VOA标准英语2014--脱水是南亚利桑那州非法移民的头号杀手

 

Dehydration¹ Is Top Killer² of Southern Arizona's Migrants 脱水是南亚利桑那州非法移民的头号杀手

TUCSON, ARIZONA—

The border separating the United States and Mexico spans 3,200 kilometers from the Gulf³ of Mexico to Baja California. Yet for the countless⁴ undocumented immigrants who attempt to cross each year, the journey is difficult and often deadly. In southern Arizona dehydration among migrants is the number one cause of death.

Welcome to the southern border of Arizona, home of the Sonoran Desert. Unlike the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, which receives the largest influx⁵ of undocumented immigrants in the nation, there is no river here. Instead, there are barren mountains, cacti⁶, and poisonous snakes that bask⁷ on its burnt soil.

U.S. Border Patrol Spokesman Pete Bidegain said, “Temperatures are really extreme. It gets cold at night, it's extremely hot in the daytime, and it's a really dangerous area - and this is one of the areas where we see the majority of deaths that occur with people illegally crossing.”

Here, the most common cause of death is dehydration.

“Within a day, they can physically⁸ not carry enough water to make the journey. So within a day they are usually out of water, and some of these people, if they're dehydrated before they start their journey, it can take just a matter of hours before life-threatening lack of water,” according to Larry Steily, a helicopter pilot with the U.S. Border Patrol.

The U.S. Border Patrol's search and rescue unit, “BORSTAR”, has taken matters into its own hands to reduce the number of immigrant deaths. This year, they initiated⁹ what they call the “blue blinking light of life program” - a series of 7-and-a-half meter [25-foot] emergency call poles strategically placed throughout the desert on U.S. territory, that emit a high-intensity blue light and reflect the sun's rays during the day.

Raleigh Leonard, Tucson Division Chief for the U.S. Border patrol, said, “We looked at the tools that we had at our disposal, and began using statistical¹⁰ information and empirical information, and began plotting on maps: where best that we could deploy¹¹ our rescue beacons¹², that they would be the most beneficial to the people that were finding themselves in distress¹³ in the desert."

The Tucson Border Patrol Sector¹⁴ says its team has rescued 459 people this year - 142 of them as a direct result of the 32 rescue beacons in operation today.

1 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。

2 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

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 cacti   

n.（复）仙人掌

参考例句：

• There we could see nothing but cacti.那里除了仙人掌我们什么也看不到。
• Cacti can survive the lack of rainfall in the desert.仙人掌在降水稀少的沙漠中也能生存下去。

7 bask   

vt.取暖，晒太阳，沐浴于

参考例句：

• Turtles like to bask in the sun.海龟喜欢曝于阳光中。
• In winter afternoons,he likes to bask in the sun in his courtyard.冬日的午后，他喜欢坐在院子晒太阳。

8 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

9 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

10 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

11 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

12 beacons   

灯塔( beacon的名词复数 )； 烽火； 指路明灯； 无线电台或发射台

参考例句：

• A chain of beacons was lit across the region. 整个地区点起了一系列灯塔。
• Lighthouse and beacons flash at night. 晚上灯塔与信号台闪着光。

13 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

14 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。