VOA常速英语2013--政府关门引发的移民改革集会

 

Thousands Rally for Immigration Reform Stalled by Government Shutdown 政府关门引发的移民改革集会

The U.S. government shutdown has stalled an immigration reform bill that could affect an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.  The measure could offer undocumented immigrants amnesty and a pathway to citizenship¹.  For supporters, who rallied in Washington this week, each day the government remains² closed is another blow to progress.  But opponents argue the shutdown provides more time to discuss the controversial issue.

美国政府关门已经停滞一项移民改革法案,可能会影响大约1100万非法移民住在美国。这项措施可以提供大赦非法移民和公民身份的途径。对于支持者,本周在华盛顿集会,每天政府仍然关闭是另一个打击进步。但是反对者认为关闭提供更多时间来讨论有争议的问题。

It started with a few hundred people on the National Mall.  It swelled³ to several thousand by midafternoon.  There were familiar faces from the U.S. civil rights movement, and there was civil disobedience that led to the arrests of about 200 people. 

国家广场上的这次集会最初只有几百人，到了下午三点左右增加到数千人。人群中有参加过美国民权运动的熟悉面孔，当时那场温和抵抗导致约200人被捕。

At the center of the protest - an immigration reform bill passed in the Democrat-led Senate, but now stalled in the Republican-controlled House.

抗议的核心问题是由民主党操纵的国会通过的一项移民改革法案，但却被共和党操纵的众议院暂搁。

“We are here to show support for all these people that have no documents, and the families that have been destroyed for these laws, and to bring support to everybody,” said Roberto from San Francisco in California.

来自加州旧金山的罗伯特说，“我们来这里是向那些没有证件的人提供支持，向那些家园被法律毁掉的人提供支持，向每个人提供支持。”

Juan Romero, who is living in Silver Spring, Maryland, said, “The people that are here, that have came to this country - either way, illegally or legally - that it’s time to create a path towards citizenship.”

居住在马里兰州银泉镇的胡安·罗梅洛说，“这些人通过非法或合法途径来到美国，是时候给他们获得公民权创造机会了。”

But opponents argued against giving amnesty to those here illegally.

但反对者反对给非法移民提供特赦。

"This is supposedly a rally for dignity for illegal aliens.  People that basically broke our laws.  Wait a second.  What happened here?  What’s wrong with this picture that somebody who broke our laws is now asking for dignity, or demanding dignity, I suppose.  It’s bizarre,” said Jim McDonald of Alexandria in Virginia.

来自维吉尼亚州亚历山大的吉姆·麦克唐纳说，“这是为非法居留者的尊严发起的集会，这些人基本上破坏了我们的法律，等一下，究竟怎么回事？那些破坏法律的人还希望得到尊严，或要求尊严，这个想法很离奇。”

The amnesty question along with the government shutdown have indefinitely stalled the bill.

政府关门和避难问题毫无疑问使这条法案被搁置。

“As long as the president insists on having amnesty attached to any sort of immigration reform, that’s not policy the American people should embrace and something that won’t pass Congress.  So the fact that that’s delayed because of the real, important issues… I don’t see that there’s a downside to that,” said Dan Holler of the conservative group, Heritage Action for America.

“只要总统坚持将避难与任何移民改革相关联，美国人就不该接受这样的政策，国会也不应该给予通过。所以因为非常重要的问题而拖延该法案，我认为这没有什么不利的一面。”保守派组织美国遗产行动的Dan Holler说。

Back on the Mall, there’s a different feeling that immigration reform will pass this year.

在国家广场上，也有人看法不同，认为今年会通过移民改革。

“I’m here today because enough is enough," said Rev⁴. Scott Marks from New Haven⁵, Connecticut. "We need immigration reform now!”

来自康涅狄格州纽黑文市的Rev. Scott Marks说，“我今天来这里是因为已经受够了，我们现在就需要移民改革！”

“Because everybody has family here.  They come here, working hard.  And I would like everybody to have the freedom to speak [and] to work without fear of being deported,” said Ires Bares from Chantilly in Virginia.

来自弗吉尼亚州尚蒂利的Ires Bares说，“因为这里人人都有家，他们来这里努力工作，我希望人人都可以在无需担心被驱逐的条件享有言论和工作自由。”

“We spend money.  Forget humanitarian⁶ reasons.  Look at the green.  We spend money.  You need us.  We pay for your lifestyle.  When you retire the check is coming from our paychecks.  So wake up.  Come and join us,” he said.

对于大晚上从旧金山飞来的弗里德来说，这只是个数学问题。“我们花了钱，忘掉人道主义原因吧。看看这些绿草，我们也花了钱，你们需要我们。我们为你们的生活方式买了单，你们退休时的养老金是我们支付的，所以醒醒吧，过来加入我们的行列！”

It remains unclear when or if the budget stalemate will end.  Until then, the U.S. government continues operating with limited staffing, while many bills before the U.S. Congress remain at an impasse⁷.

尚不清楚预算僵局何时结束及是否结束，到那时，美国政府仍在人员不足的条件下运作，美国国会的许多议案仍被搁置。

1 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

2 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。

3 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

4 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

5 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。