VOA标准英语2008年-Immigrants Send Less Money to Families in Latin

By Greg Flakus
Houston
01 May 2008

Although economists¹ say the United States is not technically² in a recession, the slowdown in economic activity is having a dramatic impact on the amount of money immigrants are able to send back home. The so-called remittances³ have fallen off sharply, according to officials in several Latin American nations. VOA's Greg Flakus has more on the story from Houston.

The crowds of immigrant workers from Mexico and Central America seeking jobs has grown a little larger in Houston because of the slowdown in construction and the ripple⁴ effect in other areas of the economy. Houston is in relatively⁵ good shape compared to some other parts of the nation, having avoided a big downturn in housing because there was never a sharp increase in prices here as there was on the east and west coasts. But some of the same factors driving down the economy elsewhere are also present here.

High fuel prices, in particular, have caused some transport and construction companies to cut back. The pinch on the pocketbooks of average people has translated into less work for gardeners, house cleaners, landscapers and other unskilled or low-skilled laborers⁶.

Oscar Ramiro, an auto⁷ mechanic from Vera Cruz, says times are hard. He says the work has gone down and at the same time the prices for such things as gasoline, food and rent have gone up. He says he used to send around $100 a week to his family back home, but now he struggles to do it every two weeks.

Juanita, a house cleaner who has lost work, says she used to send up to $150 a week to her mother in Michoacan, in central Mexico, but now she can barely manage to send $50. She says she hears similar stories from other immigrants.

Juanita says she wishes someone would do something to help the undocumented workers who are struggling to survive here. She says returning to Mexico is not an attractive option because, she says, things are even worse there.

According to the Banco de Mexico, remittances to Mexico have dropped by nearly three percent this year. Last year, immigrants in the United States sent home a record $23.9 billion, but bank officials say that figure is not likely to be matched this year.  Using data that shows all remittances sent by Mexicans living outside the country, Banco de Mexico reports that immigrants sent $5.3 billion home from January to March of this year. In the same period last year, they sent $5.5 billion.

The reduction is important because remittances are second only to oil as a source of foreign income for Mexico.

Although the price of oil has reached record levels recently, the country has not been able to take full advantage because production at Mexican wells is slowing. President Felipe Calderon has a proposal before the Mexican Congress that would allow limited participation⁸ by private companies in exploration and development so that new reserves could be opened. But leftists in the Congress have blocked discussion of the proposal saying that it is an attempt to privatize the state-owned energy sector⁹.

The situation is similar in many other Latin American nations, according to the Inter-American Development Bank, which released a report Wednesday showing that only half of the nearly 19 million Latin American immigrants in the United States send money home on a regular basis, compared to well over 70 percent two years ago.

But the bank estimates that total remittances to the region this year will be about $500 million more than they were two years ago. What has changed, according to the report, is that there are no longer large increases in money transfers, as happened each year between the years 2000 and 2006.

1 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

3 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

4 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

7 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

8 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

9 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。