VOA标准英语2010年-US Revoking Visas After Detroit Airlin

"We welcome people coming to the United States. We're going to make sure that the process by which people come here, and travel here, is as safe as it can be." - Assistant US Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley

The State Department said Tuesday it has revoked¹ U.S. travel visas for a number of individuals after a Nigerian man with a visa to travel to the United States tried to bring down a jetliner over Detroit December 25. Officials say the number of revocations is not large and that the United States wants to remain a welcoming country for legitimate² business and tourist travelers.

The State Department says it has revoked the U.S. visas of a number of individuals including the Nigerian jailed for the attempted Christmas day bombing, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, as part of an inter-agency security upgrade spurred by the Detroit incident.

President Obama cited a failure of the security system after it was revealed that the jailed Nigerian's father had gone to the U.S. Embassy in Abuja before the incident to voice concern about his son's apparent radicalization and visit to Yemen.

An account of the embassy conversation was relayed to counter-terrorism officials in Washington but the son's U.S. travel visa was not rescinded³.

At a news briefing, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley said that as a result of the administration's ongoing⁴ security review, multiple individuals have had U.S. visas revoked and others added to U.S. no-fly and terrorism watch lists.

Crowley said the upgrade was global in scope but said it was not fruitful to provide a specific number of those affected⁵.

But he stressed that the United States wants to remain a country welcoming to visitors, and said the new policy by no means precludes⁶ legitimate visits by persons from countries like Yemen, Nigeria and 12 others for which intensified⁷ security for U.S.-bound travelers is now required.

"We want to have these people come to the United States. It's in our interests. It's in our foreign policy interests. This interaction between the American people and people of other countries is actually part of the process by which, ultimately, we will defeat and mitigate⁸ political extremism," he said.  "So we're not closing our doors to the United States. Far from it. We welcome people coming to the United States. We're going to make sure that the process by which people come here, and travel here, is as safe as it can be," he added.

Crowley acknowledged the State Department is receiving complaints - what he termed feed-back - from the 14 governments affected by the tighter screening procedures but did not elaborate.

He said one reason why the U.S. embassy in Yemen's capital Sanaa reopened Tuesday after a security scare was to resume processing visa applications from Yemeni travelers.

The spokesman said about 1,700 U.S. travel visas had been revoked for security reasons since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. He said the fact the number of new revocations since December 25 is relatively⁹ small reflects the basic strength of screening procedures.

1 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 rescinded   

v.废除，取消( rescind的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Rescinded civil acts shall be null and void from the very beginning. 被撤销的民事行为从行为开始起无效。 来自互联网
• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan. 他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 precludes   

v.阻止( preclude的第三人称单数 )；排除；妨碍；使…行不通

参考例句：

• Lack of time precludes any further discussion. 由于时间不足，不可能进行深入的讨论。
• The surface reactivity of many nonblack fillers generally precludes strong bonding with this type of matrix. 许多非碳黑填料的表面反应性一般阻碍与该种基质形成牢固的粘结。 来自辞典例句

7 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

9 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。