build roads, sweep streets, clean houses, tend gardens and take care of other people's children.

And, not everyone is pleased with the influx⁵.  The chairman of the lobby group, Migration⁴ Watch UK, Andrew Green says the migrant workforce⁶ benefits only a few.

"Polish immigration is great news for the chattering⁷ classes, because you get cheap nannies, you get cheap restaurants, you get wonderful gardeners and the plumbers⁹ are wonderful," he said.  "If you happen to be a British plumber⁸ it's not so good."

Migration Watch wants tougher immigration limits.

"We've got a million young [British] people who are not in education, not in training, not in work," he added.  "Now it's even more difficult to get those people into the work force if you've got literally¹⁰ hundreds of thousands of bright, young Poles ready to do the job."

But, Britain also hosts migrants from non-EU states, including from the United States, Asia and Africa. The government is now set to further tighten immigration rules with an Australian-style system for restricting immigration to those with skills the country needs.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said this new point system would help manage the immigration flow.

"This is probably the biggest change in our immigration rules that has been seen for many decades," he said.  "It is precisely¹¹ to encourage the skills that we need as a country and to discourage the skills we don't need."

And so the debate goes on.  How many migrants should be allowed in, how long should they stay, do they benefit the economy or do they take jobs away from locals?

Hugo Brady with the Center for European Reform says there is another factor.

"People will always fear the 'other' and they don't like the idea of strangers descending¹² on them even if it is a good thing, even if they themselves have benefited from it," he added.  "Somehow this prejudice remains¹³."

For the migrants who come here, the priority is to make a better life for themselves and their families. Some plan to return home, others are not so sure.

For Britons, the issue remains an ongoing¹⁴ debate.

1 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 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。

5 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

6 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

7 chattering   

n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
• I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。

8 plumber   

n.(装修水管的)管子工

参考例句：

• Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗？
• The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。

9 plumbers   

n.管子工，水暖工( plumber的名词复数 )；[美][口]（防止泄密的）堵漏人员

参考例句：

• Plumbers charge by the hour for their work. 水管工人的工作是以小时收费的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Plumbers, carpenters, and other workmen finished the new house quickly. 管道工、木工及其他工匠很快完成了这幢新房子。 来自辞典例句

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

11 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

12 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

13 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。

14 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。